The two severed halves of the thin cultivator had not yet hit the forest floor when Han Yu’s second killing move detonated.

BOOM!

A blinding arc of lightning exploded from behind the puppet Li Ya. The energy coalesced into a silver serpent as thick as a rice bowl, lunging straight for the burly cultivator with a deafening crack.

The Golden Spotted Leopard had barely bared its fangs when the lightning struck. The beast was charred black in an instant, collapsing to the ground as a smoking carcass.

A layer of protective spiritual light shimmered into existence before the burly cultivator, but against the Foundation Establishment might of the Thunder Lightning Talisman, it was meaningless. The barrier shattered. The defensive necklace at his throat disintegrated.

The burly man was blasted backward, flying through the air like a ragged sack for three zhang. He smashed through a thick tree trunk before finally tumbling to a stop.

Before blood could even seep from his mouth or nose, the intense heat had already cauterized his wounds. He was dead before he hit the ground, his body charred and lifeless.

“Foundation Establishment Talisman!”

The female cultivator’s scream cracked with terror.

Frantically forming hand seals, she poured her Spirit Breath into the Plantain Leaf, desperate to retreat.

It was too late. Twenty-one black shadows erupted from the canopy.

The murder of crows descended. The largest had a wingspan of five chi, while even the smallest spanned nearly two. They swarmed together, dense and oppressive, as if a black cloud was pressing down upon the forest.

There was no preamble. The alpha crow beat its wings, launching four translucent Wind Blades. The smaller crows followed suit, unleashing a barrage of razor-sharp air currents.

In an instant, a storm of Wind Blades swept forward, sealing off every angle of escape.

Han Yu, controlling the puppet Li Ya, raised a hand. The black robes snapped in the gale as he activated a Wind Blade Talisman, adding yet another layer to the lethal encirclement.

The female cultivator shoved her Plantain Leaf forward as a shield and crushed two Protection Talismans in her hands. As the barriers flickered to life, she shrieked, “Spare me! I can be useful to you—”

There was no response.

The Wind Blades swirled around her like a tide. The Plantain Leaf and the double-layered barrier were ground down in seconds by the saturated bombardment.

Her plea turned into a wretched scream.

Then, silence. A mangled, unrecognizable mass of flesh slumped to the ground.

The puppet Li Ya stood amidst the carnage, scanning the perimeter.

The forest returned to an eerie stillness. Smoke curled from the charred earth. On the ground lay three and a half corpses: the burly man, the woman, the leopard… and the lower half of the thin cultivator.

The upper half, trailing a gruesome streak of blood, had dragged itself behind a tree.

Han Yu mentally commanded the Flame Technique crow.

It had held back during the wind barrage; now, it had a target.

A burst of fire shot toward the tree, scorching the earth behind it. But the flames hit nothing.

Empty?

The alpha crow soared higher, its dark golden pupils sweeping the terrain with predatory focus. Suddenly, it cawed sharply at a patch of tall grass in the opposite direction.

“Caw!”

There was no blood trail leading there. The empty space behind the tree had been a deliberate feint.

The murder of crows immediately redirected, circling the grass. Li Ya stepped onto his Plantain Leaf, hovering toward the location while activating another Protection Talisman.

Realizing his deception had failed and the encirclement was complete, the thin cultivator knew there was no path to survival. His remaining upper torso rose from the weeds, his face twisted in a final, desperate snarl.

“Let’s die together!”

With a roar, the spiritual light on his flying sword surged to a blinding intensity. The blade, pushed to the brink of shattering, shot toward Li Ya like a bolt of light.

Han Yu reacted instantly. The puppet’s left hand fired a Sharp Gold Technique, the right a Wind Blade Technique, while simultaneously triggering a second Protection Talisman.

The crows poured their own Wind Blades onto the cultivator’s exposed torso, shredding him instantly.

But the flying sword, now a volatile bomb, tore through the puppet’s counter-attacks. It smashed through the Sharp Gold and Wind Blade spells, then pierced the first layer of the Protection Technique like a hot knife through butter.

However, that fraction of a second was all Han Yu needed.

He commanded Li Ya to abandon the Plantain Leaf, leaping down to the forest floor to clear the blast zone.

A breath later, the glowing sword screamed over the abandoned leaf. It disintegrated in mid-air, unleashing a violent explosion. Blinding light and searing heat rolled through the clearing, incinerating the nearby foliage.

As the shockwave subsided, Han Yu issued a mental command. The flock of crows immediately split into three precise squads.

The first squad descended on the remains, pecking through skulls to ensure total death.

The second squad looted the bodies, stripping Magical Artifacts and Storage Bags.

The third squad dragged the corpses into a pile.

Finally, the Flame Technique crow swooped down. Once the loot was secured, it spewed a torrent of fire, reducing the pile of flesh and bone to ash.

Under Han Yu’s remote direction, the cleanup was orderly, steady, and swift. Within moments, the battlefield was sanitized.

Li Ya retrieved the Plantain Leaf and sped away. The crows, carrying the spoils in their talons, scattered into the canopy. Han Yu didn’t linger near the Green Grain Market; he steered the puppet deep into the dense woods near the Spirit Field Department.

Long after he vanished, other figures from the Small Gathering cautiously approached the scene. Even the merchant’s puppet arrived to investigate.

The site was a mess of chaotic energy signatures, suggesting a brawl between multiple parties. But amidst the confusion, one detail stood out to the scavengers.

“Someone used a Foundation Establishment Talisman.”

“Fifty Spirit Stones for a single strike? Who is this ruthless person?”

“A new predator has entered the Small Gathering… It’s getting harder for us Rogue Cultivators to survive.”

Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, dappling the forest floor in gold and shadow.

The crows perched silently on the branches, their dark forms blending perfectly with the bark as they guarded their master.

Han Yu deactivated the puppet Li Ya and began to inventory the harvest.

From the traveling merchant, he had acquired a Jade Slip detailing the Geographical Powers of the Southern Region.

The female cultivator’s Storage Bag contained fifty Spirit Stones, two Protection Talismans, a Wanchun Valley Outer Disciple jade pendant, and the corresponding green robes. There was also a Jade Slip for the Green Grain Qi Cultivation Method. More disturbingly, he found a set of poison needles and a vial of toxin—the very weapons she had used against Li Ya. Since the puppet had no blood to poison, her ambush had been doomed from the start.

It appeared she had murdered a real Wanchun Valley Outer Disciple in the past, keeping the uniform to set up confidence scams or infiltrations.

The thin cultivator’s bag held sixty to seventy Spirit Stones and a bottle of Qi Condensation Pills. He was a hoarder of knowledge; his bag was stuffed with generic Rogue Cultivator manuals like the Qi Refining Formula and Flame Technique.

However, two Jade Slips stood out as true treasures.

The first was the Spirit Eye Technique. This spell allowed the user to perceive the intensity of spiritual light on others—a “fat sheep” detector. It explained how they had singled out Li Ya; the puppet’s dense spiritual energy must have shone like a beacon to him.

The second was the Object Explosion Technique. This was the suicide art the man had used to detonate his flying sword—a desperate move that momentarily unleashed power rivaling a Foundation Establishment strike.

Both secret techniques were incredibly practical for someone like Han Yu.

Finally, the burly Spirit Beast Sect disciple yielded the richest haul: a Spirit Beast Sect Keepsake Token, a Spirit Beast Bag, a Beast Heart Psychic Pact manual, a bottle of Spirit Beast Pills, and over a hundred Spirit Stones. There were also bottles of Qi Gathering Pills and various combat talismans.

The total tally was substantial: over two hundred Spirit Stones, a stockpile of pills, and three key manuals—Spirit Eye Technique, Object Explosion Technique, and the Southern Region Geography.

Most of the enemies’ defensive and offensive artifacts had been destroyed in the battle, leaving only the woman’s poison set and the Spirit Beast gear intact.

Han Yu held the Spirit Beast Sect token, his thumb tracing the cold metal. After a few moments of contemplation, he looked up at the alpha crow.

“Bring me the two Storage Bags I entrusted to you earlier.”

With these new resources—specifically the Object Explosion Technique and the disguise gear—it was the perfect time to eliminate all previous hidden dangers.