The three major martial halls of Forty-Nine City each followed their own paths, with vastly different atmospheres.

Baolin Martial Hall valued most highly the disciples’ comprehension and foundation, walking the path of internal boxing arts.

The old hall master’s theory of the “Three Courages—Qi Courage, Blood Courage, Bone Courage” had long resonated deeply with the people.

Because of this, compared to Revival and Virtue Treasure Halls, which focused solely on rigorously training the physique, Baolin placed extra emphasis on disposition when selecting disciples.

Yet the word “disposition” was inherently intangible—how could it compare to the tangible reality of a body full of muscle?

Look no further than the inner sect’s rising star, Wan Yuxuan—didn’t he also walk the path of a physique as mighty as a demon beast’s?

Precisely because of this, in recent years, Baolin Martial Hall had produced far fewer accomplished disciples. Not to mention the eighth-rank Muscle-Strengthening or seventh-rank Membrane Condensation realms—even among apprentices crossing the ninth-rank Life-Death Barrier, the elimination rate reached a full fifty percent.

Ever since the Great Shun Dynasty’s dragon banner still flew above the city walls, the three major martial halls had been allocated identical quotas of rank-advancement medicinal soups.

Yet compared to Baolin, Virtue Martial Hall saw over sixty percent of its members successfully cross the ninth-rank Life-Death Refinement, while Revival Martial Hall soared to seventy percent. Under such circumstances, promising talents naturally flocked to Revival.

As time passed, Baolin Martial Hall’s disciple numbers fell far behind the other two.

Beyond martial styles, Baolin Martial Hall’s operational approach was also distinctive.

Compared to the other two halls, which tightly controlled their subordinate forces, Baolin emphasized “cooperation” rather than “domination.”

Take the Clear Gang, for instance. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t under Baolin’s sphere of influence; the two were more like interdependent partners.

In peaceful times, such a “benevolent” style would naturally attract many factions to align with them. But these were chaotic times… this approach now seemed somewhat inadequate.

Take tonight’s “Fire Lotus Grass,” the herb sustaining Zhao Mu’s life. Such a critical resource was actually in short supply because the Feng family had secretly reduced shipments?

If this were one of the other two martial halls, how could such an absurd situation arise?

After all, they managed their subordinate mines with iron control, even assigning fixed personnel to oversee daily transport.

The three major mines outside Forty-Nine City: the Li, Chen, and Qian families.

The Li family fell under Revival Martial Hall’s control, the Qian family was firmly in Virtue Martial Hall’s grasp, and only the Chen family—home to the brothers Chen Jiang and Chen Hai—walked closest with Baolin Martial Hall.

By this calculation, Baolin Martial Hall actually had no mining operations truly in its own hands, relying mostly on the support of Forty-Nine City’s largest gang, the Clear Gang.

As for transportation within Little Blue Garment Ridge, Baolin Martial Hall had always depended on the Feng family.

Now, the traditionally neutral Feng family, seeing Baolin Martial Hall’s gradual decline, had begun to harbor other intentions.

This wasn’t limited to the Feng family alone.

In the past, when Baolin was at its peak with “one sect, two fifth-ranks,” who would have paid any mind to such things?

But now, with Lin Junqing having fallen in realm and the old hall master far away in Shen City…

At this precarious moment, last night, Baolin Martial Hall’s frontline camp in Little Blue Garment Ridge had suffered a mishap. Their decline was fully exposed.

This only made those wavering factions in the shadows even more inclined to “assess the situation.”

Baolin now truly carried the air of an approaching storm, dark clouds pressing down on the city.

This, no doubt, was why Chen Xiong—a seventh-rank Membrane Condensation Realm expert and vice-director of Four Seas Courtyard—had to personally venture into danger.

Thinking of this, Xiangzi could only sigh softly, watching from afar the figures ahead moving with extremely light steps.

He had to admit, these senior brothers… were moving a bit too slowly.

Tonight, the heavens were unkind. The crescent moon hid behind dark clouds.

The night was like an overturned ink pool, wiping out even the brightest stars, wrapping the world in a shroud of darkness.

Accustomed to the light-polluted skies of his previous life, Xiangzi had initially struggled to adapt to this “can’t see your own hand in front of your face” thick darkness.

But now, he no longer needed to adapt.

Ever since swallowing that tiger demon’s “Qi-Blood Marrow,” his eyes no longer distinguished between night and day—in fact, he seemed to see even more clearly in the dark.

At this moment, he trailed far behind Deputy Master Chen’s group, a full several dozen zhang away, yet their every move was crystal clear to him.

Perhaps to avoid alarming the greater demons, Deputy Master Chen hadn’t made a move along the way, leaving all the ranked demon beasts to Liu Yi.

Liu Yi lived up to his reputation, second only to Wan Yuxuan. With his long blade in hand, every strike was ruthless.

Relying on the eighth-rank Muscle-Strengthening Realm’s membrane perception, even in the dark, he could precisely strike demon beasts lunging from the shadows—somewhat embodying the Mind-Intent Six Harmonies Fist’s principle of striking second but arriving first.

Watching this, Xiangzi gleaned a few more insights from that bold and sweeping blade technique.

However, this surging of qi and blood naturally drew the attention of surrounding hidden demon beasts. Xiangzi spotted a tiger demon, at least at the ninth-rank perfection realm, crouching in the forest, its ferocious eyes fixed on them.

Further out, in the layered underbrush, more demon beasts gradually revealed themselves.

Many of these could restrain their qi and blood, and with the cover of night, even a seventh-rank expert like Deputy Master Chen would struggle to detect them immediately unless they attacked.

Suddenly, blade light flashed in the darkness.

His senior brothers were once again surrounded by demon beasts.

Though under Liu Yi’s lead, the inner sect brothers cut through them like vegetables, it inevitably delayed their progress.

Xiangzi let out a long sigh—at this rate, when would they smoothly reach the Cold Water Pool that Senior Brother Tang mentioned?

If they were any later, Zhao Mu truly wouldn’t hold on.

—

At this moment, Xiangzi moved like an ape, leaping from treetop to treetop.

Thanks to the qi-blood crimson pearl in his dantian, as long as he deliberately restrained it, not a trace of qi-blood fluctuation escaped him.

When he first entered the ninth rank, Xiangzi had thought this ability useless—merely actively restraining qi and blood, something most ranked demon beasts could do. But human martial artists’ physiques differed from demons; only upon reaching the sixth-rank Qi-Locking Realm could they close their pores and lock their entire qi mechanism, making their qi-blood undetectable.

Now, however, Xiangzi truly appreciated the wonder of this ability—in the perception of those demon beasts, he was merely a slightly larger ordinary human.

With the inner sect senior brothers ahead acting as bait, no high-rank demons targeted him.

As for the few unranked ones, he needed no qi-blood fluctuation. Relying solely on his astonishing skin, membrane, and muscles, he could skewer them with the spear in his hand.

For a time, perched on a treetop, Xiangzi watched the distant chaos of blade light and sword shadows, feeling a twinge of loneliness.

With a twist of his waist and a tremble of his body…

His figure left several afterimages in the air, landing lightly on another large tree.

Without activating his qi and blood, relying solely on this terrifying physique, he could achieve such feats. If others saw this, their eyes would likely pop out.

Was this still a martial artist?

He was more like a demon beast that prowled by night.

—

After an unknown time, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

In the distance, he could finally see a mirror-like pool of water—this was Cold Water Pool.

Though called a pool, it was more like a lake.

Faint mist drifted over the water’s surface. As the night wind blew, Xiangzi could clearly see pale golden mineral dust rising from the lake.

This area was near the middle of Little Blue Garment Ridge. Compared to the outskirts, the mineral dust was noticeably denser—even Xiangzi felt his qi and blood slightly suppressed.

The pool was deep and dark, with no tall trees around it.

On the faintly golden-gleaming mud by the pool’s edge grew pitch-black, lotus-like stalks—Xiangzi’s heart leapt with joy. This must be the “Fire Lotus Grass.”

The grass was ink-black, with only five or six stalks, hidden in the underbrush. Even with Xiangzi’s vision, he would have missed them without careful attention.

He wondered if his senior brothers could find this place smoothly.

But Senior Brother Tang’s directions were accurate. Deputy Master Chen’s group was heading this way.

Xiangzi gazed into the distance. Several li from the Fire Lotus Grass stood a stockade—this was Baolin Martial Hall’s forward camp.

The golden-threaded banner still flew in the stockade, but there wasn’t a single soul inside.

The thick walls, built from sturdy giant logs, were smashed to pieces. With his eerie vision, Xiangzi could even see specks of blood and deep claw marks on the walls.

The widespread wreckage alone revealed the brutality and bloodiness of last night’s battle.

In the stockade, wolf demon corpses lay scattered about. He could even see a white wolf—a ninth-rank peak beast, just one step from eighth rank.

Just counting the wolf demon corpses in the stockade, there were dozens.

By this calculation, the wolf demon pack that suddenly attacked the forward base must have numbered over a hundred.

No wonder the forward camp couldn’t hold—most of its members were outer sect disciples. Caught off guard by such an assault, how could they withstand a siege of ranked wolf demons?

But the strange part was that even wolf demons, known for pack behavior, rarely gathered in such numbers.

A formation like this would make even eighth-rank demon beasts steer clear.

Could it be… as Senior Brother Liu guessed, that these wolf demons were being manipulated by some high-rank greater demon?

Such a rare occurrence was truly unheard of!

Suddenly, the night wind stirred, and Xiangzi’s brows furrowed slightly—the hairs on his arms stood on end.

After entering the ninth rank, his sensitivity to auras had grown increasingly acute. In Zhao Mu’s words, it was no less than a ninth-rank great accomplishment cultivator.

Now, he caught a faint, fishy stench, so subtle it was nearly imperceptible in the night wind.

Yet this scent carried an unusual sense of danger. Almost instantly, his skin and membrane tensed reflexively, and the qi-blood crimson pearl in his dantian trembled. Fortunately, Xiangzi suppressed it firmly, preventing even a trace of qi-blood from leaking.

The pool water suddenly rippled.

A massive snake, black as ink, burst from the water.

Its enormous body landed on the soft mud, leaving only a faint trace.

As it slithered, it didn’t seem fast, yet in the blink of an eye, it reached the abandoned forward base.

Seeing the wolf demon corpses, its ghostly golden vertical pupils flashed, and saliva dripped from its sharp fangs.

With a flick of its thick tongue, several wolf demon corpses fell into its bucket-sized maw.

Xiangzi finally understood why the wolf demon corpses had remained until now—this was the snake’s territory.

Presumably, when Baolin’s forward base was still active, the snake had been wary and avoided coming ashore. But now, with the tempting wolf demon corpses, it could no longer suppress its wild nature.

The Five Elements teach that metal begets water; water demons near metal-type mineral veins are often more formidable.

This snake’s body was enormous, over ten zhang long and as thick as a round table.

Its dark vertical pupils were pure golden-orange, with two rings of fine golden lines in the pupils—at least an eighth-rank demon beast.

Judging by its nearly transparent scales, it might even be at the eighth-rank peak.

One more step, and an eighth-rank peak would become a seventh-rank python demon capable of wielding demonic arts!

Legends say that python demons cultivated to the extreme could grow horns and summon wind and rain as they moved.

Seeing this snake demon, Xiangzi’s heart jolted—this forward camp was the only path to harvest Fire Lotus Grass.

If unprepared, Deputy Master Chen’s group would suffer greatly.

After all, the mineral dust was draining, this was deep within Little Blue Garment Ridge, and the night hindered movement. Even a seventh-rank Membrane Condensation Realm martial artist would be restrained and unable to fully unleash their power.

Moreover, it was said that Deputy Master Chen was only at the seventh-rank minor accomplishment realm. It was unknown if he could defeat this eighth-rank peak snake demon.

Suddenly, Xiangzi’s brows furrowed—he clearly saw several deep claw marks on the snake’s body.

As it moved, crimson blood mixed with a faint golden hue flowed down, seeping into the mud.

No wonder the snake risked coming ashore; it was gravely injured and urgently needed to devour demon beast corpses to restore its qi and blood.

But… why did the claw marks on its body resemble those on the logs?

Could it be that the wolf demons that attacked Baolin’s forward camp had also ambushed this snake demon?

When had this demon-infested Little Blue Garment Ridge become the domain of demon wolves?—

As Baolin Martial Hall’s group drew closer, the snake naturally heard the sounds of battle.

By now, most of the wolf demon corpses in the forward camp had entered its belly. Its stomach bulged, but its golden vertical pupils grew solemn.

Clearly, it was hesitating.

The martial artists outside had vigorous qi and blood. Swallowing them might fully restore its cultivation—but in its current heavily injured state, it had no absolute confidence in taking them down.

It reluctantly glanced at the remaining wolf demons, twisted its body into an S-shape, and in a blink, slithered out of the stockade.

Just as the snake headed toward Cold Water Pool…

A towering surge of qi and blood suddenly erupted outside the stockade.

“You damned snake demon! It was you who harmed my Baolin disciples! Today, I’ll smash you to pieces!”

In Deputy Master Chen’s hand appeared a pale silver mace, half as tall as a man. With a single step, surging qi waves rippled around him.

His burly frame was like a demonic god as he charged straight at the snake.

For a moment… even the snake was stunned.

Not just the snake—Xiangzi, watching from afar, was dumbfounded.

Wasn’t Four Seas Courtyard’s vice-director a bit too ferocious? No words, just straight to the fight?

Truly living up to his name—Chen Xiong was indeed supremely heroic!

One man, one demon, immediately entangled in combat.

This was Xiangzi’s first time witnessing a seventh-rank martial artist’s battle up close. Compared to Liu Yi’s ruthless yet elegant style, this vice-director’s fighting was bold and fierce, with no hesitation.

His mace swung like the wind, each strike like exploding thunder.

Relying on his formidable skin and membrane, even in the night mineral zone, facing an eighth-rank peak demon beast alone, Chen Xiong was not at a disadvantage in the slightest.

This was a snake demon, publicly acknowledged as having the strongest combat power.

This was the seventh-rank Membrane Condensation Realm? Truly worthy of being the peak of Bright Force.

At that moment, Xiangzi heard Chen Xiong’s loud shout from afar: “Liu Yi… hurry and find the Fire Lotus Grass!”

Chen Xiong’s body paused, then leaped several zhang away, clearly intending to lure the snake away.

Xiangzi’s heart eased—Deputy Master Chen wasn’t entirely reckless. With Chen Xiong drawing the demon beasts away, harvesting the Fire Lotus Grass would be much easier.

Hearing this, the inner sect senior brothers no longer concealed their movements and sprinted toward Cold Water Pool.

He only wondered if, with their vision, they could smoothly find the Fire Lotus Grass.

But just then…

Xiangzi, perched on the treetop, suddenly trembled.

A chill shot up his spine, the hairs on his neck standing on end.

From the dense forest beyond Cold Water Pool came a faint rustling sound.

In the pitch-black night, dozens of ghostly golden vertical pupils faintly appeared.

Wolf demons!

No—more accurately, a wolf demon pack.

Xiangzi even vaguely saw, in the depths of the forest, a snow-white wolf demon coldly staring at the distant battle between man and snake.

Compared to the white wolf corpse in the forward camp, this white wolf was larger.

Its shoulder height exceeded one zhang, its muscle lines faintly visible beneath its deep fur.

Most critically—its vertical pupils bore two faint rings of golden lines.

This was an eighth-rank metal-type wolf demon—a wolf demon king!

Xiangzi’s heart jolted—these wolf demons… were clearly under this white wolf demon king’s leadership, preparing to hunt the snake demon.

And even Deputy Master Chen… had likely become their prey.