Night had fully descended upon Black Cloud City, yet the city’s pulse beat faster than ever. The main streets, usually quiet, had become hubs of activity. Red lanterns swayed gently in the night breeze, casting warm light onto stone paths glistening with dew. Inside the taverns, the sound of laughter and clinking glasses mingled, but the topic of conversation remained the same: the ninety-three percent purity pill and the mysterious figure who had purchased it.Qin Zilong walked among the crowd. His black robes seemed to blend with the shadows, moving slowly as if he were part of the darkness itself. A few eyes flickered toward him, but the gazes quickly drifted away no one realized that beneath that calm exterior lay a fortune capable of shaking the foundations of any mid-tier sect.He passed a rowdy tea house."Did you hear? The Spirit Pill Pavilion will be the richest place in the city starting tomorrow," a patron said with a raspy voice."Not the pavilion," his companion replied w

"Of course. That Qi Recovery Pill has changed the map of power," his friend replied while sipping liquor. "With ninety-three percent purity, entering the core of the valley is no longer a dream. But remember, the greater the opportunity, the higher the price one must pay."The conversation jumped from one tavern to another, carried by the morning breeze like an unstoppable plague.Inside the quiet inn, Qin Zilong opened his eyes. He had finished meditating since dawn. His condition was at a perfect equilibrium; the Qi within his Dantian rotated stably, dense and pure, far exceeding the strength he possessed just days ago. He stood up, straightened his black robes with efficient movements, then placed an empty tea cup on the table."It is time," he murmured softly.There were no complex preparations. Everything he needed pills, gold, and the black sword was stored neatly within his storage ring. However, one piece was still missing: Lightning Powder.No one realized that the item they

Qin Zilong’s footsteps halted precisely at the edge of an invisible abyss that separated the mortal world from the Lightning Valley. There were no stone gates, no ancient inscriptions. Only a massive fissure split the mountains, as if the sky itself had fallen there thousands of years ago.Before him, a giant chasm cleaved the mountains like a gaping wound on the surface of the earth. Grey mist hung low, thick and cold, sweeping across the ground like a curtain drawn shut to hide a great secret.CRAAAK!The sky behind the mist was suddenly torn apart by blinding purple light. A deafening explosion roared, followed by the strike of lightning that slammed into a rock peak right before Zilong’s eyes. The boulder, large as a house, shattered into pieces, transforming into dust and sharp gravel that rained down upon the earth with destructive force.Several cultivators who had just arrived instinctively retreated a step, their faces deathly pale."Terrifying..." a young man muttered, his v

The giant serpent hissed. Its massive head lowered slightly, its forked tongue flicking in and out rapidly, as if performing a scan, as if recognizing a scent long lost.Behind his storage ring, the black sword vibrated again. Ting... Ting... Ting... This time, the vibration was more intense, in rhythm with a heartbeat. Qin Zilong placed his thumb over the surface of the ring, giving a soothing, gentle touch. "Be patient. It is not yet time."Behind the bushes, a bearded man carrying a large axe could no longer contain his ambition. He saw the serpent not attacking Zilong, mistaking it for an opening. "Damn! The beast is distracted! This is our chance!""Wait! Don't be reckless!" cried an elder from his group, but it was too late. "If I obtain its demonic core, I will be rich!" he whispered softly.The man had already leaped high. His great axe ignited with a fierce red light, all the Qi in his body drained into a single swing. "Mountain Splitting Red Slash!"BLAAM!The giant axe slam

Behind the charred trees, the man from the Spirit Pill Pavilion stepped back, his breath hitching. For decades of working for the Pavilion, he had swallowed thousands of records concerning the Lightning Valley. All reports were uniform: the serpent was a killing machine that spared no one. But today, those laws of nature were shattered into pieces.The man raised the communication token at his waist. His fingers were on the verge of injecting Qi to send an emergency message, but he stopped himself."No..." he muttered bitterly. "If I disturb him now, the Pavilion Master will behead me instead." He chose to keep watching from a distance, keeping this secret to himself.Meanwhile, greed had dulled the instincts of the other two stalkers."We keep following," the burly man insisted, gripping his cleaver tighter. "If the serpent didn't attack him, that’s a sign. As soon as he finds the treasure in there, we ambush him!""Do you think... the serpent knows him?"The burly man clicked his to