Devouring Soul Emperor

Before setting out, Chu Qingyun went to see Ye Qi one more time. He told her there was a promising lead on the One Yang Pill and that she absolutely shouldn’t worry.

However, from the look on her face, she clearly didn’t quite believe him, thinking he was just trying to comfort her.

Chu Qingyun didn’t bother explaining further. ’It’ll be soon anyway, and there’s plenty of time. I’ll just let it be a surprise for her.’

Leading his horse out of the city, Chu Qingyun headed straight for Iron Blade Gorge.

And just after he was a good distance away, two more figures emerged from the city gate.

Chu Qingyun had seen both of them before. One was Jintai, and the other was his old servant, Elder Huai—the man who had nearly killed Chu Qingyun back in Qingshan City.

"Elder Huai, it’s time to go. I’ve already alerted the courier stations along the route. They’ll all be watching for Chu Qingyun’s direction. Just follow his trail from one station to the next, and you’ll be able to stay on his tail."

Jintai said to Elder Huai, his gaze sinister and cruel.

The last time they’d met, on the tournament stage of the Four Races Martial Arts Competition, Chu Qingyun had knocked him from the cusp of victory and slammed him into the dirt. Not only had his reputation been ruined, but many of his bones had been shattered as well.

If he hadn’t been the Young Clan Leader of the Jin Family, and if the Jin Family hadn’t used a massive amount of Spiritual Medicine—not to mention getting several Elixirs from the Ye Family’s Great Elder, Ye Tianyao—he’d probably still be lying in bed right now.

As for Chu Qingyun, Jintai now hated him to the very bone.

Elder Huai nodded. "Rest assured, Young Clan Leader. That Chu Qingyun has only just reached the Half-Step Martial Spirit Realm, while I am just a hair’s breadth away from becoming a true Level One Martial Spirit. On this journey, I will most certainly kill that little bastard and present both his head and his Storage Ring to you."

After speaking, Elder Huai vaulted onto his horse and followed in Chu Qingyun’s direction, keeping a great distance.

Iron Blade Gorge was located in a region of rolling hills.

This was where the borders of three cities met, but since it was far from all of them, it had become a lawless land that none of them bothered to govern.

Furthermore, Cloud-Mo Village was presided over by someone in the Martial Spirit Realm.

Although it was only the lowest-level, a Level One Martial Spirit, in the regions outside the County City, that level of power was comparable to a City Lord or the Clan Leader of a top family.

Thus, Cloud-Mo Village had been entrenched in Iron Blade Gorge for over a decade, and no one had dared to move against it. It had been wiped out once by the Great Xia Dragon Guard, but later rose from the ashes.

After all, the Army Guardian Level members of the Great Xia Dragon Guard weren’t a dime a dozen. With limited manpower and a county as large as Lianshan, they had far too many matters to handle.

As a result, it was the common people near Iron Blade Gorge who suffered.

Chu Qingyun set out from the nearest courier station around dawn, and by morning, he had reached the outskirts of Iron Blade Gorge.

Along the way, he had already seen several abandoned villages. Some looked as though they had only been deserted for a few years; their earthen huts and wooden houses were still standing, but they were utterly devoid of life.

Others, you could tell at a glance, had been empty for more than a decade, consisting of nothing but dilapidated, collapsed houses.

It wasn’t until he was almost upon Iron Blade Gorge that Chu Qingyun finally saw a sign of human life. It was just a small, squat, broken-down earthen hut, and in front of it, an old man who looked like he’d lost nearly all his teeth was cooking a meal.

"Old sir, is Cloud-Mo Village on that mountain up ahead?" Chu Qingyun dismounted, pointing to a peak in front of them as he asked.

Unexpectedly, the old man lifted his head and glared at him. "Hmph! So young and already up to no good. Couldn’t you find anything better to do than become a mountain bandit?"

Hearing this, Chu Qingyun froze for a moment before giving a wry smile. ’The old man must have mistaken me for someone wanting to join Cloud-Mo Village.’

"Old sir, I’m not here to become a bandit," Chu Qingyun explained with a smile. "I’m one of the Great Xia Dragon Guard, on a mission to kill Heaven-Reaching Clouds."

"The Great Xia Dragon Guard? Are you really one of the Great Xia Dragon Guard?" The old man was so shocked he dropped his spoon as he stared at Chu Qingyun.

Chu Qingyun took out his Token and showed it to him.

Seeing the golden Token, the old man grew even more agitated. "It’s real, it’s real..."

"Oh? Old sir, you recognize this Token?"

Chu Qingyun had only shown it to him casually; he hadn’t expected the old man to actually recognize it.

"I do, I do! Five years ago, the Great Xia Dragon Guard came to destroy Cloud-Mo Village. They wiped the village out, but Heaven-Reaching Clouds managed to escape. He hid for two years, then came back and rebuilt it."

"For those two years, a bit of life returned to the area. A few new hamlets even sprang up. But then Cloud-Mo Village reappeared, and they were constantly bullying and harassing those settlements. Everyone who could leave, left, and the hamlets slowly fell into ruin."

As the old man spoke, he brought a stool over for Chu Qingyun, and the two of them sat down.

"Then why didn’t you leave, old sir?" Chu Qingyun asked.

"Me?" The old man chuckled. "I’m just a lonely old man with nothing to fear. If I live, I live. If I die, I die. I’ve lived here my whole life; I’m too lazy to uproot myself now."

Chu Qingyun nodded, feeling a sense of admiration for the old man’s philosophical outlook.

After a bit more small talk, Chu Qingyun confirmed the location of Cloud-Mo Village and the path up the mountain. Not wanting to delay any longer, he tied his horse near the old man’s hut and headed straight over.

When he reached the foot of the mountain, he looked up at the plumes of cooking smoke rising from the peak, and his gaze gradually grew cold.

Initially, he had planned to sneak in and use assassination to eliminate his targets. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

One reason was Heaven-Reaching Clouds’ strength as a Level One Martial Spirit, but more importantly, he didn’t want to harm any innocents.

But after seeing the desolation around Iron Blade Gorge and learning from the old man that there were truly no good people in Cloud-Mo Village...

...Chu Qingyun decided he didn’t want to wait until dark or go through all that trouble.

He might as well just fight his way straight up!

Although Chu Qingyun was currently only at the Half-Step Martial Spirit Realm, he was still very confident in his ability to deal with a Level One Martial Spirit!

At the foot of the mountain, there was a hidden Cloud-Mo Village outpost.

Seeing Chu Qingyun heading up the mountain alone, several men immediately jumped out.

"Halt, kid! Who are you? How dare you come here?" a man who looked like a minor leader shouted, pointing at Chu Qingyun.

’A Level Nine Martial Artist...’

Chu Qingyun shook his head, not even bothering to acknowledge him as he casually scooped up a handful of small stones from the ground.

Seeing that he was being ignored, the minor leader’s eyes bulged with rage. "You little piece of shit, you’re looking to die! Men, cut him down!"

The two Martial Artists beside him, one Level Six and one Level Seven, brandished their large sabers and walked toward Chu Qingyun with vicious grins.

While standing guard at the foot of the mountain, they would occasionally encounter lost travelers or passersby. Most were ordinary people, and without exception, they all died at their hands.

They had clearly mistaken Chu Qingyun for just another one of those people.

’Ready to kill at the slightest disagreement. Just as you’d expect from bandits...’