In January of that year, the Ma Kingdom launched a war against seven neighboring countries, and smoke rose everywhere, leaving nothing but devastation in its wake.

Xu Hei still maintained the aura of a mortal, but with each step he took, it was as if he could shrink the earth to a mere inch, crossing thousands of feet in an instant.

As he traveled, Xu Hei pondered his actions.

"If I hadn't left Green Bamboo Residence, it wouldn't have been robbed."

"It was because I developed mortal emotions that I encountered such a ridiculous situation."

With his thoughts, Xu Hei's pace quickened.

He even suspected that it was the wooden carving he gave to Old Wu's descendants that triggered this series of events, bringing him trouble.

Otherwise, why was it that as soon as he gave away the carving, the place was robbed?

Or was it just a coincidence? Was there someone else behind the scenes causing trouble?

The prosperity of the past had vanished in an instant.

He passed by a main battlefield, where the plains were pitted and scarred, and the corpses piled up like mountains. Countless mortals and cultivators had died here, and rivers of blood flowed. Among them, he could see the shadows of those puppet cannons.

A question arose in Xu Hei's mind.

What is the mortal world?

Is the cultivation of the heart in the mortal world about building a small bamboo courtyard, drinking with people, and witnessing the joys and sorrows, the life and death of mortals?

Or is the scene before him the true mortal world?

Xu Hei remained silent for a long time, then stepped forward, walking over the bones.

"Senior..."

Suddenly, Xu Hei heard a familiar voice.

Turning his head, he saw a weak cry for help coming from the pile of corpses. It was a young man, covered in blood, lying among the dead. From his appearance, it seemed he had survived by playing dead.

This person was A Long.

"It's you." Xu Hei was taken aback.

Recalling that day in Sanli Town, with the raging fire, he had thought A Long was dead, but unexpectedly, he was still alive. Moreover, from his appearance, he had already reached the Qi Refining stage.

A Long struggled to crawl out from the pile of bodies, and Xu Hei noticed that A Long's lower body was gone, with excessive blood loss.

Even with his early stage of Qi Refining cultivation, he wouldn't live much longer.

"Senior, I never thought I'd meet you here one day." A Long forced a bitter smile.

"Why are you here?" Xu Hei asked.

A Long took several deep breaths, a hint of color returning to his pale face, and said with a smile, "Senior, that day in the high-class brothel, I was actually pretending to be drunk."

"The Ma Kingdom's army, to prevent any leaks, silenced everyone at the Feihu Escort Agency. I was the only one who survived. Those black-clothed people, remember them? They saved me and taught me a cultivation technique."

"In fact, that day in the river, I discovered them, and I deliberately concealed it."

As A Long spoke, he coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, and the color on his face faded significantly.

Xu Hei still remembered the scene from that day. No wonder A Long found nothing when checking underwater, leading to the ambush on the carriage.

Xu Hei initially thought of taking out a pill to save him, but then his eyes regained their calmness, and he said, "Do you have any last words?"

A Long shook his head, bitterly saying, "The great trend of the world is that long unity must divide, and long division must unite. No dynasty can maintain peace for more than a hundred years."

"Because land doesn't appear out of thin air, it must be seized, only... seized."

With that, A Long's voice abruptly stopped, as if he had lost all strength, and he breathed no more.

He died just like that in front of Xu Hei.

His eyes held regret and sorrow.

Xu Hei remembered that A Long's dream was to become a cultivator and look down on mortals like ants. But now, he had become a cultivator, yet still died like an ant.

Xu Hei did not bury him but stepped over A Long and the corpses of the masses, heading towards the capital of the Ma Kingdom.

He took out a wooden board and wrote a passage on it.

"Spiritual Qi does not appear or disappear out of thin air; it only transfers from one object to another."

After writing this, Xu Hei put the board away.

In the sky, a strange muffled thunder rumbled faintly, but Xu Hei did not hear it.

…………

The capital of the Ma Kingdom, White City.

This was the headquarters of the White Bone Sect, and also where Xu Hei sensed his wooden carving was located.

Xu Hei did not rush at full speed, still taking steps of a thousand feet, and arrived outside the city in three days.

"White Bone Sect, you couldn't resist making a move against me after failing to recruit me, could you?" A cold gleam flashed in Xu Hei's eyes.

He entered White City and headed straight for the source of his sensing.

Before long, he arrived at the entrance of a palace, having encountered no guards along the way. This was the main hall of the White Bone Sect, filled with vast waves of spiritual power, with the highest cultivation reaching the Elemental Infant stage.

With Xu Hei's current strength, even without using a trace of true essence or divine sense, he was not someone any Elemental Infant cultivator could contend with.

"I'll give you three breaths to return what you stole from me, intact."

Xu Hei stood before the door, speaking indifferently. Although his voice was not loud, he believed those inside could hear him.

After one breath, the door opened.

Xu Hei saw the old Taoist who had appeared that day, smiling as he said, "Friend, why are you so angry? I took your wooden carving only to give you a great gift, to assist you in reaching Divine Transformation."

"If you don't believe me, then let me help you reach Divine Transformation first, and then you can help me unify the hundred nations, how about that?" The white-bearded elder smiled, his eyes showing no malice, seemingly harmless.

Xu Hei didn't believe in things falling from the sky, he simply said coldly, "Two breaths!"

"Haha, no need to rush, take a look!"

The white-bearded elder pointed inside the palace.

Xu Hei stepped closer, and upon seeing it, his whole body trembled.

Although his expression didn't change much, his heart was already in turmoil.

Inside the palace appeared various demonic beasts, all of which Xu Hei had encountered before, or rather, had carved as sculptures.

These demonic beasts were no longer lifelike; they were alive, vividly alive!

For instance, the wild boar he first devoured was right in front, along with the octopus he had eaten... all the demonic beasts Xu Hei had sculpted appeared!

Xu Hei's gaze shifted to a massive figure beside him, a golden elephant with huge tusks, exuding a prehistoric aura. It was Man Jin.

"Brother Xu, we meet again." Man Jin stepped forward, its trunk emitting an elephant's call, possessing the unique charm of Man Jin, and said, "How are my children?"

"Xu Hei, do you remember me?" Another voice came, deep as thunder, it was the Purple Lightning Lion King, Lei Meng.

At this moment, Xu Hei felt his mind roaring, as if a storm was raging within.