CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 41: WOULDN’T IT BE FINE TO JUST KILL YOU?

The entrance to the Cave Mansion District at the Cyan Valley Marketplace.

He Luyuan stood vigilantly there, watching the crowd going in and out with anxiety.

The district is protected by the marketplace’s grand array, allowing access only through this entrance, and he had been guarding here for a full month now, aiming to prevent Lu Yan from sneaking away when he wasn’t paying attention.

With the agreed date approaching, He Luyuan’s heart grew more restless.

He realized that he had exposed too much in a moment of urgency that day, but it was a desperate action.

That important figure had issued a death order—Lu Yan must be brought over.

The thought of facing the wrath of that figure if he messed up caused He Luyuan’s heart to tremble.

He even began to regret getting involved with that figure at all.

This task promised great benefits if successful, but if failed, he would pay a tragic price.

For now, he could only hope that Lu Yan hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

As darkness slowly descended, realizing that today might end without any results, He Luyuan felt somewhat deflated.

Just at that moment, a figure wearing a cyan robe walked slowly out of the Cave Mansion District—Lu Yan, the person he had been eagerly waiting for.

Lu Yan’s handsome face bore a smile full of charm, subconsciously drawing people closer with his sunny disposition.

Seeing this, He Luyuan hurried forward, attempting to greet him.

But right as the sun dipped below the valley, its light vanished in the Cyan Valley Marketplace, Lu Yan’s aura seemed to plunge into the abyss, with the warmth in his eyes replaced by icy coldness, reflecting countless deceased souls.

He Luyuan stood frozen until Lu Yan’s voice broke his reverie.

"Fellow Daoist He?"

He Luyuan shuddered instinctively, looking anew at Lu Yan, the prior moment of gaze feeling like an illusion.

He noted that Lu Yan’s cultivation had already advanced to the mid-stage of Qi Cultivation.

"Mid-stage Qi Cultivation, just mid-stage Qi Cultivation."

Murmuring a few comforting words to himself, He Luyuan calmed his nerves and spoke with a smile:

"Fellow Daoist Lu, you’ve made me wait quite bitterly!"

Lu Yan showed slight regret on his face: "Apologies, Fellow Daoist He."

Glancing at the already set sun, Lu Yan added:

"Since I’ve wasted so much of your time, how about we hurry our journey tonight to meet the Daoist fellow you mentioned?"

For some reason, He Luyuan had an instinctive urge to refuse Lu Yan’s suggestion.

But in the end, the pressure from that important figure overwhelmed his instincts, making him agree immediately.

"Alright!"

With that said, the two left the Cyan Valley Marketplace.

To Lu Yan’s mild surprise, He Luyuan had a low-grade flying magical artifact—flying ship—in his hand.

Though it’s only the most basic flying magical artifact, its value was nearly a hundred Spirit Stones, which pleased Lu Yan.

With the convenience of the flying magical artifact, they reached the destination He Luyuan mentioned in less than an hour.

The place was a small courtyard deep within Wushan, with no presence of Spirit Veins, and the Spiritual Qi was much thinner compared to the marketplace. The courtyard was hidden by a layer of restriction that blurred Lu Yan’s view.

Even Lu Yan found it puzzling why a cultivator would reside in such deep wilderness.

Descending at the gate, He Luyuan showed a humble demeanor and respectfully spoke:

"He Luyuan seeks an audience with Lord Shen!"

A lazy voice slowly rose from within the courtyard: "Come in."

The invisible restriction opened, and a rush of rich Spiritual Qi surged towards Lu Yan, its density even surpassed that of a middle-grade Cave Mansion at the Cyan Valley Marketplace.

Surprised, Lu Yan stepped into the courtyard and immediately smelled a strong scent of blood.

In the central courtyard stood a tall pillar, and hanging on the pillar were three corpses of terrifying appearance.

Rust-stained iron hooks pierced their collarbones, suspending the bodies in the air, with scars deep to the bone across their bodies. The wounds had long decomposed, crawling with wriggling maggots, and their hollow eye sockets left only darkness.

Lu Yan’s Spiritual Sense could detect that a soul on one of the corpses barely dissipated, indicating it had not long died under torture.

Beneath the three bodies stood a young man adorned in a crimson robe embroidered with fresh red lotuses, who casually discarded his small knife, his alluring features full of disappointment.

"I thought the so-called Ten Thousand Beast Banner was just hearsay; I didn’t expect someone to have indeed researched something."

"These three claimed to have encountered the maker of the Ten Thousand Beast Banner—pity they know not the person’s identity, truly useless trash!"

Lu Yan’s pupils contracted slightly.

If what this young man said was true, the three bodies before him were the scavenger squad he had briefly interacted with.

His gaze discreetly swept across the three corpses, indistinguishable yet vaguely recognizable as the three young men and women. The middle-aged man he dealt with wasn’t among them.

The young man flicked his finger, igniting three blood-like crimson flames upon the corpses, where the blood-red fire engulfed and devoured them.

After completing this, the young man finally looked toward Lu Yan, a smile curving his lips.

"Do you know why I didn’t directly Soul Search them and chose torture instead?"

Lu Yan remained silent, with He Luyuan trembling and stammering:

"No, I do not."

"Within the sect, some believe we’re to incite chaos across the lands, drawing Karmic Force amid turbulent times as the wise choice.

But I think the Karmic Force provided by individual living beings is not inferior to disorder’s chaos.

I prolonged their lives for ten days, and during these days, they endured the world’s most agonizing torments.

From initial fear to begging for mercy, then resentment—their torment-filled emotions turned into pure Karmic Force upon their souls’ shattering, feeding back to me at the moment they perished."

The young man extended his right hand, Karmic Force morphing into crimson flames that danced at his fingertips.

Then his gaze turned towards Lu Yan, as his soft voice smoothly rose:

"Did you kill Steward Mo’s kin and take his storage bag?"

Lu Yan didn’t attempt to explain that Shopkeeper Chu was responsible—it would be meaningless, only dragging in more issues.

He simply asked calmly, "How did you find out?"

"Though similar, Spirit Talismans’ material varies regionally among different forces.

The Red Lotus Demon Sect’s Spirit Talismans use Blood Lotus Leaves as a material, scarce within Cyan Simurgh Sect’s territory—most won’t notice the difference, but in the hands of a Spirit Talisman Master, it’s easy to discern."

The young man rarely offered an explanation before speaking with interest:

"It seems you’re practicing the ’Red Lotus Karma Fire Scripture.’ In less than a year, your cultivation has reached such a level, with pure Magical Power showing no sign of pill ingestion, indicating potential.

I can offer an opportunity: allow me to cast a Karmic Curse Seal upon your soul, and I’ll take you as a servant into the Red Lotus Demon Sect.

You’d receive the complete Cultivation Technique heritage, while any trouble with Steward Mo, I’ll personally resolve for you."

"But what if I refuse?"

The smile on the young man’s face vanished as the full pressure of a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator fell upon Lu Yan.

"Then, like them, you’ll taste the world’s most agonizing torments.

Your merit isn’t lacking; hopefully, your endurance surpasses theirs."

Just before the pressure touched Lu Yan, his voice finally rose.

"I think there’s a third choice."

The Hundred Soul Banner fell into Lu Yan’s hand, raising it briefly, cloaking the sky in ghost mist, unleashing Ghostly Realm to breach the courtyard’s restriction and engulf everything.

As a hundred ghosts swirled around him, Lu Yan directed the Soul Banner toward the young man, speaking softly:

"Isn’t killing you just fine?"