Over twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators dead! Among them were nearly ten late-stage experts! This loss wiped out nearly twenty percent of the region's high-end Foundation Establishment power! Even the recent war between sects hadn't seen such a concentration of high-level deaths.
When news of the ambush broke, every cultivator was plunged into shock and silence. The first to be silenced was the elder who had tried to warn Qi Ping. Sensing Qi Ping's absolute resolve to destroy the Alliance's affiliates, he had prepared his organization's hidden elders to help at the right moment. He had even reported to his Golden Core backer.
But before he could even move, he received news of the massacre. Looking at the field of corpses, his aged face was full of bewilderment. He never expected this. The Bee Daoist was only at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment! How could he slaughter so many peers?
He recalled Qi Ping's words: "I am waiting for the moment they surround me." And: "I will kill every organization they have! Anyone who helps them, I will kill!"
The first part had been proven. What about the second? Hope flickered in his eyes. Could he truly see the Celestial Alliance driven out of the region in his lifetime?
"Grand Elder Zhou, is this the 'promising middle-stage brat' you mentioned? Are we here to 'help' him?" a woman's voice asked beside him. She put heavy emphasis on 'middle-stage.' Was this something a middle-stage cultivator could do?
"I..." The elder was speechless. He was still in shock himself!
While the elder was excited, the Qing Yuan Sect was grim. Some of those dead were their own disciples and deacons who had gone for the bounty. As the masters of the region, they felt a surge of rage. Yet, others felt these people deserved it. The Celestial Alliance had been overstepping lately, and the sect's inaction was stifling. If the sect had been as firm as it used to be, they would have struck the Alliance themselves.
The Bee Daoist's actions were actually quite satisfying to some. They hated that their peers had licked the Alliance's boots to hunt the man. Seeing them slaughtered was poetic justice! Most importantly, the Celestial Alliance had suffered a massive blow!
However, both factions agreed on one thing: the Bee Daoist was terrifying. A middle-stage cultivator fighting twenty others and killing them all? Such a feat hadn't been seen in the region for ages. Even against a Golden Core, some of those twenty should have escaped.
The most confused, of course, was the Celestial Alliance. The Envoy went insane when the report arrived. All dead? Most of them were his people! One moment they were confident of the kill, and the next, everyone was gone. This was a massive slap to the Alliance's face.
This battle shattered the Alliance's prestige. Affiliated Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment forces were in a panic. Those who had thought of joining the Alliance immediately abandoned the idea. Why join? To die? The Alliance couldn't even handle a single middle-stage Bee Daoist.
The Alliance's fury intensified. They sent more Foundation Establishment cultivators and, regardless of the cost, more Golden Core experts. They had sent a Golden Core before, but the region was vast, and the expert hadn't made it to Linhuo County in time because he hadn't taken a 'brat' seriously. Now, the Envoy issued a death order: every available Golden Core must join the hunt! The bounty was doubled!
As the news spread, the storm grew. With several Golden Cores joining the search, no one believed Qi Ping could continue. They thought that if he was smart, he would use his hiding skills to disappear.
In a dense forest in the Qing Tian Region:
"This is painful!"
After the massacre, Qi Ping had forced himself to find a safe spot before stopping. His soul felt as though it was on the verge of splintering. He forced himself to organize the loot, discarding anything that could be used to track him.
To his surprise, many of the storage bags contained records of the region's secrets. He didn't have time to read them yet. He divided the loot into over a hundred portions and had the bees hide them. He then moved again to meditate. It took several days of rest and many jars of soul-restoring honey before he felt better.
"Time to continue!"
"Nineteen Foundation Establishment forces and one hundred and twenty-nine Qi Refinement forces left... a long road ahead."
Until these organizations were gone, the region would never know peace, and the land's decline would never stop. After recovering, Qi Ping didn't delay. He chose his next target and struck again!
Soon, news of another affiliate being destroyed broke, shocking everyone once more. They thought he would hide after such a huge victory. Was he insane? Several Golden Cores were hunting him now! This was a fight to the death!
They didn't know that Qi Ping's goal was to kill every single affiliate. Ending now? It had only just begun! A man must be honest—if he said he would kill them all, he wouldn't leave a single one behind!