Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

Dark Star Society.

That was a truly fallen organization that had sided with the Abyss; they acted in secrecy and were ruthless.

They specifically target small and medium-sized gathering points, sacrificing the source of corruption with the blood and souls of the living.

"Hurry up." Ian's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable chill.

"We must return to the city before dark."

"yes!"

The group sped up, their boots crunching over the gravel with a dense "rustling" sound.

It was less than three miles from the outer wall of Blue Cave Mountain.

Ian suddenly stopped in his tracks!

Stop.

He raised his hand, and the line behind him instantly froze, even their breathing became barely audible.

Li Yao gripped the sword hilt tightly, following Ian's gaze.

Ahead lay a pile of rubble, with a few withered, crooked trees swaying in the wind, casting long shadows.

There appears to be nothing unusual.

But deep within Ian's pupils, a glint of silver suddenly shone!

[Starlight Perception] Fully activated!

In my field of vision, the colors of the world are stripped away layer by layer, leaving only the purest flow of energy.

The grayish-white earth vein energy flowed slowly underground like a stream, while faint silver starlight drifted in the air.

And... a few extremely hidden, dark red energy threads, like filthy blood!

The silk thread extended from the depths of the rubble, meandered along the ground, and finally disappeared into the shadow of the Blue Cave Mountain city wall.

"Five people." Ian's lips moved slightly, his voice barely audible as it reached Li Yao's ears.

"Three are in the late stage of awakening, two are in the early stage of solidification... One of them has a very strange energy fluctuation, as if it was forcibly injected."

Li Yao's heart skipped a beat.

Unstable early stages of solidification?!

"What are they doing?" the boy asked in a low voice, eager to try.

Ian's eyes turned cold.

"They set up a small 'corruption diffusion array' with the abyssal pollutants at its core, and the direction of the array's eye... is the water source well on the east side of Blue Hole Mountain."

Li Yao gasped.

The inner and outer cities of Blue Cave Mountain have a combined population of nearly 100,000. Their daily drinking water mainly comes from deep wells, with the well on the east side supplying water to the thousands of people in the outer city!

If the water source is polluted...

"Brother, we..." Li Yao gritted his teeth, his hand on the hilt of his sword, veins bulging.

"You stay here and hide."

Ian interrupted him, his voice as calm as if he were asking what to eat for dinner.

"Don't come out without my signal."

"But……"

"No buts." Ian turned his head and glanced at Li Yao.

There was no emotion in those eyes, yet it made Li Yao freeze, and he swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

For the first time, he saw... a chilling killing intent in his brother's eyes.

"Hide it well."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ian's figure had already disappeared from the spot.

Driven to its limit, [Star Step] transformed into a blurry gray afterimage, skimming along the ground.

It didn't stir up a single breeze, nor even a speck of dust.

Fifty meters, thirty meters, twenty meters...

Deep within the pile of rocks, five figures draped in black cloaks were forming a circle.

In the center of the ground, there are three dark red bone stakes, their surfaces covered with twisted runes, from which thick black blood slowly seeps out.

Black blood flowed along the carved grooves, outlining a complex array about three meters in diameter.

At the center of the formation, there was a fist-sized, dark red fleshy tumor that was constantly throbbing.

The surface of the sarcoma was covered with vein-like patterns, and as it pulsated, it emitted a nauseating, putrid odor.

"Hurry up!" a hoarse voice urged, revealing a pair of bloodshot eyes beneath the cloak.

"It must be completed before sunset; the time for the ritual is fast approaching."

"What's the rush?" another voice asked lazily, with a hint of morbid pleasure.

"Let those fools drink a few more sips of clean water, so that when the corruption erupts, their screams will be even more beautiful..."

Before the words were even finished!

A gray shadow cut into the formation like a ghost.

"Who?!"

The five of them realized at the same time, but it was too late.

Ian didn't waste any words at all; he joined his right fingers like a sword, and a flash of silver light appeared at the tip of his finger.

laugh!

The sword is aimed precisely at the rune node of the first bone stake.

hum!

The bone stake trembled violently, the runes on its surface shattered instantly, and the flowing black blood surged back, eroding the formation in the opposite direction.

"court death!"

The closest Condensed Fallen roared, drew a curved bone blade with his backhand, and, enveloped in filthy black energy, slashed fiercely at the back of Ian's neck.

A golden glint flashed in Ian's eyes, and the other person froze, as if struck by lightning.

With a casual grab of his left hand, his five fingers gripped the other person's wrist like iron clamps, and twisted it!

Click!

The cracking sound of the wrist bone breaking was clearly audible.

"what!"

Before the scream could even escape his lips, Ian had already turned around and slammed his elbow into the other man's chest like a hammer blow.

Boom!

With a dull thud, the man coughed up blood, his chest caved in, and he flew backward like a broken sack, crashing into the rocks. He twitched a couple of times and then fell silent.

From the moment the attack was made to the kill, it took less than a second!

"Condensed Stage?! Retreat!"

The strangely fluctuating early-stage Condensation Realm cultivator's pupils suddenly contracted, and he roared as he retreated violently.

At the same time, his hands quickly formed hand seals, and black energy surged around his body, condensing into a blurry tentacle-like phantom!

Bloodline Phantom: Corrupting Relatives!

The other three also realized what was happening, and one of them threw out a large amount of foul-smelling black powder, which turned into a poisonous mist.

Another person pulled out a bone flute and blew out a sharp, piercing hiss.

The last one, in its late-stage awakening phase, frantically lunged at the fleshy tumor in the center of the formation, clearly intending to detonate it!

"It's too late."

Ian's voice was eerily calm.

He took a step forward.

Invisible ripples spread across the ground beneath my feet.

[Gravity Manipulation] Gravity amplified fivefold, with a maximum range of 300 meters!

hum!

The air seemed to freeze instantly!

Just as the Fallen One was about to detonate the tumor, his body suddenly sank, as if he were being crushed by an invisible mountain, slowing his movements by more than ten times!

The one who scattered the poisonous mist was pulled to the ground by the sudden increase in gravity as soon as the black powder left his hand, and it burst into a ball, enveloping him instead!

Only the nascent form that condensed the bloodline phantom could barely withstand the pressure of gravity, but the phantom was also distorted and deformed, and its tentacles drooped down helplessly.

"Who...who are you?!" His voice trembled, and his face beneath the cloak was contorted with fear.

Ian did not answer.

He simply raised his right hand, palm up, and slowly closed his five fingers.

With this action, the surrounding gravitational field began to distort and compress!

Centered on him, the air within a radius of fifty meters seemed to turn into viscous glue. The three late-stage awakened Fallen Ones couldn't even scream, their bodies as if they were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand!

Click, click, click...

The sickening sound of bones cracking rang out one after another.

The three bodies twisted and deformed in bizarre postures before exploding with a "poof," turning into three bloody, mangled pieces!

The stench of blood mixed with the putrid smell instantly filled the air.

"Monster..."

The last remaining early-stage Fallen One completely collapsed. He turned to run, but every step felt like stepping into mud, so heavy that he couldn't lift his feet.

Ian finally glanced at him.

That look in his eyes was like looking at a struggling insect.

The next instant, Ian moved again.

He appeared before the other person like a silver lightning bolt, tearing through the viscous air.

With his right hand spread out, he grabbed the other person's face!

"Ugh... Guh..."

The Fallen One struggled desperately, and black energy surged out wildly, attempting to corrode Ian's arm.

But the moment those foul energies touched Ian's skin, they were purified and annihilated by a very faint silver glow, leaving not even a trace.

"How many people does the Dark Star Society have at Blue Hole Mountain?" Ian asked calmly.

"I...I don't know..." the other person squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth.

"oh."

Ian exerted a slight force with his five fingers.

The skull made a "clattering" sound as if it could no longer bear the weight.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" the Fallen One screamed.

"Thirty or thirty of them, most of them are lurking in the outer city, but I've heard there are some in the inner city as well. He's in the late stage of the Condensation Realm, and he is..."

Before he could finish speaking, his pupils suddenly dilated, black blood flowed from all seven orifices, and his body began to convulse violently.

Self-destruction restriction.

Ian released his grip, and the corpse slumped to the ground, quickly decomposing into a pool of foul-smelling black water.

The battle is over.

From the moment Ian made his move to the complete annihilation of the five Dark Star Fallen, the entire process took less than ten breaths.

He flicked the black blood off his hands, and the silver light shimmered, washing away the filth.

Walking to the center of the formation, I squatted down and looked at the still pulsating dark red tumor.

【Starlight Perception】Scan.

Its internal structure is complex, with a highly concentrated mass of corrupting energy at its core. Once detonated, it can contaminate water sources within a radius of 100 meters and will continue to spread.

"A crude creation."

Ian commented, and a silver light condensed at his fingertips, transforming into a starlight needle as thin as a hair, which pierced the core of the tumor.

hum...

The sarcoma trembled violently, and the blood vessel-like patterns on its surface quickly faded and shrank.

Finally, with a "poof," it shriveled up and turned into a lifeless, black lump.

He stood up, his gaze sweeping over the mess on the floor.

The five corpses were decomposing rapidly and would disappear completely in less than fifteen minutes, leaving not a trace.

The Dark Star Society's methods are certainly thorough.

"Come out," Ian called out to the outside of the pile of rocks.

Li Yao led thirteen teenagers in quickly, each of them with a look of shock and barely suppressed excitement on their faces.

"Brother! You're amazing!" Li Yao's eyes lit up, and his voice trembled with excitement.

"Two Condensed Forms, three late-stage Awakening cultivators... just like that... all wiped out?"

"Hmm." Ian nodded, his tone indifferent.

"Clean up the area, remove the bone stakes and traces of the array, leave the corpses alone, they will disappear on their own."

The boys immediately sprang into action, their movements swift and decisive, clearly demonstrating that their two months of practical training had paid off.

Ah Ku squatted in front of the pool of black water, frowning.

"Teacher, this Fallen One in the early stage of the Formation Realm... seems so weak, not much stronger than the late-stage Awakening Realm cultivator I fought before."

"He forcibly added it up using potions and evil magic."

Ian explained, "With a weak foundation and chaotic energy, their true combat strength is only slightly stronger than that of an ordinary peak awakened being."

He paused, then looked at the crowd.

"Remember, if you encounter members of the Dark Star Society in the future, don't be intimidated by their cultivation levels. Most of these scum take shortcuts, and their actual combat ability is far lower than their theoretical cultivation levels."

"Understood!" the boys replied in unison.

The site was quickly cleaned up.

Ian led his team away from the pile of rocks and headed towards Blue Hole Mountain.

As the sun sets, a dark red tinge appears on the edges of the gray clouds, like congealed blood.

That evening, in the study on the fifth floor of the Chixia Business Alliance.

Chen Jingshan sat behind his mahogany desk, holding a newly delivered secret report in his hand, remaining silent for a long time.

The flickering candlelight illuminated the wrinkles on his face, making them appear distinct.

Manager Wang stood to the side with his hands at his sides, not daring to utter a sound.

After a long while, Chen Jingshan finally spoke, his voice carrying an undisguised astonishment.

"Instantly killed five elites of the Dark Star Society, two of whom were at the early stage of the Condensation Realm... This Li Xing is even more outstanding than I imagined."

Manager Wang swallowed hard. "Old Chen, isn't he... being too flamboyant? Those lunatics from the Dark Star Society are the most vengeful."

"Extroverted?" Chen Jingshan laughed, but his smile was tinged with coldness.

"If he doesn't take action, half of the water sources in the outer city will be contaminated by tomorrow morning."

He put down the secret report, stood up, and walked to the window.

Outside the window, the inner city was brightly lit, a stark contrast to the darkness of the outer city.

The Dark Star Society has been lurking in Blue Hole Mountain for quite some time.

Those old guys in the city lord's mansion should know something, but they still can't catch the other party. Why?

Manager Wang shook his head.

"Because they don't want to break off relations." Chen Jingshan's voice turned cold.

Behind the Dark Star Society stands the "Corruption Cult," a colossal entity that surpasses even the Manifestation realm.

"The City Lord's Mansion is afraid of getting into trouble, so it would rather pretend to be deaf and dumb, as long as the Dark Star Society doesn't make too much of a fuss."

He turned around and looked at Steward Wang.

"Li Xing has just broken through to the Condensation Form stage, and his foundation is not yet stable. There are many people in the outer city watching him. This battle is to tell those demons and monsters who are secretly lurking."

Don't mess with me.

Manager Wang remained silent for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Then... will the Dark Star Society retaliate?"

He looked out the window, his eyes sharp as knives.

"These monsters should just tuck their tails between their legs and stay far away. If they really dare to extend their claws..."

The old man's tone was calm, yet it carried a chilling murderous intent.

"I wouldn't mind uniting all parties to give Blue Hole Mountain a thorough cleanup."