Night was ink-black, utterly silent, only the mountain wind occasionally passing through the forest gaps, bringing a rustling sound. At a hidden assembly point in the back mountain of Qingxu Temple, five figures stood quietly, their auras restrained, almost merging with the surrounding darkness.
Tang Xiaoqi tightened the seemingly clumsy but actually spiritually connected Mysterious Iron Pan on his back, and touched the warm jade pendant in his chest, taking a deep breath of the cool night air. This was his first time actively participating in a raid against the Shadow Snake Pavilion. His heart held both nervousness and a heavy sense of responsibility, along with an indescribable exhilaration.
Standing beside him was Third Senior Sister Liu Yun, her features cold and clear, her gaze sharp as a hawk's. She still wore that neat combat attire, sword on her back, emanating an aura that discouraged approach. She glanced at the slightly tense Xiaoqi, her voice extremely low but clearly audible to everyone: "Remember the mission objective—the black market stronghold 'Ghost Market,' located fifty li ahead in Black Wind Canyon. The main objective is to destroy the stronghold, capture the person in charge, and gather intelligence. Actions must be swift and covert. If encountering powerful enemies, do not engage—retreat immediately at my signal."
Senior Brother Mu Qingfeng nodded composedly beside her. His aura was profound and solid, already at Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, serving as the anchor of this operation. The other two accompanying members were inner sect disciples Chen Feng, skilled in formations and reconnaissance, and Lin Wan, proficient in medicine and toxins.
"Xiaoqi," Mu Qingfeng looked at him, his gaze warm but encouraging, "your purification power makes you highly sensitive to demonic qi. You need to watch for any special demonic qi residues or traps. Also, this pan of yours..." He paused, his tone carrying a hint of unnoticeable amusement, "its defense is astonishing. At critical moments it may protect our fellow disciples."
Xiaoqi nodded vigorously: "Senior Brother, rest assured, I understand."
Third Senior Sister Liu Yun said nothing more, her jade hand waving: "Move out!"
Five figures glided like phantoms, silently vanishing into the thick darkness of the night. All had employed lightness techniques and aura-concealing arts, following the previously planned covert route, rapidly approaching Black Wind Canyon.
Black Wind Canyon's terrain was perilous, steep cliffs on both sides, a narrow passage winding deep within. According to intelligence, this black market stronghold controlled by the Shadow Snake Pavilion was hidden deep within the canyon in a naturally formed enormous karst cave, using the complex terrain and simple illusion formations for concealment, conducting their illicit trades.
The closer they drew to the canyon entrance, the more apparent the faint, sinister coldness in the air became. The jade pendant at Xiaoqi's chest emitted a barely perceptible warmth, warning him of the faint demonic qi spreading in the air ahead.
"Three hundred meters ahead, two hidden sentries, three on the left, two on the right, cultivation around Qi Refining Fifth Stage." Chen Feng, responsible for reconnaissance, returned quietly, lowering his voice to report.
Liu Yun's eyes turned cold: "Senior Brother Mu Qingfeng, you and I will each take a side, swift and decisive. Chen Feng, Lin Wan, guard the perimeter; Xiaoqi, follow us in, locate and destroy the stronghold's core immediately, while also watching for anomalies."
The orders were concise and clear. Mu Qingfeng and Liu Yun exchanged a glance, their forms suddenly blurring, then like arrows leaving the bow, shooting toward the dark corners on both sides of the canyon entrance. Only a few extremely brief dull thuds and falling sounds were heard—within moments, the two sentries had been silently eliminated.
"In!" Liu Yun's voice carried unquestionable decisiveness.
The five entered in single file. Inside the canyon, the light grew dimmer, jagged rocks like grasping demon claws. After walking roughly the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, a cave entrance half-obscured by vines appeared before them. Faint spiritual energy fluctuations emanated from the entrance, obviously set with warning or illusion-type simple formations.
"Leave it to me." Chen Feng stepped forward, hands forming seals, spiritual light flickering at his fingertips as he carefully began to break the formation. His movements were swift; in merely a dozen breaths, that faint spiritual energy fluctuation rippled like water waves, then dissipated.
"The formation is broken, but those inside may have already noticed." Chen Feng said quietly.
"No matter, forced entry!" Liu Yun coldly snorted, turning first into a sword beam and charging into the cave. Mu Qingfeng followed closely, his sword still sheathed, but his powerful spiritual energy surged forth like a tide, directly sending the two black-clad guards at the entrance who tried to obstruct them flying back.
Xiaoqi dared not delay, entering with Chen Feng and Lin Wan. Inside the cave was another world—far more spacious than it appeared from outside, with several connected stone chambers artificially carved out. The walls were inlaid with glowing pale-green fluorite, casting ghostly light throughout the cave. At this moment, chaos filled the interior—about a dozen cultivators wearing various attire but all with tiny snake-shaped marks on their sleeves were panicking to grab weapons or rush toward a corner piled with supplies.
"Qingxu Temple enforcement! Surrender!" Mu Qingfeng's voice rang like thunder, imbued with spiritual energy, causing some lower-cultivation Shadow Snake Pavilion members' eardrums to ache, their movements faltering.
"Fight them!" A burly man who appeared to be a leader roared, waving a ghost-head blade, recklessly charging toward the seemingly "young and easy欺" Tang Xiaoqi with three or four subordinates.
Xiaoqi's heart tightened, but he did not panic. His footwork changed nimbly—precisely the result of Third Senior Sister's recent "special training"—his form agile as he avoided the blade's chopping path. Simultaneously, he moved his mind, and the pan on his back "hummed" softly, automatically flying up and into his grasp.
"Here comes the pan!" Xiaoqi low-hissed, without employing any flashy moves, merely pouring internal spiritual energy into the pan body, swinging it fully and forcefully forward!
"Clang!"
A dull, bell-like roar echoed through the karst cave. The burly man felt an irresistible force travel through the ghost-head blade, his tiger's grip instantly shattered, the blade thrown flying, and his whole person as if struck by a wild bull, thrown backward and slamming into the stone wall, unconscious. Several other charging cultivators were also hit by the pan's wind, stumbling backward, their energy churning, their faces full of terror as they stared at the black "murder weapon" in Xiaoqi's hands.
On the other side, Liu Yun's sword beam was like a dragon, each sword strike precise and ruthless, several enemies already prostrated beneath her, having lost their combat capability. Mu Qingfeng was like a tiger among sheep, with each movement he subdued several people, controlling the situation.
Lin Wan wandered at the edge of the battlefield, her jade hand gently waving—some enemies who tried to release poison mist or hidden weapons often found their limbs suddenly aching before they could succeed, collapsing to the ground. Chen Feng swiftly shuttled through, breaking some formations in the stone chambers and searching for valuable intelligence jade slips or items.
Xiaoqi's first strike succeeded, his confidence greatly increased. He held the pan like an invincible shield, sometimes blocking incoming spell arrows, sometimes forcefully slapping back approaching enemies. The pan's toughness and that strange vibration force performed magnificently. He even attempted to attach a thread of weak purification power to the pan and discovered it had an extra suppressive effect on enemies who cultivated evil techniques, causing their spiritual energy to operate sluggishly.
The battle showed a one-sided trend. These Shadow Snake Pavilion members stationed at the black market stronghold were mostly in the middle to late Qi Refining Stage, with only that one leader at Foundation Establishment Early Stage—they simply could not compete with this elite Qingxu Temple squad.
In less than half the time needed to drink tea, there were only a few enemies still standing in the cave. Liu Yun's sword tip pointed; the final two defiant cultivators were forced into a corner by her sharp sword energy, trembling as they threw down their weapons.
"Clear the battlefield, gather all valuable items, especially jade slips and account books!" Liu Yun resheathed her sword, coldly commanding.
Everyone immediately set to work. Xiaoqi, as instructed, gathered his focus, fully stimulating the jade pendant at his chest, perceiving the aura within the cave. Soon, his brow slightly frowned as he walked toward a pile of seemingly miscellaneous crates in the corner.
"Third Senior Sister, there's something unusual here." Xiaoqi pointed to a black wooden box emitting faint demonic qi fluctuations.
Liu Yun walked over quickly, signaling Xiaoqi to step back, carefully using her sword tip to pry open the box lid. Inside were not precious items, but several pieces of pitch-black ore and bone tablets etched with bizarre runes—that cold, sinister aura emanated precisely from these objects.
"'Yin Sha Stone' and 'Grudge Soul Bones'—materials for refining demonic path magical artifacts." Liu Yun's eyes grew colder. "It seems this stronghold is not just a black market, but also collecting resources for the Shadow Snake Pavilion." She took out a specially-made storage bag and carefully stored these items.
Meanwhile, Chen Feng found several jade slips recording transaction information and partial personnel lists in a secret chamber, along with considerable spirit stones and prohibited medicinal materials. Lin Wan conducted preliminary examinations and processing on the captured prisoners, ensuring they could not resist or commit suicide.
"The stronghold's core has been found—it was a formation disk maintaining this location's concealment illusion formation. It has been destroyed." Chen Feng reported.
Liu Yun surveyed the chaotic karst cave, confirming nothing was missed, and decisively ordered: "Take the prisoners and important evidence, withdraw!"
Everyone escorted five low-level members whose cultivation had been sealed and mouths gagged, rapidly exiting the karst cave along the original route, vanishing into the canyon's darkness. Behind them, that black market stronghold, operating for who knows how long, was thoroughly exposed and had lost its value.
On the return journey, the moonlight was cold and clear, the mountain forest silent. The initial excitement of the successful raid gradually settled in Xiaoqi, replaced by a calm realization. He touched the jade pendant in his chest and looked at the now-quiet pan in his hands. Strength is not merely for self-preservation, but also for protection and the eradication of evil. On this road, he had just taken a solid step. The road ahead might be even more dangerous, but his gaze, in the night, grew ever more resolute.