Zhanhun Valley, the main altar of the sect.

Under the imposing archway, several elders were on duty with hundreds of disciples, all dressed in unified black armor and robes, exuding a fierce aura with stern expressions.

In the spacious corridor, disciples hurried in and out. In a few days, they would engage in a large-scale battle with the Blood Cloud Pavilion. The entire sect was on edge.

Valley Master Sha Wuye had issued orders for a full mobilization of the sect, as well as sending envoys to all vassal forces to gather resources and seek loans from neutral trade guilds or sects in order to accumulate as much advantage as possible for the upcoming battle.

Inside the sect’s council chamber.

More than ten elders gathered to report various matters to Sha Wuye, who sat at the head of the table.

Sha Wuye appeared to be a rough and hearty man, but in reality, he was shrewd and cunning, with a ruthless and cruel nature. He had eliminated many competitors over sixty years ago and successfully secured his position as the head of the sect.

After the reports, Sha Wuye sighed and murmured, “It still feels insufficient, but we can only do so much for now. If only our resources were more abundant and we had more experts, we wouldn’t be in such a dire situation today.”

The elders exchanged glances, unable to conceal their helplessness. Zhanhun Valley’s overall strength was inferior to that of the Blood Cloud Pavilion, and the enemy’s leader was reckless. The outcome of the impending battle was predictable.

The Blood Cloud Pavilion had not been around for long, less than five hundred years, but it already possessed six different sizes of void floating lands, with a total area twice that of Zhanhun Valley’s. The population in the mortal realm was also twice as large.

In terms of mineral veins, spiritual herbs, taxes, and the number of disciples and experts in the True One Realm, the Blood Cloud Pavilion held a significant advantage, even surpassing Zhanhun Valley’s vassal forces.

For Zhanhun Valley, this battle was inevitable. The enemy had long been coveting their territory, and if they didn’t resist now, they would be at the mercy of the enemy in the future.

This was the current situation in the Hengyuan Star Domain, where countless small and medium forces fought and died every day, causing numerous casualties among cultivators, all for the sake of seizing territory and resources.

“Valley Master, there is another matter.”

An elder spoke up, “Senior Brother Cangxue has been out gathering resources for days and has not returned or sent any messages. It’s possible that something has happened to him. Lord Chixing is worried about his safety, so he personally set out to investigate yesterday.”

“What could have happened to his disciple?”

Sha Wuye frowned. Chixing was his trusted confidant, with a cultivation level of the Sixth Stage in the True One Realm and decent abilities and character, which was why he was entrusted with the important role of deputy valley master.

Now that this capable deputy had not returned, Sha Wuye felt a sense of unease. With the impending battle, the absence of a high-level expert in the True One Realm would undoubtedly increase the risk on their side.

“Quickly contact him and have him return as soon as he’s done with his task.”

In the end, Sha Wuye could only give this order.

It would take several days to travel from the main altar of Zhanhun Valley to the territories of the vassal forces and back on the Tianzhou ship. In such remote areas, there were no void teleportation formations, so Sha Wuye had no better options at the moment.

Unfortunately, he did not know that this deputy valley master, Chixing, would never return, or even if he did, he would no longer be the same Chixing as before.

In the dungeon of the Yang Family Mansion.

Qing Muling played with a pair of bright red jade knives in his hand, glanced at them roughly, and shook his head in disappointment. He casually threw them onto the table, saying, “What a piece of junk. As a deputy valley master, don’t you have anything decent on you?”

On the other side of the table, a middle-aged Daoist with graying hair picked up the jade knives with a pained expression, examined them to confirm they were undamaged, and then breathed a sigh of relief. With a forced smile, he said, “Master, you come from a major sect and have seen many rare treasures, so naturally, you look down on these initial-grade treasures. Although the quality is not great, they were obtained at great risk.”

He was Chixing, the master of Cangxue, the deputy valley master of Zhanhun Valley. He had rushed over from the main altar of the sect yesterday and was immediately intercepted by Qing Muling.

Although Chixing had a higher cultivation level, as a wandering cultivator, he had no access to decent cultivation techniques or powerful magic treasures. Therefore, he was no match for Qing Muling. In a blink of an eye, he was subdued and taken captive, along with hundreds of his followers.

The subsequent events were simple. After Qing Muling used a secret technique to imprison Chixing’s divine soul, the deputy valley master became the new master’s servant, unconditionally obeying all his commands.

Qing Muling nodded and took out a jade slip from his storage bracelet, tossing it over. “Fine, I’ll bestow you with the ‘Seven Killings Devouring Spirit Slash.’ However, only the upper half is available for now. If you serve me well in the future and earn enough merit, I might give you the lower half as well.”

Chixing received the jade slip and quickly scanned it, a hint of ecstasy flashing in his eyes. He hurriedly promised, “Master, rest assured, I will go through fire and water and die a thousand deaths for you in the future!”

Compared to the Seven Killings Devouring Spirit Slash, the cultivation techniques and magic treasures he had practiced before were nothing but trash, several levels lower. With such great benefits, Chixing no longer felt so averse to his new identity as a servant.This is the sorrow of the loose cultivators: without a complete and profound inheritance, lacking guidance from a renowned master, and struggling to obtain sufficient resources, cultivation becomes especially difficult. Even those with exceptional talent and aptitude find it hard to achieve great heights.

There are indeed stories of loose cultivators who, by chance, come across great fortune and thus soar to the heavens, growing into a major power in their own right. However, such probabilities are exceedingly low and hold little practical significance for the vast majority of the loose cultivator community.

In Qing Muling’s view, this technique and divine ability were nothing special. Within the rich library of techniques of the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace, it barely qualified as second-rate, not even catching the eye of the inner disciples. It was fitting to offer it to his newly acquired subordinates for their cultivation.

It was customary for any Supreme Dao Lineage to bestow techniques and divine abilities upon their vassal forces, usually after those forces had made significant contributions. By offering some second-rate texts, they could motivate these vassal forces to work diligently and also ensure the sect’s control over them.

According to Qing Muling’s plan, since this star domain was bound to return under the rule of the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace sooner or later, treating his subordinates as vassal forces was not excessive.

“Alright, now tell me about your situation with the Blood Cloud Pavilion. Do you think the Soul Severing Valley has a chance of winning this battle?” Qing Muling asked.

Chi Xingzi shook his head decisively: “It’s difficult. Even if the Valley Master Sha makes meticulous arrangements, Soul Severing Valley only has about a forty percent chance of victory, and now even less so. The Pavilion Master of the Blood Cloud Pavilion is actually the offspring of a Blood Demon and a human, possessing some mysterious and vicious innate divine abilities. It’s said that he also has a rather powerful high-grade treasure, so the advantage is quite clear.”

Qing Muling pondered: “If that’s the case, why would Sha Wuye still choose to fight this battle?”

Chi Xingzi sighed: “If there were a choice, the Valley Master would certainly not wish to go to war. The problem is that the Blood Cloud Pavilion does not want to let Soul Severing Valley go. That Pavilion Master has always been greedy, shameless, bloodthirsty, and brutal. He has sent envoys more than once to threaten and intimidate, demanding unconditional submission from Soul Severing Valley, which the Valley Master has refused, leading to the current situation.”

To become the leader of a power, one naturally wouldn’t be a kind-hearted believer. With Sha Wuye’s temperament, he had no desire to submit to a half-human, half-demon creature and thus bluntly rejected the demands of the Blood Cloud Pavilion Master.

Qing Muling thoughtfully asked: “If I were to personally intervene, what are the chances of swallowing both Soul Severing Valley and Blood Cloud Pavilion’s foundations and taking over all their vassal forces?”

Chi Xingzi cautiously replied: “If it’s you, Master, intervening personally, then of course there would be no problem. All the True One Realm cultivators from both factions combined would not be your match. However, to assimilate and manage the territories and resources of both factions will take some time, and… we must also guard against other forces coming to pick off the spoils.”

He couldn’t fathom the depth of Qing Muling’s abilities and was unclear about what terrifying cards this mysterious and beautiful young man might still be holding. But it was obvious that these two insignificant loose cultivator forces were no match for him.

To ordinary people and rootless loose cultivators, Blood Cloud Pavilion and Soul Severing Valley were already unimaginably massive entities. However, in the eyes of a true major sect, they were merely the level of a rural elder.

So as long as Qing Muling was willing, taking over the two sects and their foundations was just a matter of time. Even seizing several forces of the same size would be trivial.

Qing Muling smiled: “If you don’t return for a while, will Sha Wuye come to rescue you personally?”

Chi Xingzi spread his hands: “If it were normal times, perhaps there would be such a possibility. But now, with the two sects on the verge of war, he definitely won’t have time for me.”

“Very well, let’s leave it at that for now. We’ll watch the changes and see the outcome of their battle.”

Qing Muling had made his decision. The Blood Cloud Pavilion could not win this battle without loss. In the face of Sha Wuye’s desperate counterattack, they would surely pay a corresponding price.

When that time came, it would be the perfect opportunity for Qing Muling to step in and effortlessly take over the foundations of both houses.

Indeed, just ten days later, the Blood Cloud Pavilion launched a major offensive, deploying about seventy percent of their forces to besiege the Main Altar of Soul Severing Valley.

Sha Wuye naturally would not sit idly by and immediately fought back with the advantage of the terrain. Both sides engaged in a bloody battle, with heavy casualties on both sides.

After more than half a month of stalemate, Soul Severing Valley could no longer hold on and was breached by the Pavilion Master of the Blood Cloud Pavilion, followed by a brutal massacre.

At the critical moment when Soul Severing Valley was about to be annihilated, Qing Muling finally arrived. He first severely injured the Pavilion Master of the Blood Cloud Pavilion with a Dao soldier puppet, then captured Sha Wuye in one fell swoop.

The remaining True One Realm cultivators from both sides bravely attacked but were still completely suppressed by Qing Muling, who then captured them one by one.

Thus, the foundations of both sects fell entirely into the hands of Qing Muling.