Even though he was appalled by the idea, Miao Yi still helped him carry the remaining four cripples.
As soon as he entered the Fort Master's living quarters, Miao Yi dumped the four people to the side. He then turned to find Yan Beihong frowning at him with a strange glint in his eyes. Miao Yi had no idea what was going on in his mind.
Miao Yi was no fool. He knew that something was off about Yan Beihong and had been feeling worried about him this whole time. Seeing the light in his eyes now, Miao Yi couldn't help feeling a little wary inside.
"Little Brother, I just tried using my arts to dispel the cold Yin energy inside their bodies, but the speed is much too slow. By the time I completely get rid of the cold Yin energy inside them, I'm afraid they will already be dead. I won't be able to use them then. That's why I hope you can help me one more time!" Yan Beihong said in a grave tone.
'Can't use them?' Miao Yi then asked curiously, "What are you going to do with them?"
Yan Beihong shook his head, "Don't ask. There are some things I can't tell you just yet. For the time being, just help me treat them!"
Miao Yi hesitated for a moment, but upon looking at the frozen, crippled bodies on the ground, he felt that his concern was unwarranted. Even if he defrosted them now, they wouldn't be able to put up much resistance.
Meanwhile, Yan Beihong had already lined the nine of them up and beckoned to Miao Yi with his arm.
Miao Yi sighed and nodded. He then leaned down and pressed his hand on the chest of one of the victims, and quickly used his arts to dispel the cold Yin energy inside the person.
As Miao Yi treated Song Zeming and the others, one by one, Yan Beihong quickly followed behind and used his arts to seal the wounds on their limbs to prevent them from dying due to blood loss. At the same time, he also used his arts to restrain their movements.
When Song Zeming and the others came to and realized the terrible state of their bodies, they were utterly horrified. Song Zeming shot a glare at Yan Beihong and cursed furiously, "Yan Beihong, how dare you collude with an outsider and ambush me?! You disloyal traitor!"
Yan Beihong looked down on them with disdain and replied indifferently, "Don't you think it's a little too late to be saying this? What about all those times the Glorious Cloud Sect bossed me around? And how about all those times you bastards ordered me around like I was your slave? Did any of you ever think of me as a fellow disciple? But don't worry—you won't be the only ones to suffer my wrath. I remember quite clearly all the 'kindness' that the Glorious Cloud Sect has shown me. If the day comes that I, Yan Beihong, become a highly powerful being, then it shall be the day of Glorious Cloud Sect's reckoning!"
Miao Yi stood silently by the side. He could tell from Yan Beihong's letter that the Glorious Cloud Sect had done something awful to him, but it hadn't specified what it was. As he observed the current situation, Miao Yi couldn't help wondering what exactly the Glorious Cloud Sect had done to Yan Beihong that would make him wish to destroy the entire sect so badly.
However, Yan Beihong's goals were a little unrealistic. A force as large as the Glorious Cloud Sect was sure to have an army of experts at their disposal. It was easier said than done to destroy an organization like that. Unless Yan Beihong could become as powerful as the twelve Overlords, it was unlikely that he would be able to achieve his goal. This 'ambition' of his was a little too great.
It seemed Song Zeming realized he had no chance for survival now that he was in Yan Beihong's grasp. He didn't beg for his life, and instead barked out, "Delusional fool! You bastard, my Glorious Cloud Sect will definitely hunt you down, and you will surely die a miserable death!"
"Even if I do, none of you will get the chance to see it happen!" Yan Beihong scoffed. He then launched several quick punches.
The sound of cracking bones reverberated in the air as Yan Beihong broke the jaws of all the cripples in the room. Their mouths then bled uncontrollably; they had no way of closing them shut. After that, Yan Beihong turned to Miao Yi and said, "Little Brother, I still have a few things left to do. I ask that you leave me be for now!"
'What exactly is he going to do to them that he even needs me to leave him alone?' Furrowing his brows, Miao Yi asked curiously, "Is it something I shouldn't see?"
"Please let me keep this from you for now!" Yan Beihong shook his head, then continued, "Little Brother, I'd like to trouble you to help stand guard outside for me!"
Miao Yi figured he shouldn't pry too deeply into it. He nodded his head, then turned around and left.
Once Yan Beihong made sure that Miao Yi was outside, he turned back to his victims. Taking out a crimson steel needle, he pulled the moaning Song Zeming off the ground and started pushing needle after needle into his pressure points. He even stuck a few into Song Zeming's head. Soon, Song Zeming entered into a deep stupor.
As Yan Beihong held on to Song Zeming's lower jaw with his other hand, his hair and dark red sleeves began fluttering about for no apparent reason, and his eyes gradually became as dark as ink.
Then, rumbling noises could be heard as his belly rapidly expanded and contracted. A strange energy also began to gradually envelop the cave. As Yan Beihong's eyes grew darker and darker, they slowly began to emit an ominous glow. Suddenly, he opened his mouth wide, and a gray mist started surging out from it and rushed straight into Song Zeming's open jaw.
Lying paralyzed on the ground, Duan Hongfei and the others widened their eyes in disbelief as they witnessed a white Inner Core slowly floating out from Yan Beihong's mouth. Floating within the gray mist, the Inner Core gradually entered Song Zeming's mouth.
An Inner Core? There was actually an Inner Core inside Yan Beihong's body? With evident fear in their eyes, Duan Hongfei and the others came upon a terrifying realization—satanic arts! A Manor Head of the Celestial Nation had actually fallen onto the path of the devil and was cultivating satanic arts!
And just then, the youthful-looking Song Zeming began to rapidly age at a visible pace, as wrinkles quickly began to form on his face. It was as though the youth he had obtained from his long years of cultivation was being hastily returned to the heavens.
In less than an hour, Song Zeming had transformed from an exuberant youth into a frail, old man. It was absolutely mind-boggling.
The whistling sound of wind could be heard as Yan Beihong took in a deep breath, and the white-colored Inner Core re-emerged from within Song Zeming's body. Then, it was sucked back into Yan Beihong's body along with the gray mist that surrounded it.
After that, Yan Beihong speedily pulled out all the needles, and Song Zeming—whom no one knew whether he was still alive or not—was casually tossed aside. Yan Beihong then took a step forward, locking his eyes on his next victim—Duan Hongfei.
With fear evident in his eyes, Duan Hongfei moaned and repeatedly shook his head, clearly trying to beg for his life.
The dark-eyed Yan Beihong was not sympathetic in the least. He pulled Duan Hongfei up, then deftly pushed the steel needles into the major pressure points of his body...
By the time the rotating Inner Core and gray mist made its way out of the last person's mouth, it had transformed from its original white color into a semi-blue shade.
The deep, black glow still apparent in his eyes, Yan Beihong quickly pulled out the crimson steel needles and released his grip on the body. As he gently shook his head in pleasure, he praised, "What a wonderful feeling! I've never had the chance to taste Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators before. To think I was actually able to get nine of them in one go… Still, the Red Lotus realm is truly not as simple as I imagined. I can't believe I am still unable to break through after absorbing the cultivation of nine Blue Lotus Ninth Grade experts. But no matter. In another ten years, once I've fully assimilated their powers, the Red Lotus realm should be within arm's reach. The future is promising!"
Soon, his eyes gradually reverted to normal, and the fluttering of his hair and dark red sleeves also slowly died down.
A Red Blaze Resin then appeared in his grasp. Turning around, he tossed it over to the stone bed, instantly igniting a mighty flame on the withered corpses.
Paying no heed to the flames behind him, the crimson-caped Yan Beihong strode forward and left...
Outside the fort, Miao Yi was in the middle of testing out the Mother-Child Flying Sword, remotely controlling it to hover around him. Before him lay a giant boulder with the name of the Fort Master engraved upon it. As he pointed his finger out, the flying sword instantly shot out like a streak of light, striking the giant boulder and instantly splitting it into seven pieces.
Boom!
As the giant boulder burst into pieces, seven streaks of light shot upwards, before making a nosedive straight towards Miao Yi. The seven lights then quickly combined into one and gently landed upon Miao Yi's palm.
Miao Yi raised the sword happily and examined it. He realized that while only one sword was used to strike the enemy, the moment the attack landed, it was capable of splitting seven ways and instantly killing the target. The enemy would surely have a hard time dealing with this.
"Little Brother! So what do you think about this transcendent artifact?" Yan Beihong's voice suddenly came from behind.
Miao Yi turned his head around and nodded. "It's not bad."
As he said this, he was suddenly startled, noticing a thick plume of smoke coming out of the residence behind Yan Beihong. He couldn't help asking, "What did you do?"
Yan Beihong turned around and glanced back, replying bluntly, "I simply burned those corpses, that's all."
Miao Yi couldn't help feeling a little puzzled. Killing them should have been enough. This was just the Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade. Why was there a need to go so far by eliminating all traces of their bodies?
However, the other person clearly wished to hide his affairs, so Miao Yi figured it would be imprudent of him to pry too deeply. Thus, he proceeded to tuck away the Mother-Child Flying Sword, then took out the Mist Pearl in its place. As he tossed it into the sky, the artifact began glowing with a blue light and started spinning about as it soared upwards. At the same time, a dense fog quickly enveloped the area.
In a few short moments, there was nothing but a field of white before Miao Yi. He couldn't see anything at all. The fog was so thick it seemed as though he wouldn't even be able to see his fingers if he put out his hand right now. Since this wasn't an illusion, not even his transcendence vision would work in a situation like this; there was something actually hindering his sight.
The Mist Pearl fell back into Miao Yi's hand, but the surrounding fog was still there.
Yan Beihong slowly approached from within the fog. Looking at the Mist Pearl in Miao Yi's hand, he smiled, "This transcendent artifact doesn't have any attack capabilities. I know it seems a little unimpressive, but it can quickly envelop a five-kilometer radius in fog, making it somewhat useful for escaping. However, I doubt it will be of any use if you're ever up against an expert who can discern your location just by sound alone. Little Brother, make sure you fill it up with water after you use it. This transcendent artifact is useless if it runs out of water."
"It's still better than nothing." Miao Yi chuckled, "Just the high-density Crystalline Silver alone would be worth quite a sum." Tucking away the Mist Pearl, he suddenly remembered something. He told Yan Beihong, "Oh right. Why don't you show me how powerful that Flowing Cloud Killer of yours really is?"
Even though Miao Yi had never seen a high-tier transcendent artifact that was refined by Yao Ruoxian before, he had heard of the old coot's fame more than once. Since there was an opportunity to witness its might, he obviously wanted to try it out. This way, he could also gain a better grasp Yao Ruoxian's level of refining skill when it came to transcendent artifacts.
Yan Beihong didn't try to hide it either. He quickly took out the black cloth on the spot and imbued his transcendence energy inside to understand how to operate it.
As soon as the sea breeze swept away the dense, white fog, Yan Beihong hurled out the black cloth. Shining with a blue radiance, it slithered up the sky like a snake. Then, it spread itself open, gently fluttering in the wind as it rapidly expanded. Soon, it grew so large that the entire mountain seemed to be surrounded by a giant dark cloud.
"The reason why this artifact is so powerful is due to its ability to transform at will and can shape its matter according to the situation. Little Brother, do you want to test its might for yourself?" Yan Beihong asked as he looked at the 'gray cloud' floating in the sky.
Miao Yi was just thinking about testing the strength of Yao Ruoxian's handiwork, so he quickly agreed, "Sure! But I hope Big Brother Yan will go easy on me." He then readied the Inversed-Scales Spear and leaped several dozen meters away. With eyes locked onto the sky, he was already prepared to take what was coming.