The Azure Mist Sect had originally been fresh with green grass, rich with rivers and waters, pools one after another, a place of clear elegance and tranquility. Yet now it rang with battle cries. The green grass was stained with red mist, flower petals dotted with drops of blood, emerald trees blossoming with crimson.

One body after another collapsed. None knew how many had died. Ye Fan had truly transformed into a young demon king, a slaughter in all directions — one figure after another lay prostrate at his feet.

Not only had the Azure Mist Sect leader become ash, but the last two remaining Supreme Elders had also been beaten to dust. Now he was in the process of executing the rest.

His heart burned with fury. The Azure Mist Sect, for the sake of their so-called growth — euphemistically calling their methods “temporarily excessive” — had committed atrocities that made the blood boil.

They had ruthlessly oppressed and extorted, treated lives as grass, stopped at nothing for source. Their hands were stained with blood, their evil deeds stacking one upon another.

Dozens of villages had suffered young women violated. Source-seekers had been killed. Countless young men who had resisted had been subjected to cruel torture.

The Azure Mist Sect had not only backed more than ten bands of bandits, but had also personally taken action on numerous occasions, causing countless bloody incidents. They were the undisputed root of evil and malice in this land — everything had begun with them.

To excavate source ore mines, they had forcibly displaced more than ten stone villages. One village that showed even a hint of resistance had half its people slaughtered — brutal and savage beyond measure.

Of course, all of this had been carried out through bandits as proxies — but it was all done on their orders.

“Spare me… I’ve never done any evil — this has nothing to do with me…” Tearful cries rang out intermittently.

Ye Fan made no exceptions. He let his powerful spiritual sense sweep through their sea of consciousness, and wherever he saw blood still on their hands, he showed no mercy — striking cleanly and without hesitation.

Pop. Pop…

One bloom of blood after another blossomed — vivid and shocking in its beauty. In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen more bodies were added to the count.

From a distance, everyone trembled, scattering in every direction to flee. Yet some had already seen that escape was impossible, and roared as they charged forward to fight to the death.

Ye Fan’s expression was placid — like a man taking a stroll through a courtyard garden, light and unhurried. But his hands showed no mercy. Each finger he extended snuffed out several more living lives.

Pop. Pop. Pop…

He moved with unhurried calm, ending lives as though harvesting wild grass. Neither side of the path knew how many bodies had fallen. Blood dyed the meadow crimson.

This sight made the heart lurch and the skin crawl — even Wang Shu and Lei Bo felt repeated waves of cold wash over them.

Ye Fan was ethereal as an immortal, drifting lightly with feet that barely seemed to touch the ground, continually pointing as he went — blood blossomed, bodies lay everywhere. He seemed untouched by even a leaf, threading through the corpses, not a single drop of blood on him.

He was clearly killing, yet there was a kind of beauty in it — carrying an air of otherworldly purity, as though he were demonstrating a form of art.

The art of killing — flowing like drifting clouds, natural as a reflection, perfectly effortless, vivid as a painting, almost beautiful to behold.

“A demon… a demon king from the depths of hell!”

The Azure Mist Sect’s people had completely broken down. Now they were like lambs, lying on the chopping block, waiting for a fate they could not change — to be slaughtered.

Death itself was not the most frightening thing. Far worse was the process — the anguish of enduring it, a torment that drove one to madness.

“Don’t kill me — I’ve done nothing wrong, this has nothing to do with me…!” Weeping cries rang out at intervals.

Ye Fan disregarded all pleas and looked only at the truth. His spiritual sense swept through, and anyone who had blood on their hands lost their head without exception. He walked forward in unhurried calm, and by the end no one could have said how many had been killed — the path had been dyed red.

“Brother Ye, stop the killing!” Wang Shu and Lei Bo stepped forward. Their gallbladders felt ready to give out. They had never witnessed such a scene of carnage.

Though the method of killing seemed to carry a strange beauty, these were still lives — human lives. Seeing skulls rolling one after another, they were struggling to hold on.

“You’ve killed far too many — over a hundred. Brother Ye, weren’t you going to found a sect? There’ll be no one left soon.”

Ye Fan stopped and looked back. All along the path he had walked, bodies lay in a line, red spots everywhere. The ancient green stone steps had turned a dark crimson.

No one had been able to escape. He had sealed the Azure Mist Sect with his one hundred and eight great banners — these people had no way to break through.

“These people — I neither dare use them, nor can I. When you uproot evil, you must be thorough.” Ye Fan shook his head.

From a distance, the Azure Mist people fell into near despair upon hearing those words. Even the sect leader and Supreme Elders had been guilty of wrongdoing — to say nothing of them. Most of those present had personally participated in banditry. Their hands were far from clean.

“Then let’s fight — everyone charge together. We can’t just sit here and wait to be slaughtered like this.”

“If we die, at least let it be quick. We won’t let him butcher us like dogs.”

…

With long records of evil and a familiarity with death, many still had some fighting spirit left. They howled and roared, charging forward.

The result was never in doubt. However much they raged, nothing could be changed. Screams and curses rang out without cease, the Azure Mist Sect descending into total chaos.

Not until half an hour later did the place finally return to quiet. The blood mist slowly dispersed, leaving behind only a ground covered in corpses.

Ye Fan had killed two hundred and seventeen people in all, bringing the Azure Mist Sect to near-total annihilation — from ordinary disciples all the way up to elders, every one cut down, leaving this place a land soaked in blood.

The grass, the stone steps, the pools, the flower beds had all been stained red. Wang Shu and Lei Bo were vomiting without pause. Scenes this bloody made their hearts tremble.

These were not pigs or sheep — these were people. In words, one might say nothing of it, but faced with several hundred bodies strewn in every direction, even an ordinary person would be shaken.

Only twenty-three had been spared. They had truly committed no evil, their hearts inwardly rejecting the Azure Mist Sect’s conduct. Ye Fan did not make things difficult for them.

Beyond these, he had also released three elders from a stone prison at the back of the mountain — Azure Mist elders who had likewise opposed the backing of bandits and been imprisoned here as a result.

The Azure Mist Sect was as good as erased. In the end, only twenty-six had survived. All others had been cut down by Ye Fan — decisive and resolute.

“Bury them all — let the graves take away all the evil with them.” Ye Fan instructed the surviving twenty-six, then strode in great steps toward the central main peak.

The Azure Mist Sect’s treasury was opened. Radiant colors drifted like mist, brilliant light dazzling enough to make one’s eyes water. On jade racks sat piece upon piece of source — from as small as a date pit to as large as a fist. Though there were no rare world-shaking sources, they were all clean and pure.

A full half-fang of source — weighing over sixteen hundred catties — far exceeding what he had estimated. All of it was the product of Azure Mist’s plundering.

“Heavens — this much source. How many mine shafts would you have to dig to get all this?!” Lei Bo exclaimed.

Wang Shu’s eyes were barely enough to take it all in either. He touched this piece, rubbed that one, sources of every kind shining in five colors, most of them different from one another, crystalline and gleaming — the most precious substance of the Northern Region.

A full half-fang of source, radiant in all directions, translucent and brilliant, captivating the mind.

“You two, take some for yourselves as well. Now that you’ve set foot on the path of cultivation, you’ll need it every day.” Ye Fan told them to take some source.

Then Ye Fan brought out the Jade Purity Vase and collected the remaining half-fang of source inside it. This was enough to allow him to break through to the second realm of the Dao Palace.

No wonder so many people turn to banditry — this truly inflames the heart! Ye Fan marveled. Taking down one small sect had yielded such an extraordinary harvest, it was enough to drive one to madness. Even he felt the urge to attack another sect.

Now his combat power was already far from ordinary. If he could cultivate to the second realm of the Dao Palace, his strength would certainly advance by leaps and bounds.

Beyond the large quantity of source in the treasury, there were also a number of weapons. And sealed away were several secret texts — all of which Ye Fan took out.

Beneath the main peak of Azure Mist, three great waterfalls cascaded down, magnificent and beautiful. Water mist formed rainbow after rainbow, rare and exotic flowers and plants growing around the area, precious trees deep green — a scene of clear and beautiful splendor.

The twenty-six survivors were deeply uneasy, uncertain what fate awaited them.

Thud!

The Azure Mist Sect’s highest scriptures were thrown before them. Then weapon after weapon refined by Dao Palace cultivators was cast upon the ground alongside.

“These all belong to you. Do not doubt it, have no reservations. The Azure Mist Sect was once occupied by a gang of criminals who brought disaster across the land. I have eliminated them. Those who remain are the true inheritors of this legacy.”

From hell to heaven — happiness arrived so swiftly. These people almost didn’t dare believe it. A moment ago they had been fearing for their lives — and now they could receive treasures and secret arts.

“Is this truly real?” One of them trembled as he raised his head to ask.

“Of course it is.” Ye Fan smiled. “Make the most of yourselves. Once you have grown strong, there is no doubt — you will all become elders of the Azure Mist Sect.”

With everyone else killed, those who remained would naturally become the ruling elders — the ones in power.

“Brother Ye…” Lei Bo wanted to say something.

“Ah — I forgot to introduce them. These two are the chief and deputy chief of the Ore Sect. In the future, they may trouble you for assistance.” Ye Fan pushed Wang Shu and Lei Bo forward.

“We’re the chief and deputy chief?! We’ve actually… founded a sect…!” The two of them were in a daze.

“The Ore Sect?!” The Azure Mist survivors looked at one another. The name was extremely earthy — just from the sound of it, you could tell it was about mining ore.

“Just as all of you are guessing — our sect holds no quarrel with the world, merely seeking source across the mountains and land. In the future, we may trouble all of you for assistance.” Ye Fan had no desire to move into this sect himself — he wanted to control it from a distance. If he announced his direct control, it would only stir up a rebellious reaction.

According to the Scripture of the Source of Heaven, when conducting source-seeking operations, it was sometimes necessary to lock down the veins of mountains and terrain, requiring many hands. These were his internally designated “miners.”

“Whatever you command — we dare not refuse. We will carry it out.” These people were overjoyed inwardly. Not only had they survived, but they were about to become the actual masters of the Azure Mist Sect — far beyond anything they had expected.

At their core, these people were not bad in character. They had opposed the commission of evil, their hands clean — otherwise Ye Fan would not have spared them.

“Your best course is to seal off the mountain and cultivate in silence…” Ye Fan said all he needed to say, then departed with Wang Shu and Lei Bo, drifting gracefully away.

“Brother Ye — have we really founded a sect?” On the road, Wang Shu kept pressing the question.

“And the name is so ugly…” Lei Bo muttered.

“What is ugly about it? The Ore Sect — the name says it all: a great sect that shakes the world.”

“You said you were going to found a sect at Azure Mist — why are you leaving?” Neither of them understood.

“My primary purpose was to remove the malignant growth from this land. As for the Azure Mist Sect — naturally it must be kept firmly in hand!” Ye Fan smiled faintly.

These were his internally designated miners — but he could not announce it directly. If he did, even those who appeared compliant on the surface would resist inwardly. A gradual, subtle approach was needed.

For now, let them become the masters of the Azure Mist Sect. These people would certainly be overjoyed. Over time, everything would fall naturally into place.

Ye Fan had already claimed this sect as his own territory — he would not permit anyone else to touch it. Before long, he would go there to cultivate in seclusion.

In the three days that followed, Ye Fan moved with the swiftness of thunder, eliminating all seventeen bands of bandits operating within five hundred li, wiping them out cleanly and completely.

When Ye Fan returned to the Azure Mist Sect, preparing to enter closed-door cultivation using his newly obtained source, he learned that for the past three days the mountain gate had intermittently been under observation from outside.

“Members of four sects — the Departing Fire Sect, the Fallen Crimson Gate, the Dark Moon Grotto, and the Seven Stars Pavilion — have been constantly probing our Azure Mist’s strength in recent days.”

The three remaining Azure Mist elders showed expressions of worry, and the other twenty-three young disciples were all uneasy as well.

“No matter. As long as they don’t go too far, pay them no mind. If any of you run into difficulties, I will step in. After all, I have borrowed one of your peaks.” Ye Fan said with a smile.

He wanted to live in seclusion on the back mountain — and the Azure Mist people dared not refuse. Initially they had reservations, but now they had no choice but to come seeking Ye Fan’s help.

“Disciples of the Dark Moon Grotto come to pay respects at the mountain — we request an audience with the Azure Mist Sect leader!” The voice carried all the way in from beyond the mountain gate to every one of the eighteen main peaks.

Before long, an Azure Mist disciple led a young man in his mid-twenties inside, ascending the stone steps. He scanned his surroundings, a faint smile curving the corner of his mouth.

“You are nothing but a disciple of the Dark Moon Grotto, yet you made such noise at the mountain gate to disturb our cultivation. Claiming boldly to see our Azure Mist Sect leader — even your elders, if they came in person, would not dare act so presumptuous.”

“This junior is Li Youran, ninth disciple of the Dark Moon Grotto’s master, come under my teacher’s orders to pay a visit.” Li Youran surveyed the surroundings, and upon spotting traces of blood near the pool and on the stone steps, the smile at the corner of his lips grew more pronounced.

“What is your business?” The Azure Mist elder’s expression turned cold.

“Having heard that there has been a change in the Azure Mist Sect, our Dark Moon Grotto wishes to offer assistance. Before long, a powerful figure will arrive here.” Li Youran answered.

“Impudent — are you trying to seize the Azure Mist Sect?!” The three elders were furious.

“We would not dare. Our Dark Moon Grotto’s master and your sect leader are close friends. Should the Azure Mist Sect be in difficulty, our Dark Moon Grotto naturally must come to offer support and help you through this hardship.” Li Youran had already deduced the Azure Mist Sect’s true state and became even more casual, a light smile drifting across his face.

“The Dark Moon Grotto wants to take advantage of our misfortune?!” All twenty-six remaining members of the Azure Mist Sect were furious.

“Not at all — we come in sincerity to assist.” Li Youran opened the folding fan in his hand and spoke eloquently. “My teacher and the Azure Mist Sect leader agreed long ago that the two sects should be merged into one, working together to grow and flourish.”

Having said it this plainly, the Dark Moon Grotto’s intentions were abundantly clear — there was no mistaking them.

“You…!” The Azure Mist people were outraged.

“Quite the grand manner.” Ye Fan walked out. “A merger of the two sects is not out of the question. Go back and tell your Grotto Master — have half a fang of source prepared. When he’s ready, he may come to join the Azure Mist Sect. Making him vice sect leader should pose no problem.”

“And who are you?” Li Youran snapped his fan shut with a sharp crack, his smile vanishing as he said in a solemn voice: “So young, yet daring to speak here — I am speaking with your elders. Step aside.”

Ye Fan had already claimed the Azure Mist Sect as his own territory — he would not possibly allow anyone to intrude, to come along and steal the fruit that was already picked. Naturally he could not tolerate it.

“Were you speaking to me?” He walked down the ancient green stone steps, a gentle breeze lifting his hair, robes spreading wide, effortlessly graceful. “This is the Azure Mist Sect. I may say whatever I please here. And who are you? A mere disciple of the Dark Moon Grotto — acting with such arrogance in this place. What do you take this for?”

“I represent the Dark Moon Grotto. A young, minor disciple like you naturally has no standing to speak with me!” Li Youran spread his fan, gazing out at the mountains and waters, not giving anyone present even a second thought.

“Get out of here. Tell your Grotto Master to have half a fang of source ready for me. Otherwise, I’ll accommodate his wishes and prepare a merger — right now!”

Ye Fan let out a cold laugh, long sleeves drifting, lightly flicking his wrist — graceful and effortless, as though clouds were flowing and water was moving.

Crack!

Li Youran was sent flying in an instant, sailing a hundred meters through the air before tumbling to the ground in a heap.

“You…! You dare be so rude to our Dark Moon Grotto!”

Crash!

Ye Fan swept his long sleeve again. Li Youran’s mouth and nose instantly sprayed blood. His face swelled grotesquely — as though struck by a massive slap — his entire body simultaneously shuddering as if struck by lightning, sending him flying once more.

“Very well. Very well. Very well. Today the Azure Mist Sect will truly be completely wiped out!” Li Youran’s face turned iron blue.

“Such grand words from such a small figure. Get out of here quickly, and tell your Grotto Master to come see me in person.” Ye Fan stood where he was without moving, his wide sleeves sweeping out continuously.

Li Youran’s body shook violently, his face grotesquely swollen, teeth loosened and falling out. He was sent flying clean out of the Azure Mist Sect’s gates, plummeting toward the distant pool below.