The sheep have gathered.

Song Yi and Chen Hong looked down at the cave entrance with slightly twisted expressions, this was certainly a bit far removed from what they thought he would do. But that was only to be expected, they had actually only seen Huang Ying take proper action against other humans once before. And that was back when he stole Qing Moyun's life with two fingers, it was indeed quick and violent, but far from as macabre as this. But while they were a bit caught off-guard by the grimness of the first two kills, it also brought something to their attention.

"I didn't expect the heads to just come off like that with a yank of his arms, seems like his body cultivation manual is pretty special."

Cultivators would always receive a certain amount of passive strengthening to their bodies thanks to the Qi coursing through them, that was why non-cultivators were like wet paper in front of even some of the weakest cultivators. But the degree of strengthening wasn't to a level like this, especially at such a relatively low cultivation level.

As such, Chen Hong could really only guess that Huang Ying was actually a dual-cultivator focusing on both his Qi and his body. But there was one among them who knew the truth, and seeing their slightly twisted expressions, she couldn't help but sneer a bit.

"Heh, it really is a waste of time for people like you to be here."

Ying Feixu walked forward and dropped down from the flying chariot after she spat out her words, the expressions of Song Yi and Chen Hong twisting a bit further. Huang Ying was a beast of brutality, and he was most definitely someone who would carve himself a bloody path of ascension. Ying Feixu hated him more than anyone else, but even she accepted this fact, Huang Ying would definitely rise to unknown heights if she failed to kill him.

He was going to rise to an immense peak by stepping on a mountain of corpses, so why was it that the two people he had selected as friends squirmed at something as minor as those two kills? But that was only to be expected, no matter what sort of experiences they had gone through in the past, they were still human, some things would just innately repulse them until they got used to it. It was Huang Ying who was the strange one in this regard, but he had already stopped being human and become something fundamentally different, it was just that he didn't know the full extent of it yet.

Ying Feixu landed right by the two headless corpses and cast a glance into the cave, where Huang Ying was currently in the process of walking towards the other guards. She turned her glance onto the corpses and stretched out her arm, but Hei Ya and Hong Yi also jumped down from the flying chariot and blocked her path before she could touch the body. Her brows twitched slightly as the two beasts snarled at her, but the quiet voice of Huang Ying reached her ears before she made her next move.

"You can try to attack them, but that means that you'll get to be buried here with the rest."

Ying Feixu clicked her tongue and glanced back at Huang Ying, but he hadn't even turned around to look at her while he delivered his threat. She could only click her tongue once more before she pulled back her arm and stepped into the cave, keeping a close eye on Huang Ying to see if she could glean something from his moves.

Huang Ying ignored Ying Feixu and continued approaching the two other bandits, who had finally started to gather their wits again. One of them slashed out with a large and thick saber, the slash continuing forwards through the air. The other man drew out a bow and quickly released an arrow, lightning trailing behind the attack as it headed for Huang Ying.

Huang Ying leaned his torso a bit to the left to dodge the flying slash, the attack actually enlarging slightly just as it passed by him. It left a cut on his right shoulder thanks to this, but it would have taken his arm off if he hadn't dodged it. The second attack was far easier to block, Huang Ying simply had a bit of the earth in the cave rise up into a wave that washed over the arrow, dispersing the energy and dragging the arrow beneath the earth.

Both his arms flashed forward as he threw out the two heads he was holding onto, one flying towards each of the bandits. His feet softly kicked off the earth as he chased after the two heads, the guards instinctively recoiling as they dodged the empty-eyed heads that were thrown at them.

But just as the two heads flew past them and they raised their eyes again, Huang Ying had arrived in front of them with a very faint grin. They hurriedly raised their weapons again, but Huang Ying's hands shot forward faster than they could retaliate, his hands clasping onto the faces of the two men.

His Qi surged and left his body through his palms, turning into thin blades of wind that cut through the heads of the two men. Their bodies immediately collapsed to the ground, the multiple pieces of their heads quickly following. Huang Ying stepped over the two fresh corpses, a small section of his shadow stretching out a sticky tentacle of devouring Qi that latched onto one of the corpses and devoured it to heal the small wound he had suffered.

Ying Feixu followed with small and quiet steps, Huang Ying's fighting style still leaving her somewhat speechless. If the two guards had been just a bit faster in raising their weapons, or if they hadn't recoiled from the heads, then they would have both managed to launch attacks that would hit Huang Ying dead on. But he hadn't paid the slightest bit of attention to this and lunged at them, it was an insane combat-style bordering on suicidal, and it was one he could only use thanks to his law of devouring backing him up.

The cave curved to the side beyond the two guards, continuing on for a bit before it split into four different directions. Huang Ying had Li Jun to guide him and observe his surroundings so he knew that these diverging tunnels all did the same further down, splitting up again and again. The entire mountain and even the earth beneath and around it was filled with tunnels and caverns of various sizes, it was like a massive natural maze.

But despite the almost excessive size of the hideout, there were actually only about 30 bandits in this group so most of the rooms were just used for either traps, storage, or as decoys. Things would be a bit annoying if the bandits were to spread out too much, but Li Jun's report luckily proved that he didn't have to worry about that.

"Take the tunnel to the right, then the one in the middle, then the one to the left, then the right again, and then the left one again. They're currently rushing over to the endpoint of those directions so it seems like at least one of the earlier four guards managed to send out some type of signal. They've already split into two defensive lines, and looking at the traps and defences that separate the two lines, they're probably preparing to bunker down should the first line fall."

Huang Ying couldn't help but slightly raise an eyebrow as Li Jun detailed how the two defensive lines were set up, the corners of his lips turning up a touch more. What use was there in bunkering down here? They were surrounded by earth on all sides, Huang Ying could bury them all if he so chose. Clearly, while they had been able to send out a warning, they hadn't been able to actually report what laws Huang Ying could use. But while that thought danced around in his mind, there was also another one that swiftly flashed through his mind.

"That's quite detailed, you even reported on things I hadn't asked about yet."

He hadn't actually asked Li Jun to give a terribly detailed report on the enemies, he simply asked him to point out where they were all currently hiding. Huang Ying didn't outright state it, but Li Jun had enough experience to know what he would ask next, so he saved Huang Ying the trouble and explained his thoughts without any more prodding.

"It's quite obvious, no? I've already lost my chance to cause your death so trying to antagonize you further is nothing but foolish, I've come to terms with that. The moment you can locate my soul and deal with it, my death would be set in stone. And you see, I'm actually quite fond of living, so it's just better to do what I can to get into your good graces again. That way I at least have a chance to keep living and possibly getting a new body."

Li Jun was nothing if not pragmatic, otherwise, there was no way he would have so willingly sworn an oath to Huang Ying. He had lost his best and probably only chance to cause Huang Ying's death when Huang Ying revealed that he had been suspicious of him for a while, so he might as well just change his approach.

Of course, acting like this was something that could be considered quite shameless, he was after all basically sucking up to someone he once tried to kill in the past. But even if he had changed thanks to what he had gone through, there were still few people who understood Huang Ying as well as Li Jun did. So when Huang Ying gave a casual response, it was well within what Li Jun had expected.

"Hm, yeah, fair enough, that's true."

Huang Ying couldn't say that he would do the same if he was in Li Jun's position, but he understood why he acted like that. He didn't condemn or condone his actions or thoughts, he simply understood them and appreciated his honesty about them. He at the very least didn't try to suck up to Huang Ying with praises and the like, he was fully aware of the gap that would inevitably form between them after the truth came out.

Huang Ying followed Li Jun's directions as he moved through the tunnels, making sure that his own perception was also constantly stretched out and observing his surroundings. And thanks to the fact that he could avoid making any detours, it only took him a short while to spot the first defensive line.

The defensive line in question was set up right at the end of a tunnel, a group of people spread out evenly within the cave beyond the tunnel. Only one person could move through the tunnel at a time so that one person would suffer all the attacks that the bandits launched, primitive but effective.

A slightly shorter tunnel stretched out beyond the cave, leading into another cave that could be sealed up with a thick metal door. And thanks to Li Jun's warning, Huang Ying already knew that both the cave and the small tunnel beyond it were filled with traps in the form of both arrays and more physical contraptions.

Huang Ying looked at the nearly 10 bandits that were lined up with their weapons ready, his faintly excited smile forming a stark contrast to their solemn and nervous expressions. The two opposing sides just looked at each other in silence for a short moment before Huang Ying made the first move, calmly stepping forward and entering the narrow tunnel.

The bandits immediately launched their attacks, their Qi filling the tunnel as it roared towards Huang Ying. But Huang Ying simply smiled, only the leader of these bandits might be able to give him a somewhat fun fight, everyone else was nothing more than fodder. His two-headed spear appeared in his grasp with a flick of his wrist, splitting apart at the middle and turning into two blades.

He flung out his arms and sent the blades flying, the wind around them twisting unnaturally and giving them such piercing power that they could easily run through the incoming attacks. The two blades found their targets and sank into the skulls of two bandits, Huang Ying flicking his wrists once and re-directing the wind that still lingered around the blades.

The two people were flung to the sides, one landing in an array that immediately activated and erupted with an icy chill that instantly froze the body and lowered the temperature in the cave. The other corpse landed on a hidden pressure plate that revealed several holes in the floor, metal balls shooting up from the holes and quickly exploding into small needles tipped with poison.

The effect of the two traps also hit the bandits that had lined up, they hadn't accounted for Huang Ying setting off the traps before he even entered the room. They tried to stay calm, but when they heard the sound of howling wind and saw that a heavy gust of wind had blown all their attacks down into the ground, Huang Ying harmlessly stepping over them, they lost all courage to even remain in front of him.

Someone in the group shrieked, setting off the ticking time bomb that the bandits were. They immediately abandoned their positions and practically jumped over each other, pushing the others around as they ran madly for the cave that could be sealed off. The eyes of one of the bandits flashed with a crafty light just as the chaos broke out, the large club he was holding onto swinging out and shattering the knees of another middle-aged man that had been positioned next to him.

The middle-aged man immediately fell down and was rendered unable to flee, the other bandits quickly leaving him behind as they ran into the other cave. The last thing they saw before they sealed it off with the large metal door was Huang Ying maintaining his calm pace as he stepped through the tunnel and approached the decoy they had left behind.

The middle-aged man grimaced darkly when he looked at the closed door, pain, fury, and despair overwhelming his mind. And the soft sound of Huang Ying's approaching footsteps only made things worse for him, it was like the soft ticking of a clock that counted down to his death. He turned his gaze away from the door and onto Huang Ying, whose expression had yet to change.

The middle-aged man felt a deep unwillingness well up within him as he looked at Huang Ying's abyss-like eyes, this wasn't how he wanted things to go. He stretched out his arm and grabbed onto a spear that had been dropped, stabbing the tip into the ground and forcing himself to stand despite the screaming pain coming from his broken knees.

He managed to raise himself up into a standing position, but he needed both hands to hold onto the spear so he couldn't even hold a weapon to muster a last bit of resistance. All he could do was stand there and glare defiantly and unwillingly as he awaited his fate. But contrary to what he expected, Huang Ying stopped in front of him, tilting his head slightly while maintaining his faint smile.

"I honestly expected you to stay down, I know how hard it is to stand with ruined legs. You seem quite defiant?"

The middle-aged man was slightly taken aback by Huang Ying's words as well as the fact that he suddenly decided to speak to him. He had expected Huang Ying to just instantly kill him or maybe humiliate him a little, he certainly hadn't expected him to suddenly ask him a question instead.

But the strangeness didn't mean that the man saw a life-saving straw, he had seen how easily and mercilessly Huang Ying had killed the two people earlier, and the fact that the four guards hadn't sent any more news meant that they were also dead. But since Huang Ying took the initiative to speak, then he might as well take this chance to spit out his own thoughts.

"Maybe, but so what? Will it change my final outcome, will it change any of our final outcomes? But fuck it, my life may not have been the most respectable one, but I'll make damn sure that my death is at least a good one worth remembering."

Even if he died here, there was a chance that his memory would live on in the mind of the man who killed him, and that too would at least serve as a small bit of solace. But Huang Ying once again betrayed his expectations, his faint smile growing a bit larger as he used his chin to gesture towards the thick metal door.

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to hear. Tell me, are you angry at them for tossing you out like that and leaving you behind as a decoy?"

The middle-aged man now officially had no idea what Huang Ying was trying to do, did he have a habit of conversing with his prey when he got the chance? But talking would allow him to live for at least a few seconds longer, and that alone made it worth it to speak the truth in a hateful tone.

"...I am, but I can understand why they did it. But I'll be fucked if I let me understanding it stop me from tearing them apart when I see them by the Yellow Springs."

This was another fact that the man could take a bit of grim solace in, his green eyes flashing with a dark light. Even if he died here, the others would follow him in just a few minutes at best, that was a fact he was very confident in after looking into Huang Ying's pitch-black eyes. Huang Ying's smile grew into a light smirk as he looked at the man, placing a hand on his chest as two muddy tentacles covered in maws and eyes rose from his shadow and latched onto the two corpses in the room.

"Why bother waiting that long, just go do it now."

"You...what are you...?"

The man couldn't help but stutter as he looked at the two tentacles, never before had he seen something that looked this eerie. The small maws were all grinning either amusedly or excitedly as they swam around in the muddy darkness, the crimson eyes gleaming with hunger.

But while he was still reeling from how eerie the scene was, a burst of cold energy flowed into him from Huang Ying's outstretched arm. The two corpses quickly dried up and vanished, but the middle-aged man felt his own legs repair themselves, his cultivation even rose as he stood there. The cold energy stuck to his bones and almost felt like maggots crawling on them, but its effects were the exact opposite of how it felt. The man looked at Huang Ying in a dumbfounded manner, but Huang Ying simply smirked at him as he pulled his arm back and stepped past him, gesturing towards the sealed-up cave.

"I have a soft spot for people with determination like yours, I just can't help but respect it. Go on, show me that your determination wasn't just a flicker in your final moments, show me what lies at the end of it."

The brown-haired man felt a thump in his chest, but it was different from the thumping he felt when he sensed death approaching him. He saw Huang Ying reach the metal door and place his hand on the wall next to it, a thunderous rumbling suddenly coming from beyond the door. And as Huang Ying pulled open the door, as if it hadn't been sealed at all, a thick cloud of dust rolled out and obscured the cave behind it.

The man saw Huang Ying turn his head slightly, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye, and his chest thumped once more. He immediately moved forward to catch up with Huang Ying, the feeling that this was a chance he couldn't afford to miss overwhelming and drowning out everything else.

The man hurriedly followed Huang Ying into the cloud of dust, hoarse screams already echoing out from the cave hidden by the dust. Ying Feixu stood at the end of the tunnel that led to where the first line of defence had been, quietly observing while listening to the quickly dwindling number of screams.

She didn't know what was up with Huang Ying's obsession with determination and his respect for it, and she certainly didn't agree with how he spared an enemy just because of it. But that was his choice so she couldn't be bothered to say anything about it, it wasn't worth it nor was there a point in it. Besides, if she said something about him doing it this time then she might as well also say it about him deciding to train her despite her making it extremely clear that her end-goal was his death.

It didn't take long for all the screams to vanish, the cave turning silent again as the dust in the cave settled. Huang Ying and the middle-aged man stepped out, the man was drenched in blood but Huang Ying didn't even have a single drop staining his slightly torn robe. The man looked at Huang Ying as they left the cave, his mind already so shocked that it had started moving in the opposite direction.

"Who are you?"

This was probably the question at the forefront of the man's mind. Not just Huang Ying's name, his ideals and motivations, he felt like asking about them all after seeing how oddly he acted. But that simple question was all he could squeeze out, Huang Ying flashing him a slightly expectant grin.

"Huang Ying, you can find me in the Fierce Flame academy, but in the future, you should also be able to find me in either the Three Volcanoes Academy or the Nine Suns Academy. Come see me when you've gotten stronger, I'm hoping you'll be able to give me a good fun fight."

Even if the man asked further, he wouldn't get much of a response from Huang Ying. The simple truth was that Huang Ying had respected the courage and determination the man showed in the face of death, and he wanted to see how far he could take this determination. Nonsensical and strange, it was a reason that was quite far removed from logic, but it was reason enough for him.

The middle-aged man's expression moved a few times as he thought about whether or not he should ask more questions, but in the end, he simply cupped his hands and gave Huang Ying a deep bow.

"I am Duiye Qiu Zhe, you have my respect and gratitude. As you said, I will come to find you in the future."

The man, Qiu Zhe, cast one last look at Huang Ying before he walked away, only bringing with him the single spear he had used to support himself to stand in front of Huang Ying. Ying Feixue didn't even look at the man as he walked past her, keeping her gaze on Huang Ying, whose lips were raised in an excited curve.

"Alright, all the sheep have already arrived so let's corral them all and see whether or not this will be a graveyard or a hunting ground."