Li family firewood shed.  

Under the dim oil lamp, two headless corpses lay in a pool of blood, and the air was thick with a strong metallic stench that made one nauseous.  

Li Rongzhou, however, showed no discomfort. He calmly wiped the blood off his hands.  

He was not a bloodthirsty man, but the brutal tragedy of fleeing with his entire family over a decade ago had deeply ingrained a principle into his bones.  

Any trace of mercy toward the wolves who harm one’s family is cruelty to oneself.  

After a moment of contemplation, he picked up a brush and wrote a few lines, then walked into the courtyard where Little Black was already waiting under the eaves.  

He stuffed the note into the bamboo tube tied to Little Black’s leg and gently stroked its glossy feathers. “Go.”  

“Caw!”  

With a loud crow, the raven flapped its wings and shot up like a black lightning bolt, disappearing instantly into the heavy night.  

Watching Little Black fly away, a flicker of fear flashed in Li Rongzhou’s eyes.  

He was not afraid of death, but he thought of gentle Lady Qin—what if the bandits broke into their home…  

If not for keeping his true cultivation at the peak of the Divine Execution Realm as a trump card never revealed to outsiders, the consequences of today’s events would be unimaginable.  

In this world, the trump card is life itself.  

Staring into the pitch-black sky, Li Rongzhou paused briefly, then returned to the firewood shed and swiftly cleaned the corpses, meticulously covering the bloodstains on the ground with wood ash as if nothing had ever happened.

In the county government study room, candle flames flickered.  

Li Ping’an laid down a secret letter with a solemn expression. The letter contained a few brief words—intelligence from an informant.  

“Zhou Tong is secretly gathering men; there may be trouble in Peach Blossom Village.”  

This was a trap set by him and his eldest brother, Li Pingfu.  

When they originally took down the Zhou family, they deliberately let Zhou Tong, the “fish that slipped through the net,” escape, hoping to cast a long line and catch a bigger prize—to see if the Endless Life Sect behind him could be lured out.  

Unexpectedly, this mad dog actually dared to point his fangs at officials’ families, completely unafraid of the imperial crackdown!  

Li Pingfu, standing nearby, frowned deeply after reading the letter. Although he had already investigated and confirmed that the Blood River Gang’s experts were no more than Divine Execution Realm cultivators and could not compete with their father, and that the old residence had contingencies left by their younger brothers, Zhou Tong’s swift attack still made him uneasy.  

“Whoosh!”  

“Caw!”  

The sound of flapping wings filled the air as Little Black flew in through the window, landing steadily on the desk.  

Li Pingfu’s heart relaxed slightly when he saw the familiar handwriting and read the words “No trouble at home, the vermin have been eliminated.”  

Yet the fury inside him had not dissipated; instead, it hardened like boiling oil poured onto ice, condensing into an even more chilling and bone-piercing killing intent.  

He handed the note to Li Ping’an, who was also tense.  

Li Ping’an read it and rarely showed such hostility on his face.  

But he quickly calmed down and analyzed, “Zhou Tong has been like a stray dog, hiding everywhere. Now he suddenly dares to make such a bold move, even risking offending us brothers. There’s only one possibility.”  

“He has already contacted the Endless Life Sect and received some promise or support.”  

Li Ping’an’s tone turned chillingly cold, “Zhou Tong is now a mad dog smelling blood. Thinking he has a backer, he dares to act recklessly. This is precisely our chance—to follow the trail and uncover key members of the Endless Life Sect in Yunshui County.”  

“Exactly. I’ll gather the men right away.”  

Li Pingfu turned to leave, full of rage and thirst for blood.  

“Brother Tian!”  

Li Ping’an called after him, “This must be kept secret. The patrol camp has too many mouths and may have spies for Magistrate Liang. Using our own brothers will suffice!”  

Li Pingfu nodded, his eyes shining with murderous intent, and strode out of the government office.

Li Pingfu’s county residence.  

Xie Xiaodao, Li Yuan, Zhang Hua, and others were already waiting.  

Xie Xiaodao had been on duty at the county office and had not gone out, so he was not secretly followed.  

Li Yuan and Li Chao stood nearby, still carrying a faint smell of blood. They had recounted the ambush in full detail.  

“Miao Kai… he…” Zhang Hua’s voice was hoarse, his lips trembling under his half-ghoul mask, unable to continue.  

Everyone’s gaze fell on the corner where a body lay quietly covered by a white cloth.  

Li Pingfu slowly approached and reached out a slightly trembling hand to lift the cloth.  

Miao Kai’s expression was peaceful, even with a faint smile. His chest and abdomen had several gruesome bullet holes, with black blood and flesh fragments still clinging to the mouth’s edge.  

Li Chao’s eyes reddened. “Little Seven bit that bastard’s throat clean through.”  

Xie Xiaodao said nothing, repeatedly wiping the throwing knife he never parted from. The blade gleamed coldly in the candlelight.  

Li Pingfu closed his eyes.  

They traveled together on escorts, fought side by side, bound by brotherhood as close as family.  

When he opened his eyes again, the grief had transformed into palpable killing intent.  

“Brothers don’t die for nothing.”  

“Blood debt must be repaid in blood!”  

“Brother Pingfu, we’ll go with you!” Li Yuan clenched his fists, knuckles white from force.  

“Yes! Kill all those bastard scum! Avenge Miao Kai!” Xie Xiaodao reinserted his throwing knife into his waist, eyes burning with deadly intent.  

“Revenge!”  

“Calm down,” Xie Xiaodao quickly stepped before them, analyzing coldly:  

“Zhou Tong’s Blood River Gang is nothing but a ragtag bunch, not to be feared. The real trouble lies with the Endless Life Sect behind him. This trip isn’t just about revenge; we must dig out that thread and end it once and for all.”  

“If that’s the case,” Li Yuan said coldly, “no need to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Leave the lackeys to us; big brother focuses on taking down Zhou Tong.”

Night deepened.  

The Blood River Gang’s main base, disguised as a granary, was brightly lit and reeking of alcohol.  

Zhou Tong sat high in the main seat, his face flushed with a sickly red. The two men sent to Peach Blossom Village had yet to report back, but he paid no mind, assuming their failure was due to inefficiency or delay.  

His real concern was another piece of news.  

“Calculate the time. That gentleman should have arrived.” He raised his wine cup, silently plotting with pride.  

Once the gentleman arrived, he could finish off the troublemaker Li Pingfu and receive the coveted reward.  

“Report!”  

At that moment, a gang member stumbled in, his face full of terror.  

“Boss! B-bad news! The government troops have broken in!”  

“What?”  

Zhou Tong jumped up abruptly, the wine cup in his hand smashing to the floor with a clatter.  

Before he could speak, a thunderous crash resounded—the thick wooden door of the granary was blasted apart by a tremendous force!  

Wood chips scattered as a tall figure slowly stepped inside—Li Pingfu.  

He was cloaked in night, eyes like cold stars, each step pressing down on everyone’s heartbeat. His unmasked innate pressure was like a mountain, suffocating all present.  

“Li… Li Pingfu!”  

Zhou Tong’s pupils shrank sharply, a chill rushing from his feet to the crown of his head.  

How could a mere Divine Execution Realm cultivator contend with Li Pingfu?  

How had Li Pingfu discovered him so quickly? There was a traitor!  

“Kill! Kill him!”  

Without time to think, Zhou Tong barked orders fiercely.  

The gang’s elite, who usually swaggered with arrogance, trembled under the overwhelming pressure of a natural-born expert. Yet spurred by Zhou Tong, they mustered courage, shouting wildly as they charged with knives and spears at Li Pingfu.  

“Brothers, attack!”  

At Li Pingfu’s command, Xie Xiaodao moved swiftly, his cold blade flashing repeatedly. The front line gang members didn’t even have time to grunt before their throats were precisely pierced by flying knives, collapsing silently.  

Li Yuan and Li Chao charged like two ferocious black tigers. Several gang members at the front were like leaves caught in a gale, unable to scream before being blasted backward, spitting blood midair with broken bones and shattered tendons, falling lifeless to the ground.  

In just moments, the path was cleared.  

The remaining gang members fled in panic, screaming as they scrambled toward the backyard.  

The entire granary instantly turned into a living hell.  

Zhou Tong’s heart shattered; today was surely his doom. His desperate survival instinct unleashed his final fury.  

“Li Pingfu! I’ll fight you to the death!”  

He roared, unleashing all his Blood Qi as a Divine Execution Realm expert. Like a mad wild bull, he charged fiercely at Li Pingfu.  

He practiced an extremely fierce technique called Stone Shattering Fist. Thick internal energy wrapped his fists, the wind from his punches howling with threatening force.  

“Seeking death!”  

Li Pingfu neither dodged nor retreated, but advanced relentlessly. Facing Zhou Tong’s cornered beast fight, he chose the most domineering response.  

Five Spirit Play: Tiger Play!  

He threw a punch, pouring all his innate true energy into it without reserve. This punch lacked Zhou Tong’s flashy momentum but contained a raw, primal power and dominance, like a real tiger opening its gigantic jaws to devour heaven and earth.  

“Boom!”  

Their fists collided.  

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.  

Next instant, a crisp crack echoed. Zhou Tong’s proud Stone Shattering Fist internal energy was shattered like paper under Li Pingfu’s innate true energy.  

A destructive force surged through his arm into his body.  

“Ah—”  

Zhou Tong screamed in agony as his entire right arm twisted at a grotesque angle, pale bones piercing through the skin and exposed to the air.  

His body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily against the wall and sliding to the ground, blood gushing from his mouth.  

He struggled to get up but felt as if all his bones had scattered, unable to summon any strength.  

“You!” Zhou Tong collapsed, eyes filled with unwillingness.  

Li Pingfu stepped forward slowly, looking down coldly like a blade. “Zhou Tong, your time has come.”  

“Heh… heh heh…”  

Zhou Tong coughed blood but smiled with a strange grin. “Li Pingfu, even if you kill me, you won’t have peace! The people behind me are not your match!”  

“Is that so?” Li Pingfu expressionless, “Too bad you won’t see it.”  

He coldly stomped on Zhou Tong’s limbs, breaking them all.  

“Ah!”  

A heart-wrenching scream echoed through the courtyard.  

“Don’t waste your strength.”  

Like a dead dog, Zhou Tong was thrown on the ground, limbs broken. Only his hateful eyes remained fixed on the Li brothers.  

He croaked a hoarse laugh, “I won’t say anything. If you kill me, someone will crush your Li family, reducing you to ashes!”  

“Is that so?”  

Li Ping’an smiled slightly and took out a small mushroom from his pocket.  

The familiar recipe, the familiar smell.  

Zhou Tong’s gaze soon blurred, a foolish smile appearing on his face.  

Li Ping’an began the interrogation.  

He questioned in great detail.  

Under the hallucinogenic mushroom’s overpowering effect, Zhou Tong spilled everything he knew like beans pouring from a bamboo tube.  

The Endless Life Sect operated in a compartmentalized way; members did not communicate with each other, being extremely cautious and secretive.  

Zhou Tong had collected money and intelligence outside for years but knew little of the sect’s internal affairs. Contact with superiors was always passive and at different locations.  

For example, this time Zhou Tong received a message via homing pigeon at night, with a note saying to meet in three days at an abandoned Taoist temple called Black Cloud Temple on the outskirts.  

“The three days on the note mean tomorrow at Yin hour (3–5 a.m.), only four hours from now,” Li Ping’an said. “Before then, we can’t alert them.”  

Fortunately, their operation was low-key, not even alarming the county office. They took control of the gang in less than a day, an operation like thunder.  

“Keep up the disguise of the Blood River Gang’s usual drinking and feasting,” Li Ping’an suggested.  

Although they had already set up surveillance around to catch suspicious spies, Black Cloud Temple might not receive the news so quickly, but better safe than sorry.  

As for Zhou Tong…  

After getting all the information they wanted, he was no longer of any use.  

Li Pingfu stepped forward and twisted Zhou Tong’s neck, breaking it at a grotesque ninety-degree angle.  

As for those Blood River Gang members—  

“Big brother, these people…” Li Yuan stepped forward to ask.  

“Leave none alive.”  

Li Pingfu’s voice held no warmth.  

These people’s hands were stained with innocent blood and were accomplices who tried to harm his family.  

There was no need for mercy.  

In the night, blades flashed and blood splattered.  

The Blood River Gang, once rampant in Yunshui County, was completely erased that night.  

The Li brothers’ gaze had already turned to Black Cloud Temple, thirty miles away.

Spirit Mountain, Listening Wind Cliff.  

The remodeled Spirit Gathering Formation attracted spiritual energy from all directions. Mist swirled atop the cliff, resembling a fairyland.  

The self-crafted utopia gave Li Pingcan a sense of accomplishment far greater than any spiritual pill or elixir. He had even begun planning where to transplant some precious plants next and raise a few docile treasure beasts, turning this place into his own “scenic sanctuary.”  

He sat cross-legged at the formation’s core, eyes half-closed, expression serene, breathing long and deep. Each breath seemed to synchronize with the pulse of the world around him.  

After a long time.  

“Hoo!”  

A white true energy burst forth like a crossbow bolt, piercing straight across to the opposite side of Listening Wind Cliff. The entire mountain rumbled loudly.  

“This true energy is truly powerful.”  

Surprise and delight flickered in Li Pingcan’s eyes.  

The True Qi Pill’s effect was overwhelming and ancient. It slowly refined his previously weak energy into true energy. Just a bit of it equaled his former energy.  

Concentration is essence!  

If he could store the waves’ true energy, even several innate experts of the same realm might not defeat him.  

“More effort needed!” Li Pingcan thought happily.  

Immersed in the joy of refining true energy, he suddenly felt a shift in thought and looked to the horizon.  

Through the soul contract, a flood of chaotic information surged into Li Pingcan’s consciousness.  

It was the mental link from the Golden Eagle he had sent to deliver information for the Li family.  

“Little Flying had an accident?”  

“No, it’s the family that’s in trouble!”  

Li Pingcan quickly learned the cause and effect from Little Flying. His originally peaceful eyes flashed with several streaks of killing intent.  

Miao Kai… was dead.  

Li Yuan, Li Chao, and Zhang Hua were attacked.  

Someone even set their sights on their parents in Peach Blossom Village.  

“Hoo…”  

Li Pingcan exhaled slowly, his chest burning with fury, but his rationality remained intact.  

He rose slowly, the aura around him, once relaxed by cultivation, instantly tightened like a bottomless ancient well—quiet, dark, and chilling without a ripple.  

“Blood River Gang… Zhou Tong… Endless Life Sect…”  

Li Pingcan silently repeated these names in his heart.  

He had always thought that his pursuit of power was to protect.  

To protect his family’s peaceful life, to protect the family’s long-lasting legacy. For that, he could endure tedious cultivation and carefully conceal himself like a patient hunter silently accumulating strength.  

He was never one to start trouble; he even enjoyed “fishing law enforcement,” controlling everything on the chessboard.  

But now.  

Someone had overturned his chessboard.  

Someone dared to touch his treasure.  

This was no longer a challenge—it was a strike to his reverse scales, a trampling of his bottom line.  

Little Flying emitted a worried cry in its consciousness.  

It had never seen Li Pingcan like this before. The usually gentle, patient companion now exuded a calm before the storm.  

Then Little Flying became furious, emitting a sharp throat cry. It had no real feelings for the Li family, but since its partner was angry and hurt, it would make someone pay.  

“Little Flying, go tell the brothers I’ll be there soon. Have them wait outside Black Cloud Temple and not act rashly.”  

Li Pingcan did not leave immediately.  

Anger did not cloud his judgment. Instead, his mind was clearer than ever.  

Since he decided to act, it wouldn’t be mere slaughter.  

He intended to eradicate the root, eliminate all future troubles.  

No matter what the Endless Life Sect was, since they dared to target the Li family, he would never let them go!  

Li Pingcan looked toward his cave, where his accumulated “weapons” were neatly arranged.  

Numerous explosive jars, mid-grade first-tier attack talismans, and a razor-sharp treasured throwing knife.  

No, it was not enough.  

His expression turned cold as he whispered among the trees.  

“I need some powerful ‘helpers.’ I will not let a single member of the Endless Life Sect escape!”