Midnight was still a long way off, but the silent, treacherous silhouette of Little Sumeru Mountain had already come into Xia Wuyang’s view.
He didn’t enter through the main gate. The Vajra Sect had Martial Monks on night duty there, as well as an Early Warning Array.
He didn’t want to cause a major commotion before he had the Dragon Blood Fruit in hand.
He chose a remote, steep cliff face that was nearly impossible for an ordinary person to climb, a spot that drew almost no attention.
His body moved like a gecko scaling a wall, or a nimble ape. With a few bounds between the jagged rocks and sparse shrubs, he silently reached the mountainside in the space of a few breaths and vanished into the monastery’s shadows.
His Mental Force Field unfurled without a sound. Like an invisible spiderweb, his Spiritual Power spread out in all directions with him at the center.
The monastery’s layout, the sentries’ positions, the distribution of the monks, and even the few halls that held particularly obscure and powerful auras... all of it quickly formed a clear, three-dimensional map in his mind, every last detail accounted for.
According to his intelligence, there were three likely locations where a treasure like the Dragon Blood Fruit would be kept, all of which were heavily guarded areas within the Vajra Sect.
The first was a secret chamber beneath the Scripture Pavilion, the second was the Abbot’s Quiet Chamber, and the third was the Vajra Cave, where the Supreme Elder was in seclusion. It was almost certainly in one of these three places.
After a moment’s thought, Xia Wuyang stealthily made his way deeper into the rear mountains, heading in the direction of the most obscure and concentrated aura.
The Supreme Elder was often a Sect’s strongest expert and the core of its power. The likelihood of them guarding the treasure was the highest. ’I’ll head there first, then.’
The Vajra Cave was situated beneath a cliff on the shaded side of the rear mountain. Its entrance was concealed by vines and an Array, but under his Mental Force Field, it had nowhere to hide.
Two middle-aged Martial Monks with profound auras at the First Grade Grandmaster level sat cross-legged before the cave, guarding it like a pair of stone Arhats.
Without alerting them, Xia Wuyang silently activated his Soul Enchantment Technique. Two invisible Spiritual Shocks, like fine needles, precisely pierced the Sea of Consciousness of each of the two guarding Martial Monks.
Their bodies shuddered slightly, and their eyes instantly became vacant and confused. Their heads then lolled to the side as they fell into a deep slumber woven from Illusions, completely oblivious to their surroundings.
Like a soft breeze, Xia Wuyang swept past them, easily broke through the simple Warning Array at the entrance, and slipped into the cave.
The cave was not dark. Its walls were inlaid with Fluorescent Stones that glowed on their own, casting a cold, clear light that kept the passage quite bright.
The passage snaked downward. The air was dry, with little humidity, carrying a faint scent that was a mixture of sandalwood, herbs, and the smell of corroded metal.
The deeper he went, the more distinct that obscure and powerful aura became, now faintly tinged with a scorching, arid heat, like that of molten lava.
After proceeding for a few hundred yards, the tunnel suddenly opened up before him.
A natural stone grotto appeared, measuring several dozen yards across.
In the center of the grotto was a lotus throne carved from a single piece of Warm Jade, clearly of immense value.
An old monk sat cross-legged upon the throne. His hair and beard were completely white and his face was gaunt, yet his frame was exceptionally burly.
The old monk wore apricot-colored robes under a dark gold kasaya. His eyes were shut tight, and his breathing was long and steady. His skin held a faint luster, as if it had been forged from bronze and iron, a clear sign of his astonishing physical fortitude.
A complex Array was carved into the ground before him, and several items were placed at its hub. Each one was clearly extraordinary.
Among them were a string of gleaming black Prayer Beads, a Purple Gold Alms Bowl, and a crimson fruit about the size of a fist, shaped like a heart and appearing as if it were condensed from pure flame...
The fruit’s surface bore natural markings that resembled blood vessels, and a crimson liquid seemed to flow slowly within it, as if the fruit possessed a life of its own. It exuded a rich, unusual fragrance that stirred one’s Qi and Blood, along with a boundless amount of vital Essence Qi.
This was the Dragon Blood Fruit, the very Low Level Spirit Treasure Xia Wuyang had been yearning for.
Not far from the central monk sat two other elders. One had a gaunt, ascetic face, while the other’s was fleshy and brutish. Though their auras were slightly weaker than the monk in the center, they had both reached the Super Grade Initial Stage and possessed extraordinary attainments in Body Refining.
They were clearly serving as guardians for the Supreme Elder in the middle, while simultaneously using the Essence Qi radiating from the Dragon Blood Fruit to aid their own Cultivation.
’This is *my* Dragon Blood Fruit,’ Xia Wuyang thought. ’What they’re doing will undoubtedly weaken its medicinal effects. If I’d arrived any later, I’m afraid nearly half of its potency would have been lost. How outrageous!’
The Vajra Sect actually had three Super Grade Celestial Humans. The gaunt elder in the center had even reached Super Grade Perfection, with one foot already across the threshold to the True Monarch realm. No wonder they were ranked among the top ten Sects in the Great Xia, entrenched in the lands surrounding White Jade City.
Xia Wuyang’s pupils contracted. This was somewhat beyond his expectations, but he felt no fear. On the contrary, his killing intent only intensified.
’Excellent. They’re all here. Saves me the trouble of hunting them down one by one. Once I slaughter these three Super Grade Celestial Humans, the Vajra Sect won’t be far from collapse.’
He didn’t strike immediately. Instead, he pushed his Soul Enchantment Technique to its absolute limit. His Spiritual Power, as subtle as mercury, silently permeated the entire grotto, enveloping it completely.
Simultaneously, he activated the profound Dream Weaving Skill from the Enchanting Heart Scripture. It began to silently erode and disrupt the three elders’ Heart Spirits, a direct assault on the Vajra Sect’s three Supreme Elders.
The gaunt elder in the center, having the deepest Cultivation, seemed to sense something. His brow twitched, and the muscles in his face began to quiver.
Just as he was about to be startled out of his deep Meditation, Xia Wuyang struck!
He dropped all pretense, unleashing the full might of his Spiritual Power—at least, the peak of what was possible in the mortal realm. Even so, the force was like a volcano, dormant for ages, suddenly erupting and instantly flooding the entire grotto.
It was more than just oppressive Power; it carried the unique, insidious force of the Enchanting Heart Scripture, which sowed confusion in the Heart Spirit and wove a tapestry of fear.
HUMMM...
The three elders’ bodies convulsed as one, trembling uncontrollably as if struck by lightning.
They felt as if a thousand thunderbolts had detonated inside their minds. Countless hideous Illusions, the whispers of Heart Demons, and a primal fear bubbling up from the depths of their souls instantly overwhelmed their consciousness, leaving them powerless to resist.
The flow of their Cultivation Techniques came to a halt. Their Qi and Blood surged in reverse and then scattered, leaving them weakened and disoriented.
The two Guardian Elders at the Super Grade Initial Stage were hit particularly hard. They let out muffled groans, their faces contorted in terror as blood trickled from their eyes, ears, and nostrils. They had clearly suffered severe internal injuries.
And in the instant their Heart Spirits faltered, a figure clad in deep black stepped out of the void, appearing in the center of the grotto.
He wore a deep black Cloak, and beneath it was a plain, unremarkable face. A longsword hung at his waist... a different disguise from the one he had used during the attack on the Yixiang Building.
The aura he exuded was as cold and murderous as that of a death god emerging from the Nine Netherworld Cold Prison. It had not, however, reached the Extraordinary Level. ’Not that it needs to.’
No wasted words, no probing attacks. He went straight for the kill.

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