FWIP!
While Xue Ren continued his unhealthy path of vengeance, a couple of figures appeared above Greensbury Village. If he saw them now, his jaw might just hit the floor.
"Dear," Lan Yue said with a chilly tone while looking down at the devastated land below. "Did you not tell me a century ago that we would be safe here?"
"T-That is…" Fang Ren stuttered, feeling his wife's grip on his waist tighten. "That was then and this is now. I can't account for everything. A-Also, we're on a Flying Sword right now and I require focus, so do you mind loosening up your hands…?"
"I do mind," Lan Yue replied with a smiling expression. "Descend."
"B-But—"
"I said descend."
"...Yes, ma'am…"
Without giving any more lip, Fang Ren lowered the Flying Sword with them on it. They arrived at the entrance to the Village, yet didn't get off the Sword. They glided through the torn-down landscape, a frown emerging on Lan Yue's face.
"The villagers have all died," she said. "Their souls were cruelly extracted as well."
"...Who would do something like this…?" asked Fang Ren, his heart in turmoil. "And what if they got to… Little Xue on one of his return trips—"
"That's enough," said Lan Yue, silencing him. "My baby is still alive."
"...How can you tell?"
"I'm his mother." Lan Yue scowled. "I know."
"...O-Okay…"
Fang Ren didn't understand, but her words still did well to alleviate some of his unease.
"A high-level Pyro User was here," Lan Yue noted as she scanned the surroundings with a look of scrutiny. "See all the scorch and burn marks? The one who made them is at least in the Peak Foundation Establishment Realm."
"But that's…" Fang Ren choked on his words. "That would mean they're even stronger than we are…"
"Only in cultivation," said Lan Yue. "With your Sword Skills and my Extreme Ice Spells, even ordinary Early Golden Core Realm Cultivators are not our equal."
"Oh, yeah…" Fang Ren awkwardly laughed.
"Huh?"
Something suddenly caught his eye.
"Those are residual souls, aren't they?" he wondered. "From the looks of them, they once belonged to Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators. Was there infighting between the villains that murdered the villagers??"
"It's possible." Lan Yue entered deep thought. "There's also a chance that an outside force interrupted the interests of the first group of cultivators. Either way, a very fierce and deadly battle happened here. Dozens of fragmented souls are lingering, none of which are weak."
She and her husband proceeded to travel deeper into the Village.
However, they eventually left the main parts and went toward the hill where their mansion used to be placed.
Now, there was just rubble.
Searching the area on foot, Fang Ren quickly found something.
"Honey, isn't this the blood we extracted in order to create a special pill for Dual Cultivation??" he called out, urging Lan Yue to blur to his position. "Oh, and what's this?"
He spotted a blue hairband next to the spilled blood.
Lan Yue's expression worsened considerably, scaring her husband.
"W-What's the matter, Honey…?" he asked from a distance of tens of meters away.
"Tell me, De-ar, why did you not store the jar of blood in the bunker?" Lan Yue's face twisted into that of a savage demon. "And this hairband. It belongs to my Little Xue, you know? Tell me, D.E.A.R, what do you think he thought when he returned and saw this…?"
"Errr…"
Fang Ren's brain malfunctioned.
"J-Just not in the face, please—"
*Bang!*
"Ahhhhh!!"
He was sent flying into the stratosphere, ripples still spreading out on his cheeks as a result of Lan Yue's merciless knockout punch.
"That idiot," she cursed, before her eyes softened. "My poor baby boy. He has no idea that our Transmission Talisman was shattered in a fight with a Fiendish Golden Core Cultivator. And with this blood as well…"
Lan Yue clutched her chest with a sorrowful look on her face. Her gaze was pointed to the skies, praying that wherever her baby was, he was okay.
…
"Why don't you just give up already!?"
A furious shout reverberated in the middle of an area riddled with large scorched craters. This voice belonged to an Early Golden Core High-Executive of the Bloodring Assassins named Sang Di.
"Can't you see that what you're doing is pointless!?" he yelled while throwing punch after punch at Xue Ren with his gauntlets. "You won't win!"
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Xue Ren received every strike thrown his way without making a peep. The expression he was making couldn't be seen because of all the blood flying out of his mouth.
"Stop resisting!!"
Sang Di put his fists together, thrusting forward with enough power to severely injure another Golden Core Realm Expert.
KABOOOM!
Xue Ren was launched backward like a speeding bullet, crashing through hundreds of trees before eventually being planted in the side of a mountain. Rocks from higher up crumbled down onto and around him, further hiding his shadow-covered face from view.
Every step Sang Di took in Xue Ren's direction splintered the earth. Aura palpations rolled out in waves, pushing everything back, including Xue Ren, who was being buried deeper and deeper in the mountain.
"You come to my territory, kill my subordinates, and attack me without saying a single word," Sang Di began with a seething voice. "Did you really think that I'd just take it without putting up a fight!?"
RUMBLE!!
The aura of an Early Golden Core Realm Cultivator was stifling. It was akin to an active gravity exhibitor, crushing anything within range.
*Ding!*
[Cultivation Technique 'Ancient Gold Body Refining' Technique has successfully broken through from 'Bronze (Peak)' → 'Silver (Low)']
[Your Physical Attributes have improved by leaps and bounds!]
"Finally…"