At the base of Dragon's Hidden Mountain, Su Qingxue sat by a cleared patch of ground.
In just one night of cultivation, the dominant True Qi of her Grandmaster phase had been refined into thin strands of Azurewood True Essence. This essence was incredibly pure, making her joints hum with comfort as it circulated.
"Grandmaster? Merely the end of the mortal martial path. Immortal Arts… this is the true path to longevity!" Su Qingxue's eyes burned with fervor.
Just then, a black afterimage darted silently from the woods below, landing ten meters in front of her.
The withered old man in black robes, his face sinister, surveyed the area, his eyes filled with unrestrained greed. He inhaled the pure spiritual energy permeating the air.
"Get lost," the old man rasped, his voice filled with overwhelming disdain. "I am handling business for the Black Fiend Sect. A mere mortal martial artist is unworthy to block my path."
Su Qingxue's face hardened. She shouted defiance, and her rapier carried a wisp of the refined Azurewood True Essence, thrusting toward the elder's face!
The elder only sneered, regarding her as a pathetic ant.
He didn't even move his feet, simply raising a withered finger. A dark, potent burst of Black Fiend True Qi coiled around her rapier like a venomous snake.
"Hiss—"
The moment the Azurewood Essence touched the Black Fiend Qi, it melted away like ice meeting fire! The dark energy reversed up the sword and slammed directly into Su Qingxue's chest.
"Puff!" Su Qingxue spat blood, her body flying ten meters back before crashing into the dirt by the boulder. Her meridians felt frozen, and she lay there helpless, her eyes filled with despair.
The elder sneered. "Grandmaster? I reached that realm three centuries ago. Now, I am Half-Step Golden Core! Be smart, kneel, and become my furnace."
He ignored Su Qingxue and headed straight up the mountain toward the coveted Array Core.
The moment the elder stepped onto the mountainside, a voice cold with supreme coercion came from above, utterly devoid of emotion, making the elder freeze.
"Loud."
Just one simple word.
The black-robed elder's hair stood on end. He spun around, warily looking toward the pool where Shan Hu was meditating.
"So it was you, junior! You activated the Array Core?" The elder roared, suppressing his terror. "Hand over the array control immediately, and I might spare your life, otherwise—"
Shan Hu slowly opened his eyes. He had been interrupted after a night of cultivation, and he was displeased.
He looked down at the struggling Su Qingxue, his voice tinged with detachment. "I tasked you with guarding the mountain, yet you can't even stop a mosquito."
The elder laughed furiously. "Arrogant child! The Half-Step Golden Core realm is not something you a mortal can—"
Before he could finish, Shan Hu didn't even stand. He simply raised his left hand, directed it toward the elder, and slightly clenched his five fingers!
There was no earth-shattering spiritual explosion. The very air around the elder seemed instantly vacuumed away by an invisible force.
The smile froze on the elder's face. He felt the space around his body suddenly compress into a plate of colossal, crushing pressure!
"No… what is this…" He let out a shriek of ultimate fear. His Black Fiend True Qi was instantly crushed back into his Dantian, which then cracked under the massive force.
His body began to crumble upward from his feet. He and his black robe were instantly reduced to gray powder and scattered on the mountain breeze.
In a single breath, the Black Fiend Sect elder, who had dominated Longcheng's cultivation world for centuries, was gone. Only a faint black ring remained on the spot where he stood.
Shan Hu retracted his hand, the motion as effortless as squashing a literal mosquito.
He closed his eyes again, his voice terrifyingly calm but imbued with supreme authority, carrying down to Su Qingxue.
"Su Qingxue. Clean up your mess, retrieve that ring, and return to your cultivation. If this happens again, your existence as a guardian will be unnecessary."
Shaking uncontrollably, Su Qingxue dragged herself to the site. She collected the elder's ashes and then cautiously reached for the black ring.
A cold, black mist seeped out, forming the translucent soul of an old man with a goatee.
"Which oblivious mortal dared disturb my slumber? I am the Venerable Elder Jing of the Heavenly Profound Sect! This Storage Ring…"
Before Elder Jing could finish, his eyes met Shan Hu's spiritual will, and his voice dissolved into a terrified shriek: "N-no way! What realm of coercion is this?!"
He instantly bowed his soul body ninety degrees, abandoning resistance.
Shan Hu's voice was impatient: "Stop your theatrics, you're just a residual soul. Is this the ring left by that 'mosquito'?"
Elder Jing quickly pledged fealty.
Shan Hu scanned the Storage Space. Seeing the 37 Low-Grade Spirit Stones, a few bottles of low-grade pills, and scraps of spiritual materials, Shan Hu's face twisted into an odd expression.
"This… is the entire fortune of that Half-Step Golden Core expert?" Shan Hu's voice held a note of humorous helplessness.
Elder Jing quickly agreed that these were the Black Fiend Elder's accumulated treasures.
Shan Hu sighed. "You call this 'wealth'—these… 'junk items'?" He shook his head. "That old fool truly embodied poverty to his core. A Half-Step Golden Core, yet this destitute."
This confirmed the extreme spiritual poverty of Earth's current cultivation world.
Shan Hu appointed Elder Jing to manage the ring and its contents, transferring the spiritual energy into the charged Spirit Jades for better use.
He then tossed the black Storage Ring down to Su Qingxue.
"Your wounds will heal in three days. The ring holds a few 'Qi Restoration Pills'; take them. From now on, if any more bothersome 'mosquitos' approach, use the contents of this ring to deal with them first. Only interrupt me if you absolutely fail."
Su Qingxue caught the ring, joy overwhelming her fear. This ring, and its "trash" contents, were priceless treasures to her.
She knelt again. "Yes! Lord Shan Hu! I will ensure no more 'mosquitos' come near!" She knew the Immortal Emperor had accepted her as an asset.