The Azure Crane Sect had fallen silent.
Moments ago, screams and explosions filled the compound. Now, only the wind moved through the broken buildings. The courtyard was stained red, and the bodies of disciples lay scattered across the stone ground.
Su Qingyun stood in the center of the ruined courtyard.
Her sword was still in her hand.
Blood slowly dripped from its edge.
The revenge she had waited years for had finally begun.
But something in her heart told her this was not the end.
She slowly walked deeper into the sect compound.
The large halls that once looked respectable now felt empty and hollow.
Her footsteps echoed softly as she entered the first building.
Inside were shelves filled with scrolls and cultivation manuals. Some contained ordinary techniques, while others appeared to be business records.
Nothing unusual.
She continued walking.
Room after room.
Every door she encountered was pushed open.
Some rooms were living quarters where disciples once slept.
Others contained weapons and training equipment.
A few rooms held storage for spirit stones and medicinal herbs.
But everywhere she went…
There was silence.
No surviving disciples.
No hidden ambushes.
Su Qingyun spread her spiritual sense, allowing her perception to sweep through the surrounding buildings.
Her senses covered every corridor and hidden corner.
Nothing.
After nearly an hour of searching, she stood in the center of the main hall once again.
Her expression remained calm.
"It seems… no one is left."
She had eliminated everyone connected to this branch of the Black Society.
At least… that was what she believed.
Just as she turned to leave, something caught her attention.
Her spiritual sense detected a strange disturbance near the back wall of the hall.
It was extremely faint.
If she had not been carefully scanning the area, she might have missed it entirely.
She slowly approached the wall.
Behind a large decorative screen carved with images of cranes and mountains, she felt it again.
A hollow space.
Her eyes narrowed.
"A hidden passage…"
Without hesitation, she raised her hand.
Spiritual energy gathered in her palm.
Boom!
The wall shattered instantly.
Fragments of stone scattered across the hall.
Behind the broken wall was a narrow stone doorway.
A staircase descended into darkness.
Cold air drifted upward from below.
Su Qingyun stared into the darkness for a moment.
Then she stepped forward.
The moment she entered, the temperature dropped noticeably.
The deeper she walked, the colder it became.
The underground passage was completely dark.
She raised her hand and gathered spiritual energy.
A small spiritual flame appeared above her palm, illuminating the narrow corridor.
The flickering light revealed the walls.
They were stained with dark marks.
Blood.
Chains hung from hooks embedded into the stone.
Broken shackles lay scattered along the ground.
Su Qingyun's expression slowly hardened.
She continued down the stairs.
Each step echoed softly through the underground passage.
Finally, the corridor opened into a large chamber.
And when the light from her flame spread across the room—
She froze.
It was an underground prison.
Rows of iron cages lined the stone walls.
Inside them were bodies.
Some lay motionless on the ground.
Others were slumped against the bars, their bones visible beneath pale skin.
Many had already died.
But what disturbed Su Qingyun even more was what lay beyond the cages.
Scattered across the stone floor were bodies that looked… wrong.
Some had limbs twisted at unnatural angles.
Others had parts of their bodies that appeared to have been altered.
One corpse had an arm that looked like it had been replaced with something monstrous.
Another had two sets of ribs protruding from its chest.
Several bodies looked swollen and deformed.
These were not natural deaths.
These people had been used for experiments.
Su Qingyun's fingers slowly clenched into fists.
"So this is what they were doing here…"
The so-called Azure Crane Sect had not only been a cover for the Black Society.
It had also been a place where innocent people were imprisoned and experimented on.
Her heart tightened.
If she had come earlier…
Perhaps some of these people might still be alive.
"I was too late…"
For the first time since she began her revenge, regret surfaced in her heart.
The underground chamber was silent.
The only sound was the faint crackling of the flame in her hand.
After a moment, Su Qingyun slowly turned around.
There was nothing she could do for the dead.
She began walking toward the staircase.
But just as she reached the first step—
A faint sound reached her ears.
"…Help…"
Su Qingyun froze.
Her eyes widened slightly.
She turned around.
The underground chamber was still.
For a moment, she wondered if she had imagined the voice.
Then she heard it again.
"…Help… me…"
The voice was extremely weak.
Barely louder than a whisper.
But it was there.
Someone was still alive.
Su Qingyun immediately ran toward the sound.
Her flame illuminated the darker corners of the prison as she searched.
The voice seemed to come from the far end of the chamber.
She passed several broken cages.
Inside them were skeletons or lifeless bodies.
But the faint breathing she sensed grew stronger as she moved deeper.
Finally—
She reached the last cage in the corner of the chamber.
The iron bars were rusted and bent.
Inside, a small figure lay on the cold stone floor.
A child.
A boy.
He looked no older than ten.
His body was thin and covered in bruises.
Several chains were wrapped around his wrists and ankles.
His clothes were torn, and his breathing was extremely weak.
When Su Qingyun stepped closer, the boy slowly lifted his head.
His eyes were barely open.
"…Help…"
The word escaped his lips like a dying whisper.
Then his head dropped again.
His body trembled weakly.
Su Qingyun's heart tightened.
Out of everyone imprisoned here…
Only this child had survived.
She stepped closer to the cage and raised her sword.
With a single swing—
Clang!
The iron bars shattered.
She quickly broke the chains binding the boy.
The moment the restraints fell away, the child collapsed forward.
Su Qingyun caught him before he hit the ground.
He was light.
Far too light.
As if he had not eaten properly for a long time.
She looked down at the boy's pale face.
For the first time since she started this massacre…
The cold expression in her eyes softened slightly.
"You're safe now," she said quietly.
But the boy did not respond.
He had already lost consciousness.
Su Qingyun looked around the underground prison once more.
Her eyes slowly hardened again.
The Black Society had committed countless crimes here.
Destroying this sect was not enough.
Holding the unconscious child carefully, she turned and began walking back toward the staircase.
Above ground…
The sunlight was still shining.
But Su Qingyun knew that beyond this moment of silence—
Even greater storms were waiting.