Chapter 8: Qianhuo Palace

Qu Yi led True Man Fuyun and True Man Hanjin to a mountain covered with birdsong and blossoms. He placed a restriction there before sitting down.
“Hanjin, besides Shanghuo Palace, are there any other sects under Qianhuo Palace? What’s their strength?” Qu Yi asked with a smile, yet his tone suggested an imminent outbreak of violence.
After the fierce battle just now, True Man Hanjin realized he was also a passionate warrior, naturally inclined toward combat—his instincts had only been suppressed before. Thus, upon hearing Qu Yi’s question, he understood that more battles were ahead and was overjoyed.
“Elder Master, there are two other sects among Qianhuo Palace’s affiliates that are also very arrogant. One is Fenyu Peak, and the other is Tanhuo Temple. Their strength is on par with Shanghuo Palace—both have cultivators at the Divided Spirit stage,” Hanjin said eagerly.
Upon hearing this, True Man Fuyun couldn’t help but touch his magical treasure, Yunzhonghua, as if already anticipating Qu Yi’s order to attack them.
Qu Yi smiled and said, “Then eliminate those two sects. True Man Hanjin and True Man Fuyun, you two can go. Just kill their Divided Spirit cultivators—let their disciples fend for themselves.”
Hearing this, Hanjin and Fuyun’s eyes lit up again, their passion flaring once more.
“Elder Master, we’ll handle it properly!” they replied excitedly.
Qu Yi gave a strange smile, waved his hand to lift the restriction, and said, “Set off now. After destroying those two sects, return immediately. I estimate it won’t take long for Qianhuo Palace to realize what’s happening and send troops to attack us.”
Hanjin and Fuyun, who had been excited moments ago, froze briefly. They still harbored fears about the powerful Qianhuo Palace. But seeing Qu Yi’s calm demeanor, they regained confidence and resolved to fight alongside him.
Soon, the two vanished through teleportation.
After watching them leave, Qu Yi flew to the spirit stone mine area. Glancing at all his disciples, he said with a smile, “Disciples, return to the sect first. You won’t need to come here anymore for the spirit stones. There are better deposits waiting for you.”
The disciples of Yin Yun Sect looked at their new leader. Thinking about how he had immediately lifted their sect’s prestige and redressed years of humiliation, they were all excited and filled with admiration for Qu Yi.
“Yes, Elder Master!” they shouted in unison.

Soon, Qu Yi returned to Hidden Cloud Peak with hundreds of his disciples, waiting quietly for the attack from the Qianhuo Palace.
……
In a cultivation room of the Smiling Cloud Palace, Qu Yi sat cross-legged on the ground. At that moment, he was in constant spiritual communication with the Artifact God.
“Artifact God, you just reminded me that there’s a strong warrior in the early stage of the Tribulation Phase nearby, watching me,” Qu Yi said, his emotions fluctuating.
Now that Qu Yi’s soul realm had reached the early stage of the Combined Body phase, the Artifact God’s spiritual perception had also reached the early stage of the Great Vehicle phase. A warrior in the Tribulation Phase could not escape the Artifact God’s detection.
“Yes, and I’m even sure this warrior comes from the Taiyuan Sect,” the Artifact God replied calmly.
Upon hearing this, Qu Yi felt a surge of excitement. He had a vague intuition that being sent to Feiyun Star was also part of a plot by the Taiyuan Sect. And he was certain this plot was related to the Six-Directions Blade and the Eight-Directions Sword.
The Taiyuan Sect not only failed to obtain the Six-Directions Blade but also lost one of its own Eight-Directions Swords—a huge loss. Therefore, they would never give up pursuing Shuoshang, Shuorui, and Shuoxu. With the three now completely missing, they would have to find other ways to proceed.
Qu Yi had single-handedly wiped out all the law enforcers of the JinYang Sect in the Tianhuo Star Region, and this news had reached the Kind Soul. Taiyuan Sect’s leader, Tai Ming, naturally thought of a possibility: if Shuoshang and the others heard that Qu Yi had gone to Feiyun Star, they might come to seek him out, thereby releasing the frustration they had endured before.
However, Tai Ming never expected that Shuoshang, Shuorui, and Shuoxu were already under Qu Yi’s control. They wouldn’t come to kill him; instead, they would remain hidden in the cultivation world for a hundred years. Thus, Tai Ming’s plan not only failed to yield any information about Shuoshang and the others but also allowed Qu Yi to break free from the Taiyuan Sect’s control.
After hearing the Artifact God’s reply, Qu Yi smiled and said, “Let him keep watching. If necessary, I won’t use the magical treasures I obtained from the Tianhuo Star Region, nor the Eight-Directions Sword or the Six-Directions Blade. What more information can the Taiyuan Sect get from me?”
Qu Yi still had plenty of Poison Soul Fruits left in the Demon Poison Star Region—about five hundred. He also had powerful items like the Earth Demon Hidden Sky Talisman, the Heavenly Fire Rock Heart Thunder, and the Thousand Poisons Fruit. Of course, he would use the Thousand Poisons Fruit cautiously, as it could kill cultivators below the Great Vehicle phase.
However, he couldn’t use the Poison Soul Beasts anymore, which made him somewhat frustrated. If those beasts appeared, the hidden strong warrior from the Taiyuan Sect in the early stage of the Tribulation Phase would surely come to snatch them away.
Hearing Qu Yi’s thoughts, the Artifact God felt relieved.

※※※
Actually, there is indeed a stir in the cultivation world right now—stories are spreading widely that “Li Mu” single-handedly eliminated the entire enforcement team of the Jin Yang Sect in the Tianhuo Star Region. Moreover, in order to reward Li Mu, the Tai Yuan Sect has sent people to Feiyun Star.
Of course, these rumors were spread by branches of the Tai Yuan Sect. Other sects thought this was the Tai Yuan Sect showing off the glory of its enforcement team, after all, it was indeed worth promoting that the enforcement team of the top cultivation sect had defeated that of the top demonic sect. What they didn’t realize was that the Tai Yuan Sect was doing this to lure Shuo Shang, Shuo Rui, and Shuo Xu to Feiyun Star so it could capture them.
With “Li Mu’s” deeds being widely spread in the cultivation world, some sect members believed them. For example, the Guangyuan Sect, which hated Li Mu to the point of wanting to tear him apart piece by piece. There was also the Jin Yang Sect, which suffered a great loss of face due to such a scandal being publicized. As a result, some powerful cultivators rushed to Feiyun Star, determined to find Li Mu, undermine his reputation, and even kill him if possible.
※※※
Qu Yi had no idea that his deeds were being widely publicized in the cultivation world. He stayed peacefully in the Xiaoyun Palace, waiting for the counterattack from the Qianhuo Palace.
……
A month later, Zhenren Fuyun and Zhenren Hanjin returned to Yinyun Peak and entered the Xiaoyun Palace directly. As soon as the two entered, Qu Yi flew out of his cultivation room to greet them.
“Master, the mission is complete!” As soon as Hanjin landed, he created four dummy heads and flew toward Qu Yi.
Qu Yi smiled helplessly and waved his hand, shattering those four dummy heads without leaving a trace of blood. Needless to say, those four dummy heads represented the four Divination Stage experts from the Tanhuo Temple and the Fenyu Peak sects.
“You two have worked hard. Rest here in the Xiaoyun Palace for now. I think the people from the Qianhuo Palace will be arriving soon,” Qu Yi said with a smile.
At present, the three strongest affiliated sects of the Qianhuo Palace—Shanghuo Palace, Fenyu Peak, and Tanhuo Temple—had all been destroyed by the Yinyun Sect. If the Qianhuo Palace didn’t step in to punish the Yinyun Sect, it would surely lose all face and be unable to stay on Feiyun Star.
“Master, everything from now on depends on you!” Hanjin said solemnly.
Although Hanjin knew Qu Yi was powerful and possessed some mysterious techniques, since he was only one person, he was still worried whether Qu Yi could handle everything.
Qu Yi smiled.
……
The Qianhuo Palace was located in the southeastern part of the Feiyun Continent, with its headquarters on Qianhuo Peak.

At this moment, in the Minghuo Hall atop Qianhuo Peak—the very core of the Qianhuo Palace—Gouhuo Zhenren, the sect leader, was pacing around with a furious expression. Gouhuo Zhenren, appearing middle-aged and of large stature, had a fluctuating aura of true energy that inspired fear in others. In recent days, he had received three message tokens, sent respectively from Shanghuo Palace, Fenyu Peak, and Tanhuo Temple. The content was similar: all three factions had been attacked by Yinyun Gate, and all their cultivators at the Fusion Stage had died. What angered Gouhuo Zhenren even more was that Douhuo Zhenren from his own Qianhuo Palace had also been killed. This was what made him furious—although Yinyun Gate used to be one of the four major forces on Feiyun Star, it had been weakened after offending a cultivator at the Tribulation Stage by chance, resulting in the near-destruction of its Fusion Stage cultivators and never recovering since. As a result, the four major forces on Feiyun Star became three, with Qianhuo Palace, Biyun Tower, and Qianyao Forest beginning to annex Yinyun Gate’s territory. If not for considering Taiyuan Gate, Yinyun Gate would have already been wiped out by these three forces. However, Yinyun Gate, accustomed to oppression, suddenly launched a counterattack, targeting Qianhuo Palace’s affiliated sects first—a clear provocation to Qianhuo Palace. Gouhuo Zhenren was angry at Yinyun Gate’s sudden aggression, targeting his forces first, but he also remained cautious—what support did Yinyun Gate have to defy its usual behavior? After investigating, he became even angrier—Yinyun Gate dared to act boldly just because a new sect leader had arrived. To be safe, Gouhuo Zhenren immediately sent message tokens to notify all the Fusion Stage cultivators in Qianhuo Palace. Whoosh! Whoosh! Five figures flew into the Minghuo Hall simultaneously and took their seats in the main hall, while Gouhuo Zhenren was already seated on the tiger-shaped throne in the center. These five figures were the other five Fusion Stage elders of Qianhuo Palace: one in the late Fusion Stage, two in the middle Fusion Stage, and two in the early Fusion Stage. Their names were Gouyun Zhenren, Doulin Zhenren, Doujiang Zhenren, Buhé Zhenren, and Buanquan Zhenren. Gouhuo Zhenren himself was in the late Fusion Stage, and with Douhuo Zhenren already dead, Qianhuo Palace had a total of seven Fusion Stage cultivators, allowing it to establish a firm foothold on Feiyun Star. But now that Douhuo Zhenren was dead, Qianhuo Palace had only six Fusion Stage cultivators left. “Sect leader, what’s the matter? Why have you summoned all of us five?” Buhé Zhenren asked with a frown. As soon as the five of them arrived together, they sensed something was wrong. If Qianhuo Palace hadn’t encountered a major crisis, these Fusion Stage cultivators would not have gathered; they would have been cultivating in their own chambers.

Gouhuo Zhenren remained silent for a long time. After glancing at the five of them, he finally said sorrowfully, “Fellow cultivators, Douhuo Zhenren is dead. He was killed by people from Yinyun Gate. Moreover, Yinyun Gate has launched consecutive attacks, killing all the cultivators at the Divination Stage from Shanghuo Palace, Fenyu Peak, and Tanhuo Temple.”

“What…?”

Gouyun Zhenren, Doulin Zhenren, Doujiang Zhenren, Buhé Zhenren, and Buquan Zhenren all stood up in anger at the same time, staring at Gouhuo Zhenren, hoping this news was false. But seeing Gouhuo Zhenren’s expression, they finally realized it was true.

“Elder Master, Yinyun Gate has gone completely insane. The reason we haven’t destroyed it yet was to show respect to Taiyuan Gate. But since it dares to turn against us, there’s no need to hold back anymore. Let’s destroy it right away!” Buquan Zhenren shouted angrily.

Gouyun Zhenren, Doulin Zhenren, Doujiang Zhenren, and Buhé Zhenren fell silent, frowning in thought. They already suspected that behind Yinyun Gate’s sudden change in behavior must be some underlying upheaval.

“Elder Master, are there any changes at Yinyun Gate recently?” Gouyun Zhenren asked calmly.

As the strongest person in Shanghuo Palace spoke, the five of them—Gouhuo Zhenren, Doulin Zhenren, Doujiang Zhenren, Buhé Zhenren, and Buquan Zhenren—immediately listened attentively.

“According to the disciples of Shanghuo Palace, a new leader has arrived at Yinyun Gate recently. He’s only at the later stage of the Divination Stage and seems to have come from Taiyuan Gate’s enforcement team. The disciples also said that this new leader, Li Mu, possesses a mid-grade spiritual weapon and has strange movement skills, which allowed him to launch a surprise attack and kill Douhuo Zhenren,” Gouhuo Zhenren explained clearly.

At that time, out of the 100 disciples of Shanghuo Palace present, 20 defected to Yinyun Gate, while 80 left. Naturally, some of those 80 still wanted to join Shanghuo Palace, so they reported what had happened.

After hearing this, the five of them—Gouyun Zhenren, Doulin Zhenren, Doujiang Zhenren, Buhé Zhenren, and Buquan Zhenren—filled with anger, their eyes took on a venomous gaze.

“So it’s just someone at the middle stage of the Divination Stage, relying on a spiritual weapon to act so arrogantly…” This thought flashed through the minds of all five of them.

Gouyun Zhenren immediately said, “Elder Master, since Yinyun Gate has such an ignorant person, let’s take advantage of Douhuo Zhenren’s death as an excuse to completely eliminate Yinyun Gate this time.”

The five of them nodded in agreement.

Qu Yi was in Xiaoyun Palace, talking with Zhenren Hanjin. Over the past period, the disciples of Yin Yun Men had gone to the surrounding areas and seized the territories of Shanghuo Palace, Fenyu Peak, and Tanhuo Temple, thus reclaiming some of their former lands. Now, Qu Yi was discussing with Zhenren Hanjin how to divide these newly acquired territories, how to assign personnel, and how to train disciples. Suddenly, Qu Yi, who had been smiling, grew cold-faced. He signaled Zhenren Hanjin to stay silent, his gaze fixed in the distance. “Zhenren Hanjin, the people from Qianhuo Palace are coming. Tell all the disciples to enter the formation I’ve set up. We’re ready to confront them,” Qu Yi said coldly.