The beautiful woman’s voice was soft, laced with a delicate melancholy that drifted through the night air.

“A group of scoundrels from the demonic path attacked the Qian Family Fortress right in the middle of the Dual Cultivation Ceremony,” she explained, her tone pitiable. “The Family Head ordered us to hold our ground and await support. Fortunately, the immortals from the Joyous Union Sect arrived in time to repel them.”

A Dual Cultivation Ceremony?

Attacking demonic scoundrels?

A flicker of mockery passed through Li Meng’s eyes.

“Where are my fellow disciples?” Li Meng asked casually, his gaze lazily sweeping the surroundings.

“They are pursuing the fleeing enemies alongside the Family Head.”

As they spoke, they passed a courtyard. Inside stood a solitary Red Mulberry Tree.

Bathed in the pale moonlight, the tree emitted a faint, phosphorescent glow. It possessed a bizarre, almost sinister beauty.

“You’ve killed everyone in the Qian Family Fortress, haven’t you?”

Li Meng stopped walking.

His expression was impassive as he stared at the woman. Her body had gone rigid.

Li Meng had been willing to play along with her little act to see what the creature hiding in the shadows was truly planning. But the sight of the Red Mulberry Tree forced his hand.

He had to end this. Quickly.

The tree bore strange red fruits. They were large, round, and looked plump with juice.

But under the scrutiny of Li Meng’s Heavenly Eye, all falsehoods were laid bare.

Those were not fruits.

They were human cocoons.

The Red Mulberry Tree was draped in living, suffering cocoons. It was using a vile technique to drain the cultivation bases of the trapped cultivators.

The beautiful woman slowly turned around. A stiff, painted smile remained plastered on her face as she looked at Li Meng.

“Immortal… what are you tal—”

Li Meng did not give her the chance to finish.

With a casual flick of his sleeve, a golden talisman shot out from within his robes.

It transformed into a streak of golden light, tearing through the air towards the woman.

She had absolutely no time to react.

The golden light slammed into her instantly. A Soul Stilling Talisman plastered itself squarely onto her forehead.

The woman’s body stiffened, her gaze becoming vacant and dull. The talisman on her brow pulsed with a faint golden glow, sealing her movements.

Li Meng formed a single-handed seal.

Whoosh!

A flying sword shot out from the storage pouch at his waist.

In one swift, fluid motion, it pierced straight through the woman’s chest.

“How dare you!”

The instant the blade pierced her, a panicked roar of fury erupted from the depths of the mansion.

Li Meng’s face turned cold.

He shifted his hand seal. The flying sword that had impaled the woman flew back, looping through the air.

With a cold flash of steel, it cleanly severed her head.

Thud.

The woman’s round head tumbled to the ground. Her headless corpse slowly collapsed beside it.

The head rolled to a stop at Li Meng’s feet. Her beautiful eyes stared up at him, fixed in an expression of utter disbelief.

Had she really died just like that?

She was unwilling!

Li Meng flicked his sleeve again. The flying sword and the talisman returned to him, vanishing into his storage pouch.

He glanced down at the headless beauty, a trace of disgust flashing in his eyes.

“A pretty but foul husk.”

Summoning a gust of wind, Li Meng soared out of the corridor and landed in the courtyard beneath the Red Mulberry Tree.

Once on solid ground, he turned his gaze toward the sky above the mansion’s inner sanctum.

A strange mass of black mist had manifested in the air. The ominous cloud was churning, rapidly approaching his location.

“You wretched cur! You dare kill my wife! I’ll skin you alive, rip out your tendons, and fry your soul in oil day and night! You’ll beg for death but find no release!”

A voice dripping with venomous hatred rang out from the mist before it even arrived.

Li Meng chuckled lightly.

He flicked his sleeve once more. Riding the wind, he rose into the air, his white hair and robes fluttering as he hovered with an ethereal, sage-like grace.

“Demonic path cultivator! Slaughterer of living beings! Your sins reach the heavens! All who uphold righteousness have cause to slay you!”

Li Meng’s voice rang out clear and loud, amplified by his mana.

“Today, I shall vanquish this demon and uphold the Dao! State your name! I am Li Feiyu, an Inner Disciple of the Joyous Union Sect! I do not slay nameless foes!”

His demeanor was one of pure righteous indignation. Anyone watching would have been compelled to shout their approval. Truly, he looked every bit the immortal of the righteous path, possessing an aura of transcendent grace.

Li Meng glanced down at the Red Mulberry Tree in the courtyard below.

Junior Sister Yuan did not have much time left.

If he didn’t deal with this demonic cultivator quickly, not only would her cultivation base be completely drained, but her soul would be permanently ensnared.

“A mere early Foundation Establishment cultivator dares to be so arrogant? You are not worthy of knowing my name! I want you dead!”

The voice from within the black mist grew even more furious and unhinged.

Suddenly, the black mist churned violently.

Countless faces, contorted in agony, flickered in and out of view within the darkness. The sounds of wailing ghosts and howling wolves assailed the mind, shaking one’s very spirit.

“Today, I shall use you as a sacrifice! Consider it an honor to die beneath my Thousand Soul Banner!”

Thousand Soul Banner?

Li Meng narrowed his eyes slightly.

So, it was a Ghost Spirit Sect cultivator. The appearance of that wailing black mist had already given him a pretty good idea.

“Ten Thousand Ghosts Devour Souls! Feast!”

In an instant, a sinister ghostly aura enveloped the courtyard. A dense swarm of vengeful spirits surged out from the black mist, clawing and snarling as they pounced toward Li Meng like a tidal wave of death.

“Pathetic. A mere Thousand Soul Banner dares to call itself ‘Ten Thousand Ghosts’?”

Li Meng scoffed. “Today, I’ll show you what us righteous path cultivators are capable of!”

He formed another single-handed seal.

A golden talisman shot out from his storage pouch, hovering directly above his head.

BOOM!

The talisman erupted with ten thousand rays of brilliant golden light, transforming into a miniature golden sun.

The entire mansion complex was bathed in a blinding curtain of golden radiance.

Li Meng maintained his hand seal, murmuring incantations under his breath.

Ancient and vast Buddhist chants reverberated between heaven and earth.

The vengeful spirits charging toward Li Meng came to an abrupt halt. Their previously agonized expressions softened, replaced by looks of peace and serenity.

The Yin Fiend Qi clinging to their forms evaporated under the golden light. The vengeful spirits began to dissipate at a visible rate, purified instantly.

From within the distant black mist came a pained shriek.

“N-no… impossible! V-Vajra… Vajra Saint Buddha Chant? How can a disciple of the Joyous Union Sect possibly know the divine ability of a Buddhist Saint?!”

The voice was filled with panic and utter disbelief.

Bathed in the golden light, the black mist began to boil away like water dropped into a vat of hot oil.

“Li Feiyu! Just you wait! If I do not take revenge for this, I am no husband at all!”

The venomous voice was now laced with pain and bitter hatred. The black mist turned, fleeing rapidly toward the east.

“A mere mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator thinks he can escape?”

Li Meng sneered coldly.

He pointed a finger toward the fleeing mist.

A golden talisman shot from his sleeve like an arrow. It transformed into a streak of light, pursuing the escaping enemy mid-flight.

Suddenly, halfway to its target, it erupted with blinding Spiritual Power!

SHING!

It transformed into a massive, thirty-meter-long Spiritual Sword!

The powerful fluctuations forced the demonic cultivator hidden within the mist to glance back over his shoulder.

What he saw nearly scared the soul out of his body.

It was a thirty-meter-long Metal Element Spiritual Sword!

“A top-grade Spirit Sword Talisman? Damn it! Just who are you?!”

The Metal Element Spiritual Sword exuded a faint pressure akin to heavenly might. It was undoubtedly a top-tier treasure capable of Heavenly Resonance.

“GO!”

A roar tinged with heartache echoed from the black mist.

A massive skull shot out from the darkness, charging headlong to meet the incoming sword.

BOOM!

The thirty-meter spiritual sword collided with the giant skull. An explosion of black and golden spiritual light tore through the sky.

The massive skull shattered into fragments.

The spiritual sword, its energy spent, dissipated into motes of light.

“He actually managed to get away?”

Li Meng watched as the demonic cultivator vanished from sight in mere moments.

A flicker of regret passed through his eyes. He had been hoping to kill the man and loot his corpse.

After all, he was a mid-Foundation Establishment demonic path cultivator. His storage pouch must have been fat with valuable items.