For a mortal, 40 kilometers was an exhausting journey. For cultivators, it was just a short run.
Tian Zhu had found a few flying swords, and using them for flight wouldn't be difficult—they would arrive even faster. Manipulating energy to make them levitate was simple. The problem was a matter of elegance.
It would be highly inelegant to carry Lie Zheng and Bao Hui hanging onto him on a single sword, so they traveled on foot.
Unlike ordinary weapons, flying swords were forged from spiritual materials, infused with spiritual energy, making them lighter, more durable, and sharper. This made it easier for cultivators to use them.
However, there was a problem.
A common flying sword weighed around 600 grams, allowing a skilled cultivator to control several at once without much effort.
But flying was a completely different matter.
When a cultivator stepped onto a sword, the total weight increased drastically. For example, a 60-kilogram cultivator would expend the same amount of energy as if they were controlling a hundred swords at once.
For this reason, only cultivators at the peak of Qi Refinement could perform short flights, usually reserved for critical moments to save their lives.
For truly sustainable flight, one needed to be at least in the Foundation Establishment realm. At that level, spiritual energy underwent both a quantitative and qualitative transformation compared to Qi Refinement.
…
After only twenty minutes of light jogging, the group arrived at their destination.
The cave entrance loomed before them, dark and damp. Inside, muffled voices echoed against the stone walls.
Based on Lie Zheng's interrogation, the bandit group consisted of 10 cultivators at the peak of Qi Refinement, 30 at the late stage, 100 at the mid-stage, and countless lower-level ones.
The mid and low-level members mainly served as spies and informants. When they provided valuable intelligence, they were well rewarded. When they didn't, they were forced to fight in raids, receiving only scraps from the loot.
This was no ordinary bandit gang—it was the largest and most powerful in the region. Their preferred targets were merchant caravans traveling between cultivation cities in pursuit of profit.
These caravans covered vast distances, with their journeys lasting years. To survive hardships and the constant threat of attacks, they formed powerful groups, gathering multiple merchants and their bodyguards.
But their strength was also their weakness. The larger the caravan, the harder it was to conceal its movements. The bandits always found out.
They never exterminated their victims—only plundered part of their goods and let the rest escape.
It was as if they were raising cattle.
They took their share but left enough for the next generation of merchants to emerge. They knew that as long as there was profit to be made, new traders would always appear, willing to take the risk in pursuit of wealth.
And the merchants knew this, but greed spoke louder. Every new journey was a game of roulette, and the promise of bloody profits made them act like cicadas flying straight into the fire.
They had tried to seek protection from the leader of Black Rock Mountain, a Foundation Establishment cultivator. But they never received a response.
But today, this group was fated to fall apart.
Tian Zhu entered silently, while Lie Zheng and Bao Hui stayed outside so Aotian would be aware if anything happened inside as Tian Zhu advanced.
When the first guard came into Tian Zhu's view, Tian Zhu also appeared in his.
But before the guard could understand what was happening, his consciousness faded into darkness.
The next ones met the same fate.
And all who followed shared it as well—Tian Zhu was a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. His strength was like a dimensional-reducing strike against these Qi Refinement cultivators.
Cultivators in Qi Refinement were like ants before a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
As he walked through them like a wrecking ball, knocking everything down in his path, a section of the cave made his calm steps gradually slow.
The section of the cave ahead was different.
He advanced slowly. And then, he saw.
Cells. Row after row of iron bars.
After knocking out all the guards as if it were nothing, Tian Zhu scanned each cell. His eyes, always neutral, slowly became cold.
Bodies.
Or rather, skeletons.
Bone upon bone, piled like discarded trash. Some were thin and delicate, probably from women.
There were also some women, naked and bruised, in some of the cages, lying among the skeletons. Though they were breathing, their eyes were unfocused and lifeless.
But what made Aotian lose control were not the women.
It was the small skeletons, stacked among the remains.
For a moment, the world fell silent.
Then, Tian Zhu turned around.
And flames erupted, as if to purify everything there.
He had already freed the women from their suffering. The guards, however, woke up in the midst of the fire.
Their screams echoed as the fire consumed them.
Before, Tian Zhu would simply knock them out. He had planned to leave Elder Lie to decide who deserved death.
Now, that was no longer necessary.
He had already decided.
No one would leave alive.
If there was an innocent, they could blame themselves for associating with rapists and child murderers.
With the fire burning inside him as much as around him, Tian Zhu discarded efficiency.
His strikes no longer aimed for vital points.
Now, they tore apart.
Now, they tortured.
Each new enemy was just another piece in the bloody masterpiece he was creating.
Even amidst his hatred, he didn't forget his mission—retrieving and safely storing the storage bags.
And so he moved forward, until he reached the main hall.
…
The hall was spacious and well-lit, a cruel contrast to the horror that had occurred there.
All the bandits were gathered.
And they were trembling.
Not because the immaculate, indifferent man standing at the entrance looked frightening, but because of the screams of pure despair that echoed before he came out of the tunnel.
And then, they felt it.
The aura of the intruder.
"F-F-Foundation Establishment!"
That simple phrase drained their strength, their legs giving out instantly.
Except for one.
The leader of the bandits stood up.
His face was serious, but not fearful. He clenched his fists and gave a respectful bow.
"The junior greets the senior." His voice was firm. "Senior, my uncle is the lord of Black Rock Mountain. He receives half of the profits from our group. I hope that you can give face to my uncle, Senior, stop your actions immediately, and allow this junior and his group to leave."
There was respect in his tone. Neither humble nor challenging.
But Tian Zhu saw beyond that.
The malice and murderous intent in his eyes were visible from miles away.
"That's good." Tian Zhu's indifferent voice sounded.
The bandits felt a glimmer of hope.
But then, the next words froze their hearts.
"I can send your uncle to hell to keep you company, worry-free."
Hope died there.
And the screams of terror began.
They lasted only a short time.
But it was enough.
…
Tian Zhu left the cave, and the two elders entered to collect the spoils.
Aotian felt better.
But not satisfied.
There was another name on the list.
The lord of Black Rock Mountain.
He too must pay.
And, of course...
His riches also needed a new owner.