In the sky, the black-clothed man sped closer. His sharp, hawk-like gaze coldly swept across the entire village.
A moment later, he hovered directly above it.
Black qi swirled around him. His robes fluttered without wind, kicking up gusts of sinister air, and his entire body radiated a grim, evil aura.
“Who is Su Mingren?!”
The cold, hoarse voice struck terror into the hearts of all who heard it.
Is this an immortal? He looks so terrifying!
He’s looking for Su Mingren? When did the village chief get involved with an immortal?
Hearing the commotion, quite a few villagers curiously poked their heads out to size up the black-clothed man in the sky.
In the open square, Su Mingren gazed up at the visitor. His heart tightened, and a strong sense of foreboding surged within him.
He’s looking for me… so he really came for that pill furnace?
He was still hesitating over whether to respond when…
“Hmph! What? Is no one going to speak?!”
In midair, the black-clothed man let out a muffled snort when met with silence.
A thick, sinister aura erupted from his body, shrouding the entire small mountain village.
In the next second, everyone felt as if they had been plunged into an ice cellar. Their bodies turned freezing cold.
Seeing that the black-clothed man was about to lash out, Su Mingren hurriedly spoke up. “Exalted Immortal, I am Su Mingren. Might I ask what business you have with me?”
Hearing the voice, the black-clothed man’s figure blurred in the air, transforming into a streak of light that landed right before Su Mingren.
His gaze scrutinized the old man. A cold light flickered in the depths of his eyes as he said in a sinister tone, “Hand over the treasure furnace, or die!!!”
Su Mingren shuddered, his heart leaping to his throat, but he feigned composure and asked, “Treasure furnace? What treasure furnace? Exalted Immortal, I… I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
The black-clothed man’s gaze turned cold. With a wave of his hand, his True Essence transformed into a surge of force that sent Su Mingren flying.
He stared at Su Mingren as if looking at an ant. “Old thing, since I found my way here, do you really think I know nothing?”
“If you obediently hand over your family’s heirloom treasure furnace today, we can talk.”
“Otherwise, it won’t just be you dying today. Everyone in your entire village will die!!”
As he spoke, the black-clothed man walked toward Su Mingren step by step. A thick killing intent pervaded the entire village.
The onlooking villagers felt as if the sky itself was collapsing. Terrified, they frantically shouted at Su Mingren on the ground.
“Village Chief, if you really have that furnace or whatever, just give it to this immortal!”
“Exactly! There’s no need to anger the immortal over some treasure furnace.”
“Immortal, please don’t be angry! We’ve lived here for so many years and have never heard of any treasure furnace in the village chief’s home!”
…
Su Mingren landed heavily. Already old and frail, the fall broke several of his ribs, and his face contorted in agony.
In a haystack not far away, Su Twelve watched the entire scene unfold.
Seeing his grandfather injured, his heart clenched. He gripped the pill furnace in his hands, ready to rush out and save him.
To him, no matter how precious this pill furnace was, it meant nothing compared to his grandfather’s life.
But just as he prepared to step out and hand over the pill furnace, his grandfather’s earlier warning surfaced in his mind.
No matter what happens, you must never come out!
Recalling those words, Su Twelve hesitated.
On the ground, Su Mingren noticed the haystack shift slightly. Enduring the pain, he hurriedly continued, “Immortal, I… I really don’t know what treasure furnace you’re talking about!”
Su Mingren was old and experienced. The moment he learned the man’s purpose, he knew that whether he handed over the pill furnace or not, he and the villagers would not escape death today.
Now, the only thing he could do was protect his grandson’s life.
Hearing this, the black-clothed man’s eyes blazed with cold light. He let out a string of eerie laughter. “Heh heh… Old thing, are you courting death? What a pity… It seems I’ll have to search for it myself!”
The black-clothed man shook his head, his gaze turning cruel.
He channeled the True Essence within his body and formed a sword incantation. A jet-black flying sword shot out from behind him, hovering in the air and spinning rapidly.
Immediately, the sky filled with sword light. Each streak transformed into a life-reaping skeleton that swooped down toward the villagers.
The villagers were scared witless by the sight. A quick-reacting few immediately turned and fled.
“No… don’t!”
“Immortal, spare us! Spare us!”
“Please let us go, we don’t know anything!”
…
Feeling the looming threat of death, the terrified villagers instinctively begged for mercy.
But facing a cultivator like this black-clothed man, they were no different from ants. Under the assault of this sinister sword qi, death came in an instant!
In the blink of an eye, rivers of blood ran through Little Stone Village, and a thick, metallic stench filled the air.
Su Mingren lay on the ground, his eyes filled with rage and despair.
Although he had long prepared himself for death, watching the villagers die so miserably filled his heart with incomparable grief.
In the haystack, Su Twelve was horrified. He lay pressed to the ground, his hands and feet ice-cold as if he had plunged into a freezing abyss.
This was no immortal—this was a bloodthirsty demon!
The black-clothed man walked up to Su Mingren with a cold sneer. “Old thing, do you see? They all died because of you!”
“I will give you one last chance. Hand over the treasure furnace!”
The black-clothed man reached out. The flying sword dropped into his grasp, its tip pointing directly at Su Mingren.
Rolling black mist surged around him, releasing a terrifying pressure.
Lying on the ground, Su Mingren felt as though the pressure alone would suffocate him.
Yet he shook his head with a resolute expression. “There is none!”
The black-clothed man’s gaze turned glacial. True Essence surged into his flying sword, and a streak of Skeleton Sword Qi shot out and bit off Su Mingren’s arm.
“And now?!”
Agony racked Su Mingren’s body. Gritting his teeth, he shouted, “I… I really don’t know of any treasure furnace!”
“Hmph! If that’s the case, then there is no need for you to live!” The black-clothed man sneered. Another streak of Skeleton Sword Qi flew out, hurtling straight for Su Mingren’s heart.
“No… don’t…”
In the haystack, Su Twelve watched wide-eyed and opened his mouth to scream, but not a single sound came out.
He clutched the pill furnace tightly, desperate to rush out and save his grandfather. Yet he was frozen by terror, utterly suppressed by the black-clothed man’s powerful aura.
Su Twelve lay pinned to the ground, feeling as if a thousand jin of weight pressed down on him, rendering him completely immobile.
Thwack!
A muffled sound rang out the next second as the skeleton-like sword qi pierced straight through Su Mingren’s heart.
A fist-sized hole opened in Su Mingren’s chest. His head tilted to the side, and he died on the spot!
Seeing his grandfather lying in a pool of blood, Su Twelve’s pupils constricted. His heart seized, and overwhelmed by unbearable grief, he fainted dead away.
In the mountain village, the black-clothed man paid no attention to the haystack in the square. Instead, he went from house to house, searching every courtyard.
Slaughtering the entire village was as trivial to him as crushing ants!
From evening into the dead of night, the black-clothed man searched every room in the village. From the roof beams above to the cellars below, he left no stone unturned, yet he found nothing.
Although he was strong, projecting Divine Sense outward was a feat only a Golden Core cultivator could achieve.
Little Stone Village sat right next to Heaven Severing Peak, a known death zone among cultivators. Golden Core cultivators were rarely seen in such a place, and even if one did come, they would suffer inexplicable suppression.
Two shichen later, the black-clothed man returned to Su Mingren’s corpse. After confirming that the old man did not have the item on him either, he grew vexed.
“Damn it! Was the information really wrong? Or did someone already beat me to it?”
“Forget it. I’ll just have to find other clues!”
The black-clothed man leaped into the air, transforming into a streak of light that shot toward the horizon.
He had no idea that right where he had descended, a half-grown child was hiding!
Truly, the most dangerous place was also the safest!
One shichen later, the black-clothed man’s figure silently descended once more, hidden by the night.
Seeing that the scene remained unchanged, he shook his head helplessly and departed via Sword Flight.
Su Twelve remained unconscious for two shichen. It wasn’t until the sky began to brighten that he suddenly convulsed and awoke, drenched in cold sweat.
Even in his unconsciousness, his mind had been plagued by images of those skeleton-like monsters murdering his grandfather.
The very first thing Su Twelve did upon waking was look outside. He desperately hoped that everything that happened yesterday was just a nightmare.
However, it was only wishful thinking.
Right in front of him, his grandfather lay completely motionless in a pool of blood.
Su Twelve’s entire body trembled violently. He scrambled out of the haystack and crawled over to Su Mingren.
“Grandfather… Grandfather… wake up! I… I’ll never call you old man again!”
“Please wake up! I beg you… talk to me!”
Su Twelve clutched Su Mingren, calling out to him again and again as tears streamed uncontrollably down his face like a broken string of pearls.
But no matter how much he cried out, the man on the ground showed no reaction.
Su Twelve held his grandfather tight, crying until the sun rose, crying until his tears ran dry, and crying until two streams of blood trickled from his eyes.
He fainted several times in succession. It was only when his voice grew so hoarse that he could no longer make a sound that he finally lowered his head to look at the pill furnace in his arms.
“It’s all your fault! If it weren’t for you, Grandfather wouldn’t have died, and neither would the others!”
Su Twelve angrily grabbed the pill furnace. In his eyes, it was the culprit behind everyone’s deaths. Without this pill furnace, none of this would have happened.
If he could trade it to bring his grandfather back to life, he would do so without a second’s hesitation.
Gripping the pill furnace tightly, he furiously hurled it away.
He watched the pill furnace roll across the dirt, hesitated for a moment, and then stepped forward to pick it back up.
“This pill furnace is the very last thing Grandfather left me. I absolutely cannot lose it.”
“Besides, even immortals covet it, so it must be some kind of treasure. If I want to avenge Grandfather and the others, I can only rely on this. I just don’t know how to use it yet.”
“Perhaps… once I learn immortal arts, I’ll figure it out!”
Su Twelve took a deep breath and tucked the pill furnace back inside his clothes.
Swallowing his grief, he found a shovel and began digging deep pits in the village square to bury his grandfather and the other villagers.
By the following evening, a crude mass grave holding a hundred people sat in the center of the village.
Su Twelve knelt before the graves of his grandfather and the others, sobbing once more.
But he gritted his teeth and forced the tears back. He silently swore to himself that today would be his very last time crying. From now on, he had only one goal: revenge. No matter what hardships he faced, he would never shed another tear.
“Grandfather, that black-clothed man is strong. The only way to deal with him is to join an immortal sect and learn their arts. Perhaps, once I do, I’ll finally understand this furnace’s true purpose!”
“Little Fatty mentioned that immortals are taking disciples in Huilong Town over these next two days. I’m going to take a look!”
“No matter what it takes, I will avenge you and everyone else!”
Su Twelve whispered these words, glanced at the pill furnace tucked inside his clothes, and kowtowed heavily four times before his grandfather’s grave.
Then, he resolutely stood up, gritted his teeth, and ran toward Huilong Town.