Not long after Bai Yuan had killed everyone in the small courtyard, Zhu Qiang finally arrived with his men—late, just like the police in TV shows from Blue Star.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the bodies lying in the garden.

The bodies of Kong Wen and Wang Ming, in particular, were also there in the courtyard, and for a moment, they felt a shared sense of sorrow.

Zhu Qiang suppressed his grief, his voice stuttering.

"L-Lord of Ten Households, did... did you kill all of them?"

When he had noticed a disturbance from the Mother-Child Black Silkworm, Bai Yuan happened to be right beside him.

He knew that Kong Wen had taken Wang Ming to investigate the Celestial Heart Sect today. Now that the Mother-Child Black Silkworm was suddenly reacting, it was obvious something had gone wrong over there.

He had immediately reported the matter to Bai Yuan.

Bai Yuan told him to go summon other reinforcements from Wei Camp while he went ahead to check on the situation at the courtyard.

But Zhu Qiang never expected that this Lord of Ten Households’ version of "checking on the situation" meant wiping everyone out.

Although Kong Wen was only an Yijin Martial Master, he was a veteran of the Divine Mansion Army who had survived countless battles. His survival skills were absolutely top-notch.

An expert capable of killing Kong Wen was, in turn, easily slain by the Lord of Ten Households standing before them.

Not only that, but in the quarter of an hour it took for Zhu Qiang to bring his men, Bai Yuan had also killed the dozen or so other people in the house. Such methods were truly terrifying.

The Wei Camp soldiers who had come with him also stared at Bai Yuan in shock.

A Lord of Ten Households from a neighboring street had also come, and he was just as astonished. He knew in his heart that he could never have accomplished this so cleanly.

’This new Lord of Ten Households is truly capable.’

If they knew that among those Bai Yuan had killed was a Blood Refining Pass expert, who knows what they would think.

Bai Yuan paid no mind to their stares.

"Clean this place up and report to Commander Zhao."

He gave a few brief orders and turned to leave.

"Lord Bai of Ten Households truly has the air of a master."

Zhu Qiang’s admiration was plain to see.

Of course, Bai Yuan wasn’t just putting on an act. He had just plundered quite a few treasures from the composed man and was growing impatient.

The treasures of a Blood Refining Martial Master surely wouldn’t disappoint him.

"Lord Fu of Ten Households, thank you for your trouble."

Bai Yuan walked up to a man in blue, cupped his fist, and thanked him for his efforts.

Both were part of Wei Camp, so coming to help was their duty. Still, proper courtesy and hospitality were required.

The man in blue, Fu Cong, laughed heartily. "We’re all brothers here. No need for formalities."

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but size Bai Yuan up a few more times. He was well-informed and had long known that this new Lord of Ten Households was Commander Dong’s disciple, making him a valuable person to befriend.

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while.

They ended up calling each other brothers and made plans to go drinking another day. Only then did Bai Yuan leave, his arm slung over Fu Cong’s shoulder.

「...」

Zhu Qiang and the men brought by Lord Fu of Ten Households worked quickly, clearing the bodies from the courtyard in just an hour.

He walked over to the bodies of Kong Wen and Wang Ming, his eyes filled with sorrow. The three of them had worked together for three years. Though they weren’t especially close, it was still heartbreaking to see colleagues he had known for so long dead.

"Find a place with good feng shui and bury them."

Another Divine Mansion Army soldier from the neighboring street sighed deeply.

Kong Wen and Wang Ming died today; tomorrow, it could be them lying on the ground. The Divine Mansion Army had an unwritten rule: if you came across a fallen comrade, you had to help give them a proper burial.

To die in battle and be wrapped in a horse’s hide was too bleak an end. They had to at least provide a sturdy coffin for the burial.

Not long after Zhu Qiang and the others had left...

A middle-aged figure appeared silently in the courtyard.

"Blood Refining?"

He murmured under his breath.

The middle-aged man wore a bamboo hat pulled down so low his face was almost completely hidden.

But if a disciple from the Divine Mansion Sect’s Spring Thunder Peak were here, they would surely recognize him as Spring Thunder Peak’s newest True Disciple, Long Ao!

Who would have thought that a True Disciple of the Divine Mansion Sect would be connected to the Celestial Heart Sect?

The bodies in the courtyard had all been taken away by Zhu Qiang and his men, leaving the place empty.

Long Ao’s brow furrowed slightly.

He knew that a Blood Refining Martial Master had been stationed in this courtyard, yet it had been completely taken out by a mere Lord of Ten Households.

Obviously, that Lord of Ten Households had been hiding his true strength.

Generally, Martial Artists who become a Lord of Ten Households in the Divine Mansion Army are at the Strong Organ Pass. It wasn’t that there were no Lords of Ten Households at the Blood Refining Pass, but they were all in Kui Camp and Gang Camp.

He had rushed over as soon as he heard the news from here.

It seemed he was still too late.

To be able to kill a Blood Refining Martial Master so quickly, the new Lord of Ten Households’ strength must be even more terrifying.

"How interesting."

Long Ao’s voice was deep.

He had been secretly monitoring Xiaohe Town. After all, there were only four places in all of Huanglong Prefecture that were true mission sites for the Celestial Heart Sect.

Long Ao had already thoroughly investigated the background of the new Lord of Ten Households, Bai Yuan.

What he hadn’t expected was that this Lord of Ten Households was actually from the same sect as him—both hailed from Huwei Arts Hall in Qinghe County.

’Looks like I’ll have to meet him.’

Long Ao was, of course, aware that a disciple from Huwei Arts Hall had entered the Divine Mansion Sect and was highly regarded by Dong Wanjun.

However, he had never been interested in interacting much with him.

After all, he held no particular affection for Huwei Arts Hall, and besides, the relationship between Spring Thunder Peak and Wan Jun Peak was far from good.

But now, he had no choice.

Because Bai Yuan had taken something he desperately needed.

That item was the entire reason for this hideout’s existence. The Celestial Heart Sect would absolutely not allow it to fall into anyone else’s hands.

「...」

「Wan Jun Peak, a small courtyard on the mountainside.」

After leaving Xiaohe Town, Bai Yuan went straight back to his own small courtyard.

At this moment, several small vials were laid out before him.

These were all the treasures he had looted from the body of the composed man he had killed.

There were three vials of Spirit Medicine just for breaking through to the Entering the Realm stage, each one extremely valuable.

Besides those, there was only a single vial of pale yellow liquid.

Most Martial Artists only carried portable items on them, like Spirit Medicine or silver notes. Hardly anyone would carry something like a Cultivation Technique with them.

Therefore, Bai Yuan wasn’t surprised by this haul.

He fixed his gaze on the vial of yellow liquid.

Because he could feel the aura of "spirit" from within it—and it was incredibly dense!

"Good stuff!"

Bai Yuan’s eyes lit up.

As a Spirit Chef, he naturally knew that the more "spirit" something contained, the more precious it was.

It was because of this ability that he could easily work as a treasure appraiser if he wanted.

This potion contained none other than Earth Spirit.

The earth gives birth to all things to nourish humanity, so using Earth Spirit in medicine was most effective for Martial Artists.

The Earth Spirit in the pale yellow liquid was extremely pure. Bai Yuan only needed to remove a few special impurities hidden within.

’So there really are other methods of extracting spirit in this world.’

At the very least, the Celestial Heart Sect had its own unique methods.

From Bai Yuan’s perspective, he could be almost certain that their method of extracting spirit was worlds apart from his own as a Spirit Chef. However, it didn’t affect the efficacy of the Earth Spirit in the slightest. This was a perfect example of "all paths lead to the same destination."

"I’ve struck it rich!"

Bai Yuan could no longer suppress the smile spreading across his face.

His timeline for breaking through to the Entering the Realm Pass had just been shortened significantly!