Plan for the Long Term

The mine.

Despite their haste, the members of the Qingfeng Sect arrived a step too late.

By the time Shangguan Hong and a group of Golden Core elders arrived, the mine was nearly deserted.

The five Golden Core elders hovered in the air above the mine, their spiritual senses rapidly scanning the area.

As it turned out, Li Xingtian's claim about the instability of the teleportation array was entirely true. With a single sweep of their spiritual senses, the elders detected a few miners still within their range.

One of the elders quickly spoke up:

"There are still miners nearby who haven't escaped."

"You go after them. I'll search here myself," Shangguan Hong said, his voice calm, his eyes lowered.

"Understood..."

The other elders understood that for Shangguan Hong, this was his only chance to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. Though he appeared composed on the surface, his heart was likely seething with rage.

He was the one who least wanted anything to go wrong here. Leaving the mine to him was perhaps the best choice.

Shangguan Hong descended and landed on the mine's ground. The first thing he saw was the dried-up corpse of Elder Mo Chen.

He slowly reached out and carefully examined Mo Chen's condition.

It didn't take long for Shangguan Hong to conclude that Mo Chen had been drained of his life force.

Moreover, it had been done while he was still alive, his blood and vitality completely sucked out, leaving him utterly defenseless.

Only a late-stage Golden Core demonic cultivator could have achieved such a feat.

"Useless!"

Shangguan Hong suppressed his anger, refraining from reducing the desiccated corpse to ashes.

After all, as long as he relied on the sect, he couldn't afford to make too much of a scene.

Taking a deep breath, Shangguan Hong walked deeper into the mine, clinging to a faint hope.

He could only pray that everything inside was intact—that the carefully constructed formations remained stable and that the blood pool still held its vital energy.

Those were his greatest assets for breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage.

Time was running out for him. Shangguan Hong's natural talent was far from exceptional, and the climb to his current position as an elder of the Qingfeng Sect had cost him immense effort.

He had endured countless humiliations and suffered through endless disdain.

Now... to have it all end here? Shangguan Hong couldn't accept it.

He didn't even need to step into the mine to know that everything was gone. A sweep of his spiritual sense told him as much.

Yet, he stubbornly pressed on.

The once brimming blood pool was now dry, and a corner of the painstakingly crafted formation had been shattered.

Shangguan Hong stood there, his eyes lowered, staring at the scene before him as if he had stepped into a fleeting illusion.

So close... so close...

Even the lowest-grade Nascent Soul would have been acceptable.

He didn't know how long he stood there.

It wasn't until the other four elders returned with six captured miners that Shangguan Hong was jolted back to reality.

One of the elders glanced at the sacrificial altar and sighed inwardly before tossing the six miners forward:

"These are all we could catch for now."

Shangguan Hong's crimson eyes snapped up, burning with a predatory intensity.

The miners couldn't withstand the pressure of a Golden Core elder's aura, nor could they endure the terrifying gaze.

"I'll talk... I'll talk..."

Shangguan Hong ignored their pleas, seizing one of the miners and immediately initiating a soul-searching technique.

One of the elders was about to speak up but was stopped by a shake of the head from another.

The soul-searching technique not only inflicted severe damage on the victim's soul but also placed a heavy burden on the caster.

Shangguan Hong, disregarding his own condition, proceeded to search the souls of all six miners.

By the time he finished with the last one, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"...A demonic cultivator... a top-tier demonic cultivator capable of controlling the blood pool."

Shangguan Hong wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "There was also a man and a woman wearing masks. The man was at least at the late Golden Core stage and possessed a divine ability."

"The man's techniques didn't seem like those of a demonic cultivator... but it's hard to say if that was just a facade."

Shangguan Hong took out a brush and quickly sketched the face of the man as it appeared in the miners' memories.

The drawing depicted a middle-aged man with a beard and a dull expression.

When Li Xingtian infiltrated the mine, he had already disguised himself with a face mask to conceal his identity.

"They moved swiftly and with clear purpose," Shangguan Hong added. "This face might not even be his real one."

"Late Golden Core? And with a divine ability?" one of the elders frowned. "With our Nascent Soul ancestor in seclusion and the Qingfeng Sect lacking any divine abilities, even if we find them, we might not be able to do anything."

"Moreover, if the other two are also Golden Core cultivators with divine abilities, the five of us might not stand a chance against them."

"Based on your soul search, they might just be demonic cultivators looking to take advantage. It's not like they're sworn enemies bent on our destruction."

"Making a big fuss over this might not be worth it, especially since we can't afford to draw attention to ourselves."

Shangguan Hong's crimson eyes locked onto the elder who had spoken.

But after a long silence, he finally said, "You're right, but we can't stop here! The formation's foundation isn't severely damaged. It won't be difficult to repair. As for the blood sacrifices... we'll capture more! Capture as many as we need!"

"From now on, all five of us will guard this place. Summon the sect's disciples to rebuild the formation. Even if they possess divine abilities, we'll make sure they can't escape!"

Faced with Shangguan Hong's proposal, the other four elders fell silent.

In the past, their covert actions had required extreme caution, but hadn't they still been outmaneuvered by other demonic cultivators?

Now, if they started capturing people openly, it would be hard to avoid exposure.

They had only joined Shangguan Hong's plan to aid their own cultivation, hoping to reach the Nascent Soul stage.

But they hadn't signed up to risk their lives and reputations.

Unlike Shangguan Hong, who was nearing the end of his lifespan, they still had more years ahead of them.

Yet, faced with Shangguan Hong's obvious fury, their silence was the strongest form of dissent.

"Brother Pei... have you forgotten? I saved your life once."

"Brother Zhao, your spiritual root talent isn't any better than mine. Are you content with being an early Golden Core elder? Don't you want to advance further on the path of cultivation?"

"Brother Li... my youngest daughter..."

"Brother Wang..."

Shangguan Hong's gaze swept over the four elders, his expression a mix of amusement and something darker.

"Do you really think stopping now will keep you safe?"

"Don't you know that the path of cultivation is a life-and-death struggle?"

"Only by advancing further can you sleep soundly at night, free from fear!"

Finally, Elder Li couldn't hold back any longer.

"From now on, we need to plan everything carefully. We must proceed with caution!"