This was a period of chaos. The imperial rule was unstable after the coronation of the empress. Rebellions were rampant everywhere, so was the smoke of war.
Not only was the cultivation world in shambles, but the same thing also happened in the mortal land. Wails of lament pervaded the world.
The dragons have finally started devouring heaven.
The great powers decided to claim sovereignty over their regions and started recruiting cultivators in order to rise above all others.
The weaker powers could only take over a village or a town. Some chose the mountains and decided to become local kings.
This was an unprecedented time of chaos in Jin. The regional institutions divided the land. The laws and orders became empty and meaningless. One could kill blood and murders everywhere.
Heaven’s Equal Mountain Range, on the other hand, maintained a trace of peace. Refugees started running deeper in the mountains in order to find the legendary auspicious grounds of the immortals in order to escape.
They didn’t know that the competitions between cultivators were even crueler and fierce.
Many sects could be massacred overnight, not even a chicken would be spared. Their female disciples would be forced into wretched prostitution; the males shackled and bound into slavery.
A feast for the strong while the weak laments.
Up high among this range was a path spanning for 80,000 miles, leading to a citadel of steel.
It was built from blocks of black metals. Each piece weighed a million pounds, resulting in a mountain-like structure.
The nearby radius of several thousand miles was desolate and uninhabited. No one dared to be close to this city.
Five hundred miles right outside the city on the path was an ancient tablet with a blood-stained character, “forbidden”. Normal cultivators would tremble after seeing this word and run back from whence they came.
“Click, click.” A tiger with a touch of qilin bloodline towered at five meters, covered in black scales from top to bottom. Its large jaw filled with sharp fangs like two columns of swords.
It had a pair of scaled wings and a thick iron chain around its neck that would ring with its movements.
Two riders were on its back, a man and a woman.
The man had an outstanding appearance: bright eyes and shapely brows with other exceptional features. However, he had a rather nefarious aura while gripping the iron chain.
The tiger could fling its head or leap however it wanted but there was no escaping his grasp.
The woman was extremely beautiful with skin as white as the spring pear with a hint of red. Her hair was as white as the winter snow, creating a clear contrast with her black eyes.
She leaned on the chest of the man with an unsatisfied grimace. Alas, she didn’t dare to voice her unhappiness and had to be obedient.
One shouldn’t underestimate her. Her burst of rage was scarier than a murderer. Her jade-like hands were often covered with blood.
The tiger suddenly stopped after seeing the warning tablet for a split moment before continuing. The duo didn’t show any fear as they headed for the black citadel.
“This is Black Crab Citadel?” Feiyun spoke with a cold expression; his hair as dark as ink.
“1,700 years ago during the split of Senluo, a group of heretics traveled to this mountain range to build the third hall. The current hall lord is an ambition and capable man with numerous experts below him. His influence stretched across the dynasty with more than 100 branches to gather top cultivators to his cause. Among them are plenty of prodigies, capable of being viewed as kings of the young generation.”
Bai Ruxue was the prettiest of the fourth hall. Her cultivation was great so she held a prestigious position there.
Though Senluo has been divided into ten halls, some of them still mingled with each other. Every now and then, there would be a meeting with all ten. That’s why she had some knowledge about the various halls.
Eight demonesses of this sect were under Nangong Hongyan’s control. They had the blood bracelet that Feiyun must have due to the blood inside.
Plus, he needed to take Bai Ruxue with him. He couldn’t let such a calculating woman hang around Nalan Xuejian.
The second reason was due to her vast knowledge of Senluo. This was the only way for him to find the other seven girls.
He cultivated along the way. Tan Qingsu’s purest Buddhist energy was quite beneficial. After refining it completely, the spirit energy in his body doubled.
Though there was still a way to go before reaching the fifth level of Heaven’s Mandate, it wasn’t too far off.
“The prettiest in the third hall is Bi Xianxian, another talented girl. Moreover, her grandfather is a very influential half-step Giant in the third hall.” Bai Ruxue was smart and knew just how to please a man. She knew how to be as obedient as a kitten, both in bed and otherwise.
Bi Xianxian also had a blood bracelet on her wrist.
Feiyun looked relaxed unlike the tiger beneath him. It seemed to recognize the terrible auras within the citadel. White smoke puffed out from its nose; its eyes opened widely.
This city had the chill of steel and devoid of any living person, only bloodstains on the ground. The protecting formations were destroyed; many buildings collapsed. Sections of the steel walls were pushed in like fried dough twist.
The blood hasn’t been washed away by the rain, clearly showing that the massacre had just happened within the week.
Ruxue was shaken with fear in her eyes. Who had attacked the citadel? This was the third hall of Senluo, a great lair of the heretics with amazing defensive potentials. Even several million troops couldn’t take this place down.
Feiyun slightly frowned before heading deeper into the city. After passing through a big street, they saw a sizable field with piles of corpses of all sexes and ages.
Some were split into two halves, others were crushed into an unrecognizable pulp.
The piles were rotting with flies and crows having their fill. The stench was unbearable.
“How can this be…?” She couldn’t believe her own eyes.
As they continued forward, they saw more mountains of corpses just like the previous. The piles increased in size the closer they were to the central area.
Some of the corpses had a monstrous aura with jade-like bones. They were crucified on the walls with blood dripping down.
The city had clearly suffered a merciless onslaught. The experts from the third hall continued to struggle while retreating to the center. Unfortunately, all of them were killed in the end.
One could see that their enemies were mighty.
There was a massive mansion in the center meant for the lord of the third hall. But now, its walls and palaces were broken. Many powerful corpses scattered inside.
More than ten corpse controllers in purple robe were searching these corpses. When they found a powerful and intact corpse, they would put it into a coffin then close the lid.
“Quite a big catch this time, we can refine several Corpse Kings from this.” A supreme elder from Violetsea Corpse Cave stood next to a stone coffin. His face was old and dried without any pink almost like a corpse.
A slightly taller old man smiled: “It’s a good thing that we've received news early to come here first for these powerful corpses. This is enough to raise the power level of our cave.”
“Keke! This chaos is perfect for corpse controllers like us. Our cave will become the number one sect in Jin soon enough!” The supreme elder laughed.
“What a shame, only two Giants though. The other Giants must have been taken away.”
Suddenly, the controllers all turned towards the distant and saw a scaled tiger coming with two young riders.
They stopped rummaging through the corpses and stared at Bai Ruxue. They were always around corpses, rarely having the chance to see such a beauty so their eyes lit up.
“Bam!” Feiyun threw down a spirit stone as big as a head and asked: “The one who can tell me what happened here will get this stone.”
The stone was bright and dazzling. Carefully cutting it will yield dozens of smaller stones. A Heaven’s Mandate cultivator usually couldn’t have this much money.
The controllers were elated, thinking that this guy was quite rich!
They felt that these two youths were prodigies from a big clan. In other words, fat sheep for them to get rich off of.
A controller around twenty years of age walked forward first. He stared blatantly at Ruxue’s seductive breasts as if he could see through her clothes. He smiled darkly: “I think this much money isn’t enough! I’ll tell you what happened if you add something else.”
“Tell us what you want then, Handsome.” Ruxue’s soft voice was enchanting with seductive ripples in her eyes.
The controllers felt hot after just listening. They thought, ‘this girl might look like a fairy but she must be a slut. Let’s take care of this kid then have our way with her…’