Chapter 170: Changes
Central Region.
At this moment, the sky above a hidden valley was no longer blue, but was now a choked, suffocating canvas of oily black smoke and embers that spiraled upward like glowing ghosts.
Deep within the dark embrace of the mountains, a place that didn’t appear on any official maps of the Eastern Region, an entire village, one of the structural nerve center for one of the Shadow Hall’s most secretive regional operations, was being absolutely erased.
The architectural elegance of the hidden base, once a marvel of concealment and dark design, was now a funeral pyre.
The smell of charred wood, expensive silks, and the unmistakable, heavy scent of burning flesh and evaporating blood hung in the stagnant air.
At the edge of the central plaza, a man was crawling across the cracked cobblestones, his skin was charred beyond recognition, his robes fused to his flesh by a heat that surpassed natural fire.
He reached out a trembling, blackened hand toward the treeline, his voice nothing more than a wet, rattling gasp for a mercy that was never coming.
Just then, a foot stepped on his head, and before he could utter any sound, sickening crunch resounded as the foot crushed his head into the stone, ending the rattle forever.
This foot belongs to Huo Yue.
She stood amidst the wreckage of the plaza, her crimson robes fluttering in the heat-haze.
The fabric was so deep a red that it perfectly hid the splashes of blood she had spilled during the last hour of slaughter.
Her long, crimson hair danced in the turbulent wind created by the inferno, and a few droplets of fresh blood stood out like rubies against the porcelain pale of her cheeks.
Her eyes, once bright with a chaotic, mischievous light, were now cold, flat, and utterly indifferent.
She closed her eyes for a moment, her senses spreading outward like a ripple in a pond, sweeping through every cellar, every hidden attic, and every underground bunker in the village.
"None," she whispered to the wind.
She found no one left alive.
Just then, a shadow fell over the plaza as Medusa descended from the sky.
Her long, purple hair fluttered with the wind, the strands occasionally coiling like snakes as her orange, slit-pupiled eyes scanned the surrounding ruins for any lingering threats.
She landed with the silent grace of a predator, her aura of still lingering in the air, making the nearby fires flicker and dim.
From the opposite side of the burning estate, Zhu Ziyan appeared, emerging from the collapsing frame of a high-ranking officer’s house.
She wasn’t on foot, but was instead riding a gargantuan, flaming black tiger.
The beast’s fur was etched with purple stripes that pulsed with a rhythmic, ethereal light, and its massive, flaming purple wings tucked neatly against its ribs as it growled.
"No one survived, right?" Huo Yue asked, not even turning her head.
"Hm." Medusa gave a curt, cold nod. "I patrolled the mountain passes. I killed everyone who attempted to escape through the spatial tunnels. You can rest assured, not a single strand of her escaped."
"Same here," Ziyan added, her voice holding a trace of exhaustion. "The inner sanctum was guarded by three Peak Golden Core Realm elders, but they couldn’t handle my tiger’s purple flames and became ashes."
Ziyan stared at Huo Yue’s back, and she couldn’t help but let out a soft, silent sigh as she remembered the girl Huo Yue used to be—the troublesome, loud-mouthed firecracker who used to drag them into all sorts of annoying, life-threatening circumstances with her impulsive behavior.
But that version of her was gone, buried under layers of cold focus and a single-minded drive for strength and revenge.
Perhaps, Ziyan mused, only when someone mentioned that man could she regain even a glimmer of her old personality.
"We should leave," Medusa said, her head tilting as she sensed the distant ripples in the atmospheric Qi. "The Shadow Hall is like a wounded hive. Their reinforcements will be swarming this coordinates at any time, and we are not yet ready to face a Saint-rank blockade."
"Hm." Huo Yue nodded, finally wiping the blood from her cheek with a silk sleeve. "Let’s head toward the Blue Wind Kingdom. I heard through a wandering merchant that they are hosting a grand auction in the capital. It’s one of the largest gatherings of the season. Let’s see if there are any interesting things there, like some rare materials, manuals, or perhaps a clue."
The others agreed without hesitation.
Having traveled together for so long, Ziyan and Medusa had come to rely on Huo Yue’s almost supernatural intuition.
The girl possessed an insane, reality-defying luck when it came to finding treasures in piles of trash.
The amount of legendary artifacts, forgotten scrolls, and spirit herbs they had discovered because Huo Yue "felt like" digging in a particular ruin was simply too high to count.
She was like a living dowser for destiny.
Just then, with a sudden eruption of heat, wings made of pure, translucent flames exploded from Huo Yue’s back.
They flapped with a powerful *whoosh*, throwing up a cloud of ash as she levitated off the ground.
Ziyan patted the neck of her tiger, and the beast let out a roar, its purple wings unfurling as it took to the air.
Medusa simply stepped onto the wind, her own Qi lifting her effortlessly.
And without a moment of delay, the three of them became streaks of light—red, purple, and black—vanishing into the horizon just as the first light of dawn touched the mountain peaks.
A few minutes after they had vanished, the space above the burning village began to distort as dozens of figures appeared in a series of spatial pops.
There were nearly a hundred Spirit Ascension Realm experts, led by dozens of masters in the Nirvana Rebirth Realm.
They wore the signature black cloaks and deep hoods of the Shadow Hall, their auras dark and oppressive.
One of the leaders landed in the plaza, his boots crunching on the charred skull of the man Huo Yue had finished as he knelt, touching the blackened corpse with a gloved hand.
"Still warm," he muttered, his voice a jagged rasp. "He’s been dead for only several minutes. His burnt flesh haven’t even cooled."
"Are there any survivors?" a high-ranking officer asked, his voice filled with a cold, vibrating fury.
"None. We’ve scanned the perimeter. Men, women, even the livestock... they were all slaughtered with terrifying efficiency. Some were burned, some were beheaded, while some seems to be torn apart by a beast."
"Tsk. This wasn’t a random raid." The leader stood up, his eyes scanning the horizon where the three streaks had disappeared. "It seems the people who did this have a deep, personal grudge against us. To attack a regional hub so brazenly... they are either fools or monsters."
"Let’s go. Report this to the Grand Hall immediately. Tell the subordinates to keep a close eye on all borders and investigate anyone that had appeared near the area before the attack happens. No one gets away with attacking the Shadow Hall. No one!"
*
*
*
A few days of travel across the vast, rolling plains of the Central Region brought the Huo Yue and the others to the bustling capital of the Blue Wind Kingdom.
The city was a sprawling metropolis of jade-roofed towers and floating gardens, currently packed with thousands of visitors drawn by the upcoming auction.
The moment they walked through the southern gates, they attracted immediate, intense attention.
It was unavoidable, really. Three exceptionally beautiful women—one with hair like flowing lava, one with the regal, serpentine grace of a desert queen, and one with a pair of cat ears, were a sight that stopped traffic.
Huo Yue frowned at the whispers and the lingering gazes of the city guards and young masters.
"I hate being stared at like a prize on a shelf," she muttered, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Let’s go find an inn before I lose my temper and burn down a street."
The others agreed as they navigated the crowded thoroughfares, searching for a place that met their standards for privacy and security.
Eventually, they came upon a towering structure of white marble and gold leaf.
The Grand Order Hotel.
Ziyan blinked, her eyes widening slightly as she looked at the familiar sigil carved above the entrance.
"I didn’t know the Grand Order had branches even this deep in the Central Region," she remarked.
Huo Yue turned toward her, her interest piqued. "Right. You mentioned that back in the Eastern Region, you once joined the Grand Order, right? That massive mercenary and information guild?"
Ziyan nodded, a trace of regret in her expression. "I was, although I’m just a low ranking member. Unfortunately, back when we were chased by that demonic spirit, I lost my official Identification Card. Members of the Grand Order get significant discounts and access to private intelligence rooms in these establishments. Without the card, we’re just regular guests."
Huo Yue flicked her crimson hair over her shoulder, her expression indifferent as she walked toward the revolving gold doors.
"It doesn’t matter. We’ve plundered that Shadow Hall outposts, not to mention I’m an alchemist, so we don’t lack a few spirit stones. Let’s go. I need a bath and a bed that doesn’t smell like smoke."