Slaughtering his way through the White Jade Sect was not what was in his mind when he began the day. But after a period of thought, Lu Qingshan realized it might be the best way to cover his tracks. Clearly, the White Jade Sect had discovered remnants of the Seven Mysteries Gate and struck first. Their failure proved that the Seven Mysteries Gate was still alive, thus still placing the sect in an open period of danger.

  He slew the bandits, silenced the demonic cultivators, and now the last thing to do was shift the blame. An unknown yet threatening enemy was the best way to dissuade investigators. And he had an easy method to bluff others about this unknown existence: the inexplicable rise of his power. Not only did he succeed in slaying the demonic cultivators, but if he pulled this off right, he would also do a lot of damage to an entire sect. Surely that meant something strong was here — something to be careful in investigating.

  It was very likely the immortal sects had an unseen hand in the martial world. Meanwhile, the ruined Seven Mysteries Gate should not have this level of power. Such a rise in the status of the Seven Mysteries Gate, with all their enemies gone, could possibly be explained by another one of the hidden sects making a move, or a rival immortal cultivator.

  This would make the aggressor much more wary of continuing to attack, buying Lu Qingshan more time. They were already at war anyway, so he might as well take the chance to retaliate.

  After confirming the feasibility of the plan, Lu Qingshan turned to the small booklet he found where Yan Xi had buried his martial arts technique. Heavenly Demon Disintegration was the name of this secret manual. It was a sacrificial technique — at minimum completely destroying the martial practitioner's future in return for power. Most would die soon after using it in full.

  The way to train this technique was to deploy it halfway, reducing the strain on the body for a single blow at a time. But this method still cut away at the body's potential and lifespan. It also required long periods of healing in between usages. This explained why Yan Xi had been so weak even though he'd been the Sect Master's confidant.

  Lu Qingshan had a better idea. He barely mobilized a sliver of his blood energy and inner force to mimic the circulation provided in the manual. Right as it was about to reverse direction — reaching the halfway point of the technique — he canceled it.

  There was a small jolt to his internal organs but it was much more manageable. The blood energy refined by his Blood Sea Inner Force could heal the damage. And he had a source of vitality right beside him: a weakened White Jade Sect, with many members still trying to quell the chaos in Great Wind City.

  "Charge!" Lu Qingshan roared. "Fight with your lives on the line. Do not give an inch! Only with blood can we wash away the sect's humiliation."

  They charged forwards with reckless abandon. Life and death battles were a great tonic to many a martial artist, and having an Elder as powerful as him to oversee them was a great gift.

  Most of the White Jade Sect initially tried to fight back, not having seen Lu Qingshan’s power masked by Tiger Stalks Prey. Right now he still appeared to be at Marrow Tempering, slightly below the peak which he was actually at. The technique was definitely becoming weaker as his realm improved.

  Elders remained at the sides to intervene and handle any of the White Jade Sect's stronger members. A few of the enemy disciples began running. He let them go. They didn't have enough people to prevent everyone from fleeing, and if they tried, it might even run counter to his plan to have a hidden figure in the shadows.

  In an incense worth of time, they carved a bloody path to the Scripture Pavilion. Dozens of corpses littered the sect grounds. The Seven Mysteries Gate disciples were injured but mostly fine. Even two Elders, Meng Zhang and Li Fanghua, had been wounded by a particularly vicious counterattack.

  Then three men stepped out of the pavilion door, their blood energy auras skyrocketing. Viscera Tempering experts. But only newly advanced. Their mocking smiles told Lu Qingshan all he needed to know about their presence here.

  He stepped forward, ignoring them when they tried to speak. One punch was all it took to shatter a skull.

  The weaklings barely saw him move and were too slow to react. They were still underestimating him when the sudden death of their companion finally registered in their minds. Lu Qingshan’s next attack was about to land.

  A palm tried to deflect his blow, but the man was sent reeling backwards. Blood seeped out his skin and orifices. Vomit pooled on the ground, mixing in with the crushed skull fragments Lu Qingshan had torn out from the first slain enemy and buried into the next.

  Lu Qingshan’s claws cleaved chunks off the final expert’s skin. He closed in and slammed a palm into their side. Two more palms quickly descended onto the man’s ears, and then he was no more. Rivers of blood ran down his head — the Blood Pulse Technique had only gotten more effective the stronger his inner force was.

  The expert he'd pushed back had recovered, but as soon as he saw his companion perish, continued to scramble backwards instead. It led him right through the Seven Mysteries Gate disciples. Most avoided him, as a starving camel was bigger than a horse, but not Liu Yingting. The Elder sneered and threw a poison vial onto the fleeing Viscera Tempering expert's path.

  Lu Qingshan watched the man erupt in a bloody scream. He gave a nod to Liu Yingting, at having created such an enhanced poison. From the knowledge given by Blood Seas Inner Force, a Viscera Tempering expert focused on tempering their organs. This included the heart, liver, lungs, spleen, and kidneys as the primary focuses. Their bodies were supposed to be much stronger — but it took a tempered liver and kidneys to gain a measure of poison resistance.

  He put the man out of his misery with a stomp. Then he turned to address his sect. “Take all the martial arts manuals you can carry,” he ordered.

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  They didn’t need to be told twice. Each disciple ran into the pavilion without regard for their lives. The guards at the front were quickly butchered while his Elders took the vanguard. Meanwhile, Lu Qingshan walked around one last time to take in the scenery.

  He guessed there would be no one left to occupy the Seven Mysteries Sect grounds once word got out of their combat strength. But he still wasn’t going to stay here. It wasn't safe. Lu Qingshan planned to have the sect move deeper into the forest to hide away from the mortal world.

  There were a couple spots he had in mind. The lake clearing was decent, but the herbs there would take a while to regrow after they had plundered it too many times. Another good place was near where he fought the other two demonic cultivators last time.

  He remembered experiencing a warm, pleasant sensation on his skin while he started walking back to the camp. It had faded away relatively quickly, but now that he remembered, there might've been something special there he hadn't the time to investigate. With most things handled back at the sect, he’d take everyone exploring.

  The Seven Mysteries Gate had never bothered going too deep into the mountain ranges. They were too deeply invested in the mortal cities. Lu Qingshan believed there were lots of things hidden in the mountains. After the disciples had finished getting every book they could, they followed him back with glee in their steps.

  Lu Qingshan picked back up the Heart Clarity stage demonic cultivator along the way. The body was starting to smell and attract insects eager to devour the corpse. He needed to find a safe way to dispose of the body soon.

  Though the building constructions were still in place at the old camp, Lu Qingshan didn’t hesitate to leave. They wouldn’t be tearing them down as it would take too much time. But he was certain information about this place was already known.

  He took the map from Dong Qianyu and updated it with what he knew about the inner forests. Then Lu Qingshan began guiding them there.

  From what he remembered, the monster beasts in the area were more ferocious. It was harder to drive them off the last time he came through the area. They were wholeheartedly throwing their lives away to defend their territory.

  He was worried about his disciples, he admitted. After telling them his concerns though, they were still willing to go.

  So Lu Qingshan continued. He gave the steadily decaying corpse of the demonic cultivator to a willing disciple, strong and robust, while they journeyed forward. The reward for such a disgusting mission was a standard portion of Great Ape secret medicine, yet no one else wanted to take it. Only Chen Niu, a commoner, volunteered.

  ———

  Lu Qingshan’s group managed to make it through the mountain without any issues. If a monster beast appeared, he was always there to confront it. Sometimes, they were sneaky, approaching from flanks to grab one of the weaker disciples. After one particularly close scrape with death, solved with a well-thrown tooth, his Elders quickly learned to watch their surroundings closely and not the disciples.

  They took a wide berth around any Viscera Tempering stage monster beasts, whose aura was obvious at a distance. Anything below that realm was easily fought off with the level of strength Lu Qingshan displayed. He had also stopped using Tiger Stalks Prey, letting his blood energy's aura wash over most weaker monster beasts. In the end, only a few peak Marrow Tempering stage beasts directly confronted him, other than the stealthy attackers.

  Once they arrived at the place where he had vaguely detected that pleasant feeling, Lu Qingshan began a search. He asked them to continue sticking together in groups to follow him while also spreading out. It was more dangerous, but faster, and he couldn’t hold their hands forever.

  And he was right. After the series of life and death training, most of his disciples managed to fight off any ambushing monster beasts. Sure, they were injured, but they were learning. And there were no deaths.

  Lu Qingshan was not the one who found the place he mentioned. It was another disciple under the watch of Wu Ruoling — Qin Ye, a boy who couldn't be older than fifteen.

  The last portion of top notch Great Ape secret medicine went to this disciple. It was basically a guarantee for him to break through to the Bone Tempering stage. At such a young age, this would've been huge, but the boy didn't enter closed-door seclusion just yet. Instead, he stared at him with a smile.

  "When are we going to test for our spirit roots?" he asked.

  "Soon," Lu Qingshan said. "I don't think you should count on it, though. Are you not going to use the medicine?"

  "Not if I don't have to," Qin Ye replied. "I'll...sell it. I can do that, right?"

  "It's allowed." Lu Qingshan ordered the rest of the disciples to begin construction work again while the boy quivered in anticipation.

  It was finally time to review the collection of martial arts manuals they collected. Distribution rights and the thought of rewards pushed the disciples to work harder and faster to build another campsite. Meanwhile, he and his Elders sifted through each one.

  The lower leveled martial arts were separated into their own piles. Some of the second level martial arts and third level martial arts coincided with each other, except they had secret medicine recipes. Liu Yingting handled those.

  With these manuals, the Seven Mysteries Gate regained some of their former strength. But the White Jade Sect had learned from their previous mistake. Some martial arts manuals were still missing, either hidden away somewhere or taken back to the Jade Skies Sect.

  In the end, they brought out the best of the bunch and gave them to Lu Qingshan. He had eight different manuals to choose from.

  Golden Shell Body, Roaming Tiger Breathing Method, Nimble Deer Breathing Method, Golden Drop Inner Force, Black Fury Inner Force, Iron Sand Palm Technique, Seven Steps Technique, Flower Dance Style - all were available with their own secret medicine recipes.

  Firstly, the Flower Dance Style was out. It was tailored for a feminine body, and emphasized speed, grace, and flexibility. Next was the Golden Shell Body. As an external body hardening technique, it demanded especially harsh requirements for its cultivation, and he didn't have access to those conditions at the moment.

  Lu Qingshan picked up the Golden Drop Inner Force, Seven Steps Technique, and the two additional breathing methods. It was starting to get difficult training four separate breathing methods at once. He hoped Wu Ruoling's secret medicine recipe would help. Seven Steps Technique was the sect's core movement combat technique, and was a must to learn. Golden Drop Inner Force was a good complement to sharpen his offense.

  He skipped Black Fury Inner Force and Iron Sand Palm technique for now. The first used more toxic materials for the secret medicine. Liu Yingting still needed those for his own practice. The second shared traits with external body hardening techniques, needing packed sand to help cultivate a sturdy iron palm. It was overall the weakest option.

  Now that they were isolated from the civilized world, Lu Qingshan no longer needed to regulate his martial arts practice from others. But there was still something he had to do: discover the source of the pleasant sensation. And later, use the spirit root sensing stone to sense the spirit roots of his disciples and himself.