"Aaaagh!"
A scream that threatened to split eardrums echoed through the dungeon.
Blood erupted like a geyser, mixing with unnameable chunks, and splattered across the cold stone floor.
Ye Qingshuang's figure materialized beside Black Rock Demon Lord, the tip of her Ice Soul Sword dripping with scalding blood.
Her eyes were as cold as ten-thousand-year black ice, her gaze pinning the man in place as if he were nothing but filthy refuse.
Hiss!
Everyone present felt an instinctive chill in their groins, stepping back half a step in unison. Their gazes on Ye Qingshuang brimmed with wariness.
This girl... she was far too ruthless!
Jiang Ling forced down his faint discomfort, glancing at the unconscious eunuch in Black Rock Demon Lord's grasp. "Wake him."
Black Rock Demon Lord flicked a finger, a surge of demonic power jabbing brutally into the man's body.
"Ughhh..."
The man jolted awake, wracked by dual agony from the pain and demonic power. The unimaginable torment from his groin threatened to send him spiraling back into unconsciousness—yet the sight of the deathly stares around him, especially Ye Qingshuang's bone-chilling gaze, choked off his screams. His body trembled like a leaf in a storm.
"Speak! What is the meaning of all this? Or else..."
Jiang Ling's voice cut through the air like the bitter wind of the netherworld, his gaze sweeping over the man's blood-soaked groin. "I don't mind sending you to your grave right now."
The disciple was scared out of his wits, spilling everything without a shred of hesitation. He whimpered and sobbed through the searing pain, his words stammering:
"I-I'll talk! I'll talk! Th-they're all blood slaves and cauldron maidens prepared for the lords of Black Wind Ridge! It was the Sect Master's order—none of this is my fault! I swear!"
"Blood slaves? Cauldron maidens?"
Jiang Ling's eyes turned even colder.
"Y-yes! Some lords of Black Wind Ridge need pure living essence for their cultivation—children and young cultivators are the best! These mortals are raised as blood slaves, their essence drained regularly! When they're dry, we feed them Blood Vitality Pills to keep them alive... until they can be drained again..."
He pointed at the skin-and-bone boys and girls, his words tumbling over each other in a panic.
"The new ones, the girls with spiritual roots—they're reserve cauldron maidens! For the sect elders... and the lords from above to harvest and cultivate with..."
He gestured at the few unharmed girls, his eyes filled with terror. "In three days, the lords of Black Wind Ridge are coming to collect them! I-I'm just a gatekeeper! Spare me! Please spare me!"
The truth, foul as the rankest pus, lay bare before them all.
Mortals raised like livestock, their marrow and blood drained dry!
Girls abducted, forced into sexual servitude and cultivation fodder!
Even cursed with evil pills to cling to life, their bodies squeezed dry over and over again!
And the source of all this horror—pointed straight to Black Wind Ridge, one of the realm's First-Rank Protector Sects!
"Shadow Demon Sect... Black Wind Ridge..."
Jiang Ling's voice was low and terrifying, each word ground out like shards of ice between his teeth.
The fury in his chest raged like a volcano on the verge of eruption, threatening to shatter his reason.
This was no Protector Sect!
These were beasts in human skin, a thousand times more vicious than the cruelest monsters!
He raised his hand in a flash, a sharp finger of spiritual power piercing the whimpering, begging eunuch's forehead in an instant.
"Master?"
Ye Qingshuang looked at Jiang Ling, the killing intent and coldness in her eyes unyielding—yet a flicker of questioning lingered.
All eyes turned to him.
Jiang Ling took a deep breath, forcing down the roiling storm of killing intent and rage.
He knew full well—annihilating the Shadow Demon Sect, rescuing the blood slaves and cauldron maidens, was a direct declaration of war against Black Wind Ridge.
But so what?
A life lived with purpose meant choosing what to stand for—and what to stand against.
"Save them!"
Jiang Ling's order was sharp and unshakable. "Qingshuang, comfort the girls, find them clothes. Yuntian, check if the essence-drained survivors can be saved—do what you can. Jincancan, stand guard! Scarlet Sun, Black Rock, open all the cages!"
His gaze swept across this living hell, his voice carrying an unassailable power. "Get everyone out of here. We stay no longer!"
[Ding! Detected Host has annihilated the Shadow Demon Sect. Quest Do Unto Others As They Would Do Unto You completed. Rewards issued. Hidden Achievement Slay Demons and Eliminate Evil triggered. Points gained: 5000!]
[Ding! Emergency Quest Triggered: The Black Wind Comes!]
[Quest Content: Fend off Black Wind Ridge's investigation and retaliation in three days!]
[Success Reward: 10000 Points, 3 Random Earth-Rank Spells.]
The system's notification was cold and urgent, like a death knell, hammering at Jiang Ling's heart.
Three days!
Only three days!
Watching the two great demons begin rescuing the dying mortals from their cages, Ye Qingshuang gently wrapping a trembling girl in an outer robe, Hua Yuntian frowning as he checked a barely human boy for signs of life...
The last flicker of hesitation vanished from Jiang Ling's eyes, leaving only the cold, unyielding resolve of a boulder.
Black Wind Ridge?
We shall see whose fangs are sharper—your great crocodile of the Canglan Realm, or my unbreakable boulder of the Primordial Beginning Sect!
The night wind wailed, as if foretelling a fiercer storm of blood and steel, soon to sweep this borderland.
...
The ruins of Falling Sparrow Ridge burned in the night, casting light over broken walls and charred debris.
Jiang Ling flicked his sleeve, a soft yet mighty surge of spiritual power lifting the dozens of dying boys and girls into the air.
Scarlet Sun Demon Sage and Black Rock Demon Lord moved in silent tandem, releasing their demonic power to form two steady barriers. They wrapped the survivors within, and in a flash of streaking light, the group tore silently through the night sky, racing toward the Primordial Beginning Sect.
The night wind howled, the mountain forests below blurring past in a streak.
Staring at Jiang Ling walking ahead with his hands behind his back, Scarlet Sun Demon Sage could no longer contain his anxiety. He spoke in a low voice:
"Sect Master, the Shadow Demon Sect is no more—but Black Wind Ridge stands behind them. A First-Rank Protector Sect, with unfathomable foundations, guarded by powerhouses of the Tribulation Transcending and even Mahayana Realms. Slaying their branch has forged a blood feud between us. Their retaliation will be a thunderous wrath! Do you have a foolproof plan?"
His voice was heavy with solemnity.
As a Void Refining great demon, Scarlet Sun Demon Sage knew far better than anyone the terror of Black Wind Ridge.
At his words, everyone lifted their heads to look at Jiang Ling.
In the face of Scarlet Sun Demon Sage's fear, Jiang Ling did not even pause his steps.
His gaze rested calmly on the dark silhouette of the Primordial Beginning Mountains, gradually taking shape ahead. A faint, indifferent smile even tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Great Sage, you worry too much."
His voice was not loud, yet it carried a strange penetrating power, reaching every ear clearly.
"A Protector Sect? So what? The Primordial Beginning Sect stands here for a reason. When soldiers come, we meet them with generals; when water comes, we block it with earth. If they dare to come..."
He paused, his tone as casual as if speaking of a trivial matter. "The gate of my Primordial Beginning Sect is not something just anyone can smash to pieces. Rest easy."
"..."
Scarlet Sun Demon Sage opened his mouth, wanting to ask—Sect Master, are you serious?
But looking at Jiang Ling's unhurried back, the doubt in his heart faded, replaced by an inexplicable sense of calm.
The others longed to ask the same, yet knew not how to phrase it. They could only swallow their misgivings and press on, the weight of their thoughts heavy in their chests.