During his indulgence in absorption, the mother-child talisman on his body heated up multiple times. This time, he ignored it altogether, concentrating on more pressing matters.

Xia Fuli felt not only the passage of his Demon Essence but also the rapid ebbing of his life. Panic and fear were futile, as were all varieties of pleas and wails. Eventually, it all gave way to curse after curse. Still, he couldn't prevent his body from withering, his voice growing ever fainter, weaker, until it became no more than the buzz of a mosquito.

In the end, he had no strength left even to speak.

Having sustained severe injuries and with some critical meridians broken by Shi Chun, which severed his ability to regenerate Qi and blood, his end was not unlike Sun Shigang's—if not worse.

While Sun Shigang still had a breath left in him, Elder Xia, when Shi Chun finally ceased, lay silent, his body gaunt and his eyes dim, lifeless.

Before the last strand of Demon Essence within him had faded, his bodily functions had already ceased.

Shi Chun sat down cross-legged, a look of satisfaction on his face as he closed his eyes to feel within. He very much felt satiated. The Demonic Qi was condensed within the body of its original host and was uncontrollable with his level of cultivation, flooding his meridians and giving him the sense he could exhale Demonic Qi with just a breath.

The disparity in the quality of Demon Essence between Sun Shigang and Xia Fuli was quite apparent.

He calculated briefly, recalling it took him some forty days to assimilate the Demonic Qi from Sun Shigang. Given the massive quantity he had absorbed this time, he had no idea how long it would take to digest fully.

He wished he could enter secluded meditation immediately, but that was impractical. There were still many affairs to manage, or else he would have no place in both the righteous and demonic paths.

Reaching out his hand to check on Xia Fuli once more, he found him dead, but he wasn't reassured. Fearing a feigned death, he couldn't afford to take that risk. He pressed his palm onto Xia Fuli's chest, mana coursing through to burst forth, destroying Elder Xia's heart before withdrawing.

Then, he removed the Qiankun Bag from Elder Xia's body and searched through it with a spell. My goodness, the Elders of Wukang Mountain were wealthy—at least by his standards.

There were boxes upon boxes of Sandalwood Gold, over a dozen. Each box contained a million in capacity. How much was that?

"One, two, three, four, five..." He counted—sixteen boxes, almost sixteen million in Sandalwood Gold.

Well, one shouldn't be too greedy. After inspecting the sixteen boxes, he left two behind, heartily accepting the other fourteen.

Immobilization charms of the first grade were barely in the teens, whereas he counted about a hundred of the second grade, and another hundred of the third grade.

One shouldn't be too greedy. He left ten percent behind, taking the other ninety percent with a smile.

There were nine pairs of unseparated mother-child talismans. One shouldn't be too greedy. He kept two pairs and gladly took the rest.

He didn't dare take those single, unmatched talismans, but used the one linked to Xia Fuli to reconnect and collect its pair. After all, he no longer needed to contact Elder Xia.

For "Longevity Pills" used in cultivation, they were no longer counted by the piece; there was a whole box. He was too lazy to count now and, after keeping a few bottles, accepted the rest gladly.

Then, there were five large boxes of "Refining Pills". When he took a bottle out of the box and saw the label, his eyes gleamed. Tipping an aromatic pill into his mouth to try, and after refining it with a spell, he confirmed they were indeed "Refining Pills", much more valuable than "Longevity Pills".

Both were aids for increasing cultivation, with "Longevity Pills" going for ten Sandalwood Gold per pill in the market, while "Refining Pills" commanded three hundred per pill. One could infer the difference in effectiveness. That is to say, the monthly income of a lower-tier monk was sufficient for only one Refining Pill, yet Elder Xia bought them in hundred-pill large bottles, a hundred bottles per box.

Such an expensive item, and Elder Xia bought it by the boxful—as if eating it like a meal? It nearly sent Shi Chun into hysterics with joy.

Painstakingly he left behind a dozen or so bottles, accepting the rest with joy.

What sent him into even further mirth was discovering a stack of banknotes from a small casket, worth a million each, totaling fifty-three. There were smaller denominations as well, amounting to over sixty million in total, and once again, with pain in his heart, he left behind a few million.

Because of the money, he specifically searched Elder Xia's waist pouch—exchange tickets for ten thousand, a little over a hundred in Sandalwood Gold, but he dismissed these lesser sums that didn't catch his eye.

Continuing to search the Qiankun Bag, various Spirit Pills and miracle medicines were identified and, not being too greedy, he took away ninety percent of what he wanted.

Some items he could not understand or was unsure of, he didn't dare to touch and left them all behind.

At that moment, the mother-child talisman reacted again. He took it out and saw it was from Yin Huixin, with a faint message: Where on earth are you?

He ignored it and, right after putting it away, another talisman reacted. A message from Feng Chi: Where are you?

Shi Chun pondered briefly and replied: I regret to inform you that Elder Xia's injuries were grave, and he has passed.

Feng Chi: Have you heard of the Sky Pit at the South Slope of Wukang Mountain?

Shi Chun: I've heard of it.

Feng Chi: Meet me there.

Shi Chun: Okay.

Turning back, he continued to search through the Qiankun Bag. Weapons and miscellaneous items weren't worth mentioning but among piles of male and female clothing, he found a box of children's clothes—a girl's clothes in various sizes, appearing to span a range of ages, with mismatched shoes as well.

Frowning slightly at these, he scrutinized the women's clothing again, unsure to whom it belonged.

Afterwards, he tossed the remaining single talismans into a lake outside the forest and returned all the remaining miscellaneous items to the Qiankun Bag. Initially planning to leave the Qiankun Bag on Elder Xia's body as part of a settlement, he changed his mind, deciding to confiscate everything.

Wu Jinliang happened to need a Qiankun Bag, and such a spatial magical treasure was quite expensive.

As for the disappearance of items from Elder Xia's body, he would have to come up with an explanation. He hit Elder Xia's body with another palm, controlling the force, causing slight tears in the clothing, and naturally, the belt was torn to pieces and discarded.

His belt was gone, so naturally, his Qiankun Bag was gone as well.

This time, they did not even spare Elder Xia's coin purse at his waist and confiscated it too.

He then took out the mother-and-son charm to contact Wu Jingliang and asked, "What's your position?"

Wu Jinliang: "I can't quite figure out the specifics; I have no idea where I am."

Shi Chun: "Meet at the highest peak of the South Slope of the Wukang Mountain range. Keep the charm in hand and send a message if there's any trouble."

Wu Jinliang: "Alright."

Shi Chun put away the mother-and-son charm, reached out to help Elder Xia close his eyes, then stuffed him into the Qiankun Bag, strapped it to his waist, and soared off into the sky...

Bian Weikang was dead, his body laying still at the base of Wukang Mountain's gate.

It was passerby who had discovered it and sent word.

The news urgently traveled up the mountain, shaking Wukang Mountain, as people hurried down in succession. Then, Bian Jixiong also rushed over urgently, unable to contain himself from coming.

Quite a few elders were not present, including Yin Huixing who were still outside searching for clues regarding the abduction of Bian Weikang.

After confirming the deceased was his son, Bian Jixiong's eyes filled with tears, he hugged the body tightly for a while, and after stifling his grief, he turned around and asked, "Where was the body found?"

The passerby who had found the body was immediately brought forward, looking bedraggled and seemingly frightened by the commotion, shrinking back in fear.

Bian Jixiong wiped away his tears, scrutinized the man and commanded sternly, "Lift your head up!"

But the passerby lifted not just his head, but also his hand, delivering an incredibly swift, ghostlike palm strike.

At close quarters, the astonished Bian Jixiong had no time to dodge; he was struck directly in the chest, which caved in, and he was sent flying, spewing blood, even crashing into and collapsing the mountain gate archway, then struggled gasping for blood, unable to get up again.

The gap in cultivation between the assailant and Bian Jixiong was thus painfully obvious.

Shock!

Everyone was taken aback by such a sudden and horrifying turn of events.

Everyone was thrown into disarray by the death of Bian Weikang, their minds hazy; no one had expected that this seemingly kind passerby would perform an assassination at close range.

Due to the death of his son, Bian Jixiong had hurried down the mountain so unguardedly.

When the shocked crowd finally attacked the passerby, the man had already taken to the sky and fled, leaving behind a white cloth banner that floated down.

Many gave chase to the assassin, but it turned out they didn't even qualify to catch up with him.

Others rushed to aid the sect master, only to find his chest caved in, with his internal organs completely shattered; he was bleeding out without being able to draw breath, glaring with unwillingness to concede death.

But eventually, his body relaxed, and in a rush of blood, his breath ceased.

The white banner that fell hung on one of the still standing pillars of the mountain gate, with a line of bold characters written on it: "A gift for the number one sect of the Sky Rain Meteor Conference!"

"Ah..."

Elder Ke, upon hearing the news and seeing this banner, fell to his knees, screaming mournfully to the sky, his fists pounding his chest with force.

He knew it; he knew it when he was at the royal capital for the conference, that offending so many major sects could bring disaster upon Wukang Mountain. He was uneasy then, and now his fears confirmed that someone had taken action so quickly, they didn't even wait for the Xun Gate to be completed before making a move against Wukang Mountain.

Many disciples who saw that banner were also stunned, realizing that it was indeed a sect from the Sky Rain Meteor Conference seeking retribution.

Privately, they had all discussed and feared retaliation, but they did not expect it to come so swiftly, with the assailant brazenly assassinating their sect master in broad daylight.

The elders and disciples who had been out looking for Bian Weikang all hurried back urgently, throwing Wukang Mountain into chaos!

On the highest peak of the South Slope of the mountain range where Wukang Mountain was located, the setting sun was just right.

As soon as the Shi Chun brothers met, the Qiankun Bag was tossed into Wu Jinliang's hands, "It's yours now."

"Ahhh..." Overcome with joy, Wu Jinliang first hugged the Qiankun Bag, showering it with kisses. Back when he was hanging curtains in the Land of Exile, who could have imagined he would one day possess such a treasure?

As soon as he inspected inside, he almost felt nauseous and quickly threw out Xia Fuli's corpse.

He crouched down, touched to make sure he was indeed dead, and Wu Jinliang shook his head in a sigh; it was an expected outcome, he had known that the rescue would fail.

He then rummaged through the Qiankun Bag, which lifted his spirits again. After a quick inventory, dancing with joy in front of Shi Chun, he said, "Taking out an Elder Xia, it's worth a lifetime's efforts. Chun Tian, there's no going back now, but this is the kind of wealth we deserved, the fate we were born for. Next time we go to the royal capital, we don't need Young Master Nan to treat us!"

He made a grand gesture with a sweep of his hand.

He was well aware that the more valuable items in the Qiankun Bag must have been taken by Chun Tian, but he didn't mind, because he knew the value of the spatial Magical Treasure, the Qiankun Bag, which could not be easily compared to its contents.

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