Fat Elder's gaze was burning hot as he looked at the Blood Pool, then suddenly said:
"Kid Thunder, are you curious about the Blood King Gu too?"
Ning Qi's nerves jolted, and he immediately put on a look of panic, then dropped to his knees:
"Fat Elder, I would never dare to pry into such a sacred item—please see clearly, Elder!"
Fat Elder chuckled and waved his hand:
"No need to be so nervous. Once this Blood King Gu finishes its current stage, I'll be leaving. Another Elder will come in my place. You few have done well over the years—I'm pleased. There's no harm in explaining the Blood King Gu to you before I go."
Ning Qi said cautiously:
"Then I beg Elder's enlightenment."
Although he already had some guesses, they were still guesses. Hearing it straight from Fat Elder would be far more accurate.
Fat Elder's gaze turned slightly deep:
"Did you see the three pairs of wings on the Blood King Gu? When it's first born, it has no wings. As it grows, it starts developing them. Three pairs means it's fully developed—mature."
"It's been ten years—ten full years of non-stop feeding from Blood Pools to cultivate this one Blood King Gu. It hasn't been easy."
Perhaps because he was about to succeed and leave, Fat Elder was in a rare talkative mood.
"With just one more Blood Pool of this size, this Blood King Gu will be fully mature. And once it matures, it can… allow a Core Formation Realm cultivator to break through to the Heaven-Man Realm without any barriers!"
His voice was filled with temptation.
Ning Qi had already guessed as much, so he immediately put on a look of shocked disbelief:
"It… it really has such divine effects?!"
Fat Elder grinned:
"Of course. Why else do you think I've been stuck in Qingzhou for ten years? Kid Thunder, if you perform well, you might just be granted a Blood King Gu someday."
Ning Qi, eyes gleaming with 'gratitude', said:
"Thank you, Elder, for your generous support!"
He had mostly figured it out—Fat Elder's unusual willingness to talk today was likely because he intended to bring Thunder into his inner circle, planting a seed of loyalty.
Fat Elder let out another chuckle:
"But… that's not even the Blood King Gu's greatest purpose."
His voice dragged slightly at the end, and Ning Qi chimed in at the right time:
"The greatest purpose is…?"
Fat Elder turned his head, a playful grin on his face:
"You really want to know, huh?"
Ning Qi acted as if he'd been struck by lightning, 'cold sweat' breaking out as he lowered his head in fear:
"I overstepped, Elder! Please forgive me!"
Fat Elder looked over the obedient Thunder with satisfaction, clearly pleased with his tactic of blending favor with pressure.
He kindly helped Ning Qi up and said with a smile:
"No need for that. Follow me well. Once you reach the Heaven-Man Realm, you'll learn in time."
He patted Ning Qi's shoulder, then focused again on the Blood King Gu's aura within the pool.
"I would give my life for Elder's cause!"
After swearing loyalty, Ning Qi took two steps back and silently watched Fat Elder's back.
The information gained from this conversation was an unexpected bonus. He hadn't forgotten his original plan.
But now wasn't yet the best time to strike.
Fat Elder might have his back turned, but his awareness was still present.
Ning Qi had patience.
The Blood Pool surged.
Both of them continued watching the Blood King Gu—or more accurately, sensing its aura.
Time passed slowly.
The Blood King Gu's energy was nearing a certain limit, and the eerie aura of the Blood Pool had thinned to the extreme—it needed to be replenished with fresh, vital human blood.
Fat Elder couldn't hold back his joy.
He once again took out the purple jade bamboo tube, preparing to call the Blood King Gu back.
Ning Qi's eyes flickered.
He moved.
Now was the perfect time to strike.
Only two steps away, Ning Qi erupted with zero sound.
His Jade Liquid Sea surged within, and powerful Qi burst out from his palm in an instant—his hand pressed forward softly, carrying a world-shaking might.
Even using only his raw Qi strength, Ning Qi was comparable to the lower tier of the Heaven-Man Ranking.
If he used secret techniques, it would be even more terrifying.
Fat Elder was just an ordinary Heaven-Man Realm cultivator.
Under such an ambush, he had no time to react.
The joy on his face froze instantly, replaced by deep horror.
He sensed the attack from behind, but it was too late.
They were too close.
Bang.
Only a soft thud—
Like lovers playfully tapping each other—Ning Qi's palm landed gently on Fat Elder's back.
But the result was horrifying.
Terrifying Qi erupted wildly, crushing down on Fat Elder.
In an instant—
All his bones were shattered, and his organs began to bleed.
Ning Qi had timed it perfectly.
He was already far stronger—and with surprise on his side, the outcome was expected.
Fat Elder couldn't even summon his life-bound Gu.
If Ning Qi wanted, Fat Elder was already a corpse.
Fat Elder's body flew through the air, about to fall into the Blood Pool.
But a massive Qi-powered hand grabbed him.
Overwhelming Qi suppressed him completely—he couldn't summon even a sliver of Heaven and Earth power.
He could barely even speak.
"W-Who are you…?"
Fat Elder's face was filled with terror.
Even a fool could tell now—this man was not Thunder!
A storm raged in his heart.
Shocked at the flawless disguise—
And more shocked by the absurd power before him.
He hadn't sensed even a hint of Heaven and Earth power being mobilized—yet was completely subdued.
Ning Qi smiled faintly:
"I'm Thunder, of course, Elder."
The giant Qi hand slowly tightened.
Fat Elder's body began to rupture into bloody mist.
The Blood King Gu, already full, suddenly became excited.
It hungrily devoured the blood of a Heaven-Man Realm body, its aura continuing to grow.
Fat Elder's expression shifted:
"You're not Thunder! With this level of strength, you're no nobody. If you join the Southern Frontier, you'll have limitless cultivation resources!"
Ning Qi said coolly:
"Are you threatening me? If you tell me which tribe you're from, I might consider it."
Fat Elder struggled to speak:
"It's not a threat! The Blood King Gu's true purpose is to cultivate the Blood Emperor Gu! You raise multiple Blood Kings and make them battle—whoever survives becomes the Blood Emperor Gu!"
"If a Peak Heaven-Man cultivator uses it with a secret art—they have a chance to reach the Martial Saint Realm!"
His voice dripped with temptation.
The Martial Saint Realm.
The ultimate goal of every Heaven-Man Realm cultivator.
He pushed further:
"If you join us—with your strength, you'll absolutely have a chance to use the Blood Emperor Gu!"
Ning Qi's eyes showed a flicker of surprise.
He hadn't expected the Blood King Gu to have such terrifying potential.
To cultivate a Martial Saint?
That sounded monstrous.
He realized then—his and Daoist Longshan's earlier assumptions had been wrong.
The force behind the Blood King Gu wasn't some minor tribe.
A small tribe could never accomplish something like this.
Intrigued, Ning Qi asked:
"So you already have a Blood Emperor Gu?"
Fat Elder said:
"Of course. And not just one!"
Ning Qi laughed.
"You think I'm that stupid?"
Anyone with a brain could tell—something like the Blood Emperor Gu wasn't cultivated that easily.
This Fat Elder was just trying to save his own skin.
Fortunately—
Ning Qi was only stringing him along.
Qi surged.
Fat Elder's limbs were blown off.
They fell into the Blood Pool, dissolving rapidly.
He was now a human swine, forced to watch the Blood King Gu he'd raised feast on his flesh—letting out gleeful, low chirps.
Ning Qi's eerie voice sounded:
"More than the Blood Emperor Gu, I'm curious—can a Heaven-Man Realm body fully mature this Blood King Gu?"
Fat Elder was terrified beyond belief.
Ning Qi silently activated the Soul-Grasping Eye Technique.
Though Core Merged cultivators in the Heaven-Man Realm had high resistance—
With all the setup, he could still extract some information.
Fat Elder suddenly saw Ning Qi as a terrifying abyss that could not be stared at directly.
That eerie voice came again:
"Tell me everything you know about the Blood Emperor Gu."
Surprisingly—
It matched everything Fat Elder had said earlier.
Only one detail was new:
The Blood Emperor Gu was not yet complete—but it was close.
Just one question asked, and Fat Elder began to struggle, seemingly waking up.
Ning Qi invoked the power of Heaven and Earth—
Not caring whether Fat Elder lived or died.
He asked again:
"Who do you serve?"
"The Southern Frontier Tribal… Alliance."
With great difficulty, he got the words out.
Fat Elder awakened from the soul-capturing state.
He stared at Ning Qi in horror—like he was looking at a monster.
Such a method was too terrifying.
It could seize a man's mind and extract the truth from deep within.
Ning Qi felt a bit regretful.
After all, Heaven-Man Realm cultivators were Heaven-Man Realm for a reason—the effectiveness of the Eye Technique was drastically reduced.
If he hadn't focused on improving it recently, like during the night raid by that seductive woman, Fat Elder might have awakened before he could finish asking even one question.
Fat Elder's head felt like it was splitting open.
The aftereffects of the Eye Technique were surfacing.
Ning Qi no longer intended to waste time.
He gave Fat Elder no chance to speak again—reaching out and snapping his neck.
His Qi brought back all the items on Fat Elder, while his broken body fell into the Blood Pool and dissolved at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The Blood King Gu, still devouring essence, let out an excited, trembling chirp.
Ning Qi watched as the third pair of wings on the Blood King Gu grew stronger, and he smiled in satisfaction.
At this rate—The Blood King Gu would become fully mature.
He played with the purple jade bamboo tube in his hand, recalling the special tones Fat Elder had used to control the Gu—easy enough for him to learn.
As for the rest of the items—there was nothing useful.
Ning Qi thought back to the second question he'd asked Fat Elder.
"Southern Frontier Tribal Alliance?"
His eyes showed a hint of surprise.
"Master once said the tribes of the Southern Frontier are scattered and often at odds. Could it be that, without the Great Yan even realizing, they've formed an alliance? That must be a colossal force."
"Cultivating the Blood Emperor Gu… is that their way of creating a new Martial Saint? Could it be the Southern Frontier covets Great Yan as well?"
"I can't get pulled into this storm. After resolving this matter, I need to sever all contact—and better yet, redirect the trouble elsewhere."
A plan was already taking shape in Ning Qi's mind.
There could be no obvious traces of his involvement. He absolutely could not use anything like the Heavenly Sword Technique—it would be best… to use someone else's martial arts.
For Ning Qi, that was easy.
He had already grasped part of the North-Stabilizing King's fist techniques.
But there was an even better target.
That Demonic Sect Heaven-Man he'd killed earlier—he'd spent the most time around him, and with a bit of recollection, he could easily perform the True Qi of All Phenomena.
"Hmm… if I can make the Demonic Sect and the Southern Frontier Alliance fight like dogs, that would be ideal."
Ning Qi smiled.
He looked at the Blood Pool.
The Blood King Gu had completed its metamorphosis, bursting with potent vitality.
Its three pairs of wings fluttered powerfully, no longer giving off any sinister aura—If not for the eerie surroundings, one might mistake it for a naturally gifted treasure insect.
Ning Qi opened the purple jade bamboo tube, emitting the same unique tones Fat Elder had used.
The satiated Blood King Gu obediently flew back and slipped into the bamboo tube.
Ning Qi put it away carefully.
Quite satisfied.
He naturally had no intention of using the Blood King Gu to break into the Heaven-Man Realm.
Even just imagining it, he knew that shortcut would sever his future path. Even if he could patch it later, it would cost far more effort.
What he valued was the abundant vitality within the Blood King Gu.
Ning Qi let out a gentle breath.
Qi surged through his body as he activated the Body-Altering and Bone-Changing Technique.
In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into Fat Elder.
With hands clasped behind his back—He pushed open the doors to the underground palace.
The subordinates outside bowed respectfully:"Greetings, Fat Elder!"
Ning Qi said nothing.
His eyes were filled with cold killing intent, and a powerful pressure radiated from him, forcing everyone to their knees—unable to breathe.
Terror spread through the group. No one knew what had happened.
Someone noticed Thunder wasn't behind Ning Qi.
Their hearts skipped a beat:"Where is Lord Thunder?"
Then Ning Qi's voice rang out, laced with barely suppressed fury:"Excellent. You're all excellent!"
"One of Blood Rain Pavilion's four gold-ranked killers turned out to be a traitor. He hid his identity so well. Thunder harbored ill intent—he tried to ambush this Elder and has been slain by my hand, now nothing but feed for the Blood Pool! But tell me—how many more traitors are hiding among you?"
Ning Qi unleashed his thunderous rage.
A cold snort followed by an explosion of Qi.
Many figures spat blood in terror and began begging:"Elder, please see clearly! We're loyal to you—we had no idea Thunder was a traitor!"
Silence fell.
Everyone's hearts were pounding—They didn't understand how things had changed so suddenly.
Ning Qi's gaze swept coldly across them.
Moments later, he let out another heavy snort:"Seems I've been too lax these past years—so has Skinny Elder. It's time for a thorough investigation."
"Send out a coded message. Tell Skinny Elder and everyone else to come immediately. Anyone who doesn't come—is a traitor!"
"As for you all—Until the truth is clear, no one is allowed to leave! Watch each other closely. If even one of you disappears—I'll kill every last one of you!"
The crowd first breathed a sigh of relief—Then immediately turned anxious.
They knew this storm was going to be huge.
"As you command, Fat Elder!"
They all dispersed.
Ning Qi's fake fury faded instantly.
In his heart, there was anticipation.
Now it was time to wait for them to walk into the trap.
Just thinking of that 'Lord Wind' from years ago ignited a surge of killing intent in Ning Qi's chest.
As he drew closer to revenge, he realized he wasn't as calm as he once imagined.
The blood debt from the annihilation of Xue Mei Manor had to be settled.
Ning Qi had considered not notifying Skinny Elder—
But with this level of uproar, omitting him would only raise suspicions.
"Although Skinny Elder is stronger than Fat Elder, it's not by much—at best, he's near the bottom of the Heaven-Man Ranking."
With his absolute strength, Ning Qi had absolute confidence.
If he used all his techniques, he could stand against top-ranked Heaven-Man experts.
If he used the False Core Shattering Technique, he might even go toe-to-toe with the North-Stabilizing King.
He sat calmly in the deepest part of the underground palace, senses expanded across the area.
Subordinates had already released the coded messages via trained flying exotic beasts.
Afterward, they watched each other like hawks.
No one dared let a traitor escape—if someone fled and brought disaster upon them, they'd all be doomed.
In this kind of environment, no one could leave.
Ning Qi felt slightly more at ease.
Then he quietly began reviewing the elite martial arts of Elder Wang from the Demonic Sect—silently studying and understanding them.
It would take a day or two for everyone to arrive.
That would be plenty of time for him to reconstruct many of Elder Wang's techniques.
…
Time passed slowly.
For two full days, the entire stronghold remained in a tense state.
Every so often, members of nearby organizations arrived.
After meeting Ning Qi, they immediately tried to prove their innocence.
Ning Qi only responded with a sullen face, saying they'd deal with it once everyone arrived.
But the ones Ning Qi truly awaited—never came.
The ones who had arrived so far, while some were Qi Origin Realm experts, none were in the Core Formation Realm.
"It should be about time, shouldn't it?"
Just as that thought surfaced—He heard commotion on the distant horizon.
A large group approached through the air.
Leading them was a lanky old man who looked like a walking stick.
Hands clasped behind his back, his voice carried over from afar:"Fatty, what the hell are you pulling this time?"
His tone clearly held some irritation.
Obviously, calling everyone over under the excuse of Thunder's betrayal was a bit far-fetched.
Looking at the group of Core Formation Realm experts behind Skinny Elder, it was clear—When the summons arrived, most had rushed to Skinny Elder first.
Probably out of fear that the enraged Fat Elder would go crazy and mistakenly kill them as traitors—A death with no recourse.
Ning Qi understood this perfectly.
But it didn't matter. His goal was achieved.
Even if they had doubts—they still came.
That was enough.
He didn't need their full trust.
Ning Qi let out a cold snort:"What, that dog Thunder ambushed me, and I can't kill him for it?"
Skinny Elder looked a bit skeptical:"A mere Core Formation cultivator dared to ambush you? Fatty, walk me through what actually happened that day."
He stared closely at Ning Qi—As if trying to see through something.
At that moment—The group behind him all respectfully bowed:"Greetings, Fat Elder!"
Ning Qi nodded slightly, but in his heart—his killing intent surged.
His gaze swept across the group casually—But in truth, he focused on a one-eyed man.
Even after nine years, he recognized that voice.
This was the 'Lord Wind' who had destroyed Xue Mei Manor back then.
Now one of the Blood Rain Pavilion's four gold-ranked killers—'Wind'.
In nine years, he had clearly made great strides—he was now in the Core Formation Realm.
Ning Qi suppressed his urge to kill.
Now that the man was in front of him—he couldn't escape.
A mere Core Formation cultivator—In Ning Qi's eyes, no different from an ant.
Everyone entered the main hall.
Ning Qi responded to Skinny Elder's doubts:"Who knows what kind of madness struck him. I was kindly explaining the purpose of the Blood King Gu, and he took advantage of a moment of inattention to launch a sneak attack."
That explanation clearly didn't satisfy Skinny Elder.
He suspected this fatty had killed Thunder privately to complete the final step of the Blood King Gu—All just to return to the Southern Frontier sooner.
He said darkly:"Is that so? How's your Blood King Gu now? Let me see it."
Skinny Elder's tone was somewhat forceful.
He hadn't noticed any issues yet, but the technique to control the Blood King Gu was a secret art of the Southern Frontier.
If the man in front of him couldn't demonstrate it, something was definitely wrong.
Ning Qi frowned slightly in apparent displeasure, then took out the purple jade bamboo tube.
He had observed Fat Elder's expressions and habits earlier—he wouldn't slip up here.
He slowly opened the tube and chanted the special tones.
A blood-jade-like Blood King Gu emerged for all to see.
Skinny Elder felt a weight lift from his heart—his suspicion eased.
At least this was still the same Fat Elder.
Then his gaze fell on the three solid pairs of wings behind the Blood King Gu—
Proof that it was fully matured.
He felt a bit annoyed.
His own Blood King Gu was still short of the final stage.
Though his strength was greater—He and Fatty were equals, not superior and subordinate.
He'd spent more time in seclusion—And now Fatty had finished his Blood King Gu first.
Skinny Elder was pondering how to take advantage of this incident to secure some benefits for himself, his attention now mostly focused on the Blood King Gu.
The rest of the people were the same.
A cold sneer rose in Ning Qi's heart.
Without any warning—
He made his move!
To prevent any fluctuations in Heaven and Earth power from tipping them off, Ning Qi only used Qi.
His Jade Liquid Sea roiled violently, gathering terrifying force.
He wasn't far from Skinny Elder, and in an instant, a massive hand seal tinged with dark green toxic energy blasted forth.
It was identical to the one Elder Wang had used during his ambush on Zhenwu Mountain.If Elder Wang could somehow rise from the dead and see this, he'd probably scream in shock.
The strike came so suddenly.
Skinny Elder only just sensed it when the dark green palm had already descended.
The terrifying aura in it made his heart jolt—Even the air seemed to be corroding.
There was no time to dodge—He could only take it head-on.
The sudden ambush—two Elders were now battling fiercely.
Everyone was stunned.