Da Xuan Martial Saint

"When I have time to go back, I'll mention to my master to see if the Divine Soaring Stone can be temporarily removed from the Mansion Treasury's exchange list. I estimate I won't need to use the Cold Soul Spirit Blade much longer."

Chen Mu pondered briefly in his heart.

For now, wielding the Cold Soul Spirit Blade was still useful to him. First, it was handy, and second, it enhanced his strengths somewhat. However, as his power increased, the effectiveness of such a Spirit Weapon, which wasn't completely attuned to his Affinity and was not of the highest quality, would diminish.

Only a Spirit Weapon that was perfectly attuned to one's Affinity would constantly enhance one's strength. Even at the level of a Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster, one could still rely on a Spirit Weapon that matched their own to exert greater power of the Martial Body.

Apart from the Wind Spirit Core.

Among Hou Liao's collection was a third and final item, a Jade Vase forged from top-grade Spirit Jade. The moment Chen Mu touched it, he knew it was extraordinary. He shook it lightly and heard the sound of liquid flowing inside.

He opened just a small crack and immediately sealed it again, having made a rough estimate of its contents.

Demon Blood!

In this top-grade Spirit Jade Vase, there was a small half-bottle of Demon Blood. The concentration of demonic power was unprecedented for Chen Mu, far surpassing any Seventh Rank Demon King he had encountered before.

By his estimation, the Demon Blood in this vase was likely from at least an Eighth Rank creature, perhaps even a Ninth Rank!

"This must have been used for his cultivation," Chen Mu swiftly concluded.

The Demon Men of the Sky Demon Sect cultivated their Demon Bodies by consuming humans—eating human blood and hearts—as well as consuming demonic creatures, refining themselves with Demon Blood. This small vial of Demon Blood was most certainly used by Hou Liao for his cultivation.

Demon Blood itself was highly valuable. The higher the rank of the Demon Blood, the greater its value. If the blood in this vase truly was from a Ninth Rank creature, then even being just a small half-vial, it was of extraordinary value. It was more than enough to exchange for one or two nurturing-type Spiritual Objects. If it was an extremely rare and specially purposed type of Demon Blood, its value could be multiplied several times.

After taking all three items hidden by Hou Liao, Chen Mu couldn't help but marvel. To be a step into the Seventh Rank, comparable to a Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster, Demon Men indeed possessed extraordinary and highly valuable items. If he could kill ten or eight of them, the loot would definitely be much richer than what he could plunder from groups like the Iron Hand Gang or Cuiyan Mountain Villa.

However, encountering Hou Liao was purely coincidental.

Such high-level Demon Men, under normal circumstances, even if they sneak quietly into Yu State, would hide their presence and move secretly; they wouldn't show themselves easily unless they were in Ice State, where they could act unrestrainedly.

Chen Mu always prioritized caution in his actions. Although with his current strength, he could easily kill Seventh Rank Demon Men, encountering an Eighth Rank Demon Man was a different story. The Eighth Rank Demon Men from the Sky Demon Sect were slightly stronger than Third Tier Grandmasters, approaching the top grandmasters. A recently defeated Elder from the Ice Extreme Palace, comparable to Fu Jingyuan, had lost to an Eighth Rank 'Great Venerable' from the Sky Demon Sect. Stay tuned to My Virtual Library Empire

With the current chaos in Ice State, if he went there and started killing indiscriminately, there was a decent chance he would encounter an Eighth Rank Demon Man. Therefore, unless the Seven Profound Sect assigned him to go to Ice State, he had no interest in stepping into that mess.

Silently enhancing his strength was the true path.

"No one from Cuiyan Mountain Villa shall move tonight, those who do will die!"

After thoroughly checking Hou Liao's body again, ensuring nothing was overlooked by completely dicing it, Chen Mu turned to the numerous attendants and servants of Cuiyan Mountain Villa and spoke coldly.

The Bai Family and other members of Cuiyan Mountain Villa were almost certainly exterminated without mistake. As for the servants and attendants, he had no interest in dealing with each one individually, nor in slaughtering them all; he was not a bloodthirsty demon after all. It would be better to leave them to the Seven Profound Sect to handle.

"Yes... yes..."

Hearing Chen Mu's icy words, numerous servants trembled and responded as they stayed prostrate on the ground, trembling even after Chen Mu had left and the oppressive aura gradually faded away; no one dared to make a move.

Chen Mu returned to the place he was originally at, picked up several members of the Bai Family, and quickly located the treasury of Cuiyan Mountain Villa, which was in a disheveled deep courtyard behind and situated underground.

However.

The treasury of Cuiyan Mountain Villa was poorer than Chen Mu had expected. After sorting and pillaging the place, it was even less valuable than the stash of the Iron Hand Gang. According to Chen Mu's guesses, the ordinary Silver Coins had all been tributed to the Fang Family and the Seven Profound Sect, leaving other valuable items to be handed over to the Sky Demon Sect in exchange for the evil practices of cultivating a Demon Body.

Although the loot was less than expected, if calculating including Hou Liao's few items, the trip was still worthwhile.

After plundering the Cuiyan Mountain Villa treasury.

Chen Mu did not leave immediately but waited for half a day until dawn when the forces from the Seven Profound Sect in Lang Prefecture became aware of the situation. It was only after the protector from the Seven Profound Sect arrived at Cuiyan Mountain Villa that he quietly retreated and disappeared from the scene.

...

Cuiyan Mountain Villa.

Amidst the ruins.

The mutilated corpse of Hou Liao lay across the ruins, with several figures standing beside, all clad in Seven Profound Sect attire. The leader, dressed in a protector's robe adorned with the unique emblem of Spirit Profound Peak, was indeed the Spirit Profound Peak protector, Chu Jingsui.

"This power of the Thunder Path is indeed formidable. I wonder which Grandmaster of the Thunder Path..."

Chu Jingsui now stood in front of Hou Liao's corpse, observing the appearance of the corpse and the nearby traces, his gaze stern.

With his level of insight, he could immediately determine that Hou Liao had first been killed by a thunder strike, pierced and felled, then dismembered, and according to some accounts from the Cuiyan Mountain Villa, it was so.

For a mighty Seventh Rank Demon Man to be slain in a single strike by Thunder Path techniques was indeed shocking.

Even if people from Cuiyan Mountain Villa described a suspected use of a Short Spear-type Thunder Attribute Spirit Weapon, it was still extraordinary.

One should know that although beings at this level normally only differ slightly in demonic power compared to a Seventh Rank Demon King, they can also cultivate Martial Arts, making their true strength far superior to regular Seventh Rank Demon Kings. He was confident in his ability to flee or even engage a Seventh Rank Demon King, but if he were to confront a Seventh Rank Venerable from the Heavenly Demon Sect on his own, he would not have much chance of escaping.

The other nearby Seventh Profound Sect stewards also had a stern look at this time.

"This person, should be the Venerable Hou Liao from the Heavenly Demon Sect, right?"

Meng Danyun approached from not far away, looking at the scene among the ruins with a very solemn gaze and after careful recognition, he couldn't help but speak in a low voice.

"Yes, it should be him."

Chu Jingsui nodded.

He was stationed on the border of Lang Prefecture and Ice State, often clashing with figures from the Heavenly Demon Sect and the Heavenly Corpse Sect. He was well-informed about both sects, and even though it was his first time seeing Hou Liao, he could roughly identify him by a few characteristics and the demonic qi left on his corpse and his realm.

The Heavenly Demon Sect did not have many Seventh Rank Venerables, and those who had appeared and were recorded in intelligence reports were only fifteen, with Hou Liao being one of them, but now he had died here.

"However, who killed him is difficult to say; I heard that last night a Grandmaster of the Thunder Path appeared in Cuiyan Mountain Villa, described as a middle-aged man, but at the Grandmaster level, changing appearances is too easy," Chu Jingsui said slowly while looking at Hou Liao's corpse: "A Thunder Path Grandmaster capable of killing Hou Liao in one strike, in the eleven states of the Cold North Path, should not exceed ten, and our Seven Profound Sect should not have such a person."

"Actually... there is one," Meng Danyun hesitated for a moment before speaking: "If it were the master, only using Thunder Path techniques, perhaps he could also display such power, but this should not be the master's doing, nor is there any need to deliberately hide his tracks."

Chu Jingsui nodded and said, "That's right. However, no matter which Grandmaster it was, killing Hou Liao, such a calamity for us, is ultimately a good thing. This person brought chaos to Cuiyan Mountain Villa, and regardless of his intentions, it is a threat."

"Should we report to Elder Shi and have Elder Shi come to see for himself?" Meng Danyun asked after a short contemplation.

Nowadays, Ice State is too chaotic, with all sorts mixed together, and it's quite normal for an unknown Grandmaster to emerge, but given he appeared within the bounds of Lang Prefecture and possesses extraordinary strength, it cannot be overlooked.

"Yes, Sister Meng, please go inform him. I'll stay here to deal with the matters of Cuiyan Mountain Villa," Chu Jingsui said.