No spiritual root? I devour the origins of all paths.

Three days after the trial report, the purge operation of the Qingyun Sect officially began.

With Jian Xuan overseeing the Transmission Hall, and two Supreme Elders personally leading the operation, thirty-six inner disciples were divided into twelve groups, simultaneously heading towards the twelve listed strongholds. The operation was scheduled for 3:45 AM—the time of day when demonic energy was weakest and sword intent was strongest. Before departure, no one knew the specifics of the mission; all communication jade slips were confiscated, and even communication between groups had to go through the elders. Jian Xuan's exact words were: "Old subordinates can remain hidden within the sect for forty years; no one can guarantee that information won't leak from within."

Ling Chen was assigned to the third group, along with Xiao Lie and Han Tie. Their mission was to raid an abandoned mine forty miles outside Qingzhou City—according to Liu Yuan, it was the largest communication hub for the Shadow Demon's former subordinates in the Qingzhou area, garrisoned year-round by one or two demonic cultivators at the peak of Qi Gathering or even the early stage of True Condensation. Before setting off, Jian Xuan called him aside.

"Your identity has been revealed, and you are now the primary target. Do not pursue enemies alone, do not stray out of the group's sight, and do not act recklessly." He paused after speaking, a rare wry smile appearing on his face. "Fine, you can probably heed the first two rules, but the third one is pointless to explain."

Ling Chen simply nodded.

Jian Xuan looked at the boy who only reached his shoulder, remained silent for a moment, and then handed him a storage bag: "Inside is a sword talisman, which I carved myself. Once crushed, all disciples within a hundred feet of you carrying Qingyun Sect swords will be able to sense your location. Try not to use it, but if you do—hold out until we arrive."

At 3:45 AM, the three groups arrived at the abandoned mine.

The mine entrance was completely obscured by dense thorns; without prior knowledge of the coordinates, it would be impossible to spot. Ling Chen activated his Eyes of Insight, and the thorn bushes at the entrance revealed varying degrees of residual demonic energy—someone had entered and exited through here two hours prior. He gestured to Xiao Lie and Han Tie, and the three silently drew their swords.

Xiao Lie's hand gripped his sword firmly and powerfully, the fiery patterns on the Crimson Flame Sword glowing faintly in the night. Han Tie's Golden Scale Sword, tempered in the Sword Tomb, was even more refined, its sword energy concealed. The three of them charged into the cave in a triangular formation, encountering their first ambush less than fifty steps in—two demonic cultivator servants at the peak of Body Tempering, their minds controlled by the Shadow Demon Technique. Their attacks were like those of mad dogs, utterly chaotic yet each strike a desperate gamble. Xiao Lie pierced the left servant's brow with his sword, Han Tie's Golden Scale Sword grazed the right servant's knee, and Ling Chen's Severing Thoughts cut diagonally, severing the demonic energy connecting the man's neck with a single strike. Both men collapsed simultaneously, convulsing for a moment before falling still. Their controlled eyes lost their last chaotic luster, returning to the normal color of human pupils.

Liu Yuan had said that those parasitized by a complete demonic seed could not be saved, but servants only connected by demonic energy still had a chance—as long as the connecting demonic energy was severed without damaging the dantian, the person could be saved. When Ling Chen sheathed his sword, Duan Nian trembled slightly, as if it were some kind of acknowledgment.

The three continued deeper. The main hall of the mine, which had originally been spacious, had now been transformed into a simple altar. In the center of the altar was a circular magic circle made of black stone, with four cultivators sitting cross-legged at the four corners, each with a rune hanging above their head. Sitting cross-legged in the center of the magic circle was a fifth person—or rather, a corpse. The person was dressed in the robes of an outer disciple of the Qingyun Sect, his dantian had been hollowed out, and his limbs were nailed to the stone slab of the magic circle with four bone nails.

When Han Tie saw this, the veins on his hand holding the sword bulged.

The four demonic cultivators guarding the formation opened their eyes simultaneously. The leader's cultivation had reached the peak of Qi Gathering, and his demonic energy was so dense that it was almost tangible. Xiao Lie held off the two on the left wing, Han Tie blocked the one on the right wing, and Ling Chen used the Instant Shadow Step to attack the leading demonic cultivator.

The sword, Duan Nian, was drawn. The cracks on the black blade remained, but the faint golden light deep within its spine was a fraction brighter than it had been three days ago. The demonic cultivator roared, condensing his demonic energy into a black shield before him. Ling Chen didn't retreat. He remembered the sword attendant saying—Gui Nian slashes not the physical body, but the obsession. The demonic cultivator's obsession was the very source of his demonic energy, the source of his ferocity. Duan Nian, using the blade intent of the Nine Heavens Slashes as a guide and the sword intent of Gui Nian as its tip, pierced the black shield. The black shield crumbled inch by inch, the sword tip passing through and penetrating half an inch into the demonic cultivator's dantian. The demonic seed shattered, and black energy surged from the wound like a burst dam, instantly engulfing the entire altar. The other three demonic cultivators simultaneously screamed and collapsed, the runes above their heads shattering and dissipating—the demonic seed was shared by all four, one host supplying three servants. With the demonic seed shattered, the remaining demonic energy connections automatically disintegrated.

The battle lasted less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. All four demonic cultivators were captured alive, and the runes on the altar were erased one by one by Ling Chen using the chaotic power of the Myriad Paths Returning to the Void Diagram.

As they were packing up, Xiao Lie suddenly asked, "How did you manage to stop Duan Nian from killing anyone? Even when Liu Yuan came personally before, no one was ever spared when clearing out demonized cultivators."

Ling Chen glanced down at the Broken Thoughts sword in his hand. The cracks on the blade gleamed faintly in the night. He didn't answer, but he already knew the answer in his heart—the sword intent of Returning Thoughts wasn't about not killing, but about severing only obsessions. The demonic seed was an obsession, the connection of demonic energy was an obsession, but the cultivator being connected wasn't. The day the sword attendant forged Broken Thoughts, she embroidered the character "thought" on the tassel; perhaps from the very beginning, she never intended to use this sword to kill.

Han Tie squatted beside the altar with his back to them, carefully using his sword sheath to pry open the bone nails embedded in the corpse's limbs. With a clang, the last nail fell out. He laid the outer disciple's body flat on the stretcher and covered it with his own outer robe. He and this man were complete strangers, but he probably thought—if he hadn't stayed in Qingzhou back then, but had joined some small sect, perhaps one day the person lying on this altar would be him.

That night, all twelve strongholds were simultaneously destroyed, but the clues, once pieced together, pointed to an even more unsettling direction—the food, spirit stones, and elixirs supplied to the Qingzhou stronghold did not originate in the mortal realm. All supply routes were traced upstream, disappearing near the rift in the spirit realm.

Jian Xuan found Ling Chen that very night: "Liu Yuan confessed that the Shadow Demon General's old subordinates had a core member codenamed 'The Furnace Holder,' who was specifically responsible for transporting supplies across realms. The supply line has never been interrupted in forty years, indicating that the Furnace Holder is still active and has a stable passage to the Spirit Realm. Removing the Furnace Holder would paralyze the entire old subordinates' logistics network. But this person is not on the list, and Liu Yuan's memory fragments do not contain any specific information about him."

"How far have we gotten in the investigation?"

"The last time the furnace bearer appeared was at the abandoned teleportation array near the rift in the spirit realm—that place could receive supplies from the spirit realm in one direction without needing a teleporter, only the teleportation array base. But that array base had already been activated once, and residual spatial fluctuations still remained. If someone could trace those spatial fluctuations in reverse, they could find the location of the spirit realm teleportation array that sent the supplies."

Ling Chen was silent for a few moments: "I'll trace it in reverse."

"It's very dangerous. Reverse tracking requires enduring the tearing force of spatial turbulence, and it also requires using the Myriad Dao Returning to the Void Diagram to directly take over the abandoned array base. Once activated, the aftershocks will be captured by the demons in the Spirit Realm, meaning that while we're tracking them to their lair, they're also locking onto us."

"If we don't activate them, they'll keep replenishing their supplies," Ling Chen said. "With their old subordinates hidden in the shadows and their supply lines uninterrupted, it wouldn't be surprising if they remained in hiding for another forty years."

He asked Elder Mo a question in his mind. Elder Mo only replied, "The Myriad Paths Returning to Nothingness Diagram can devour spatial turbulence. Tell Jian Xuan to guard the house, and we'll go and overturn the Spirit Realm's pot."

The following morning, Jian Xuan led Ling Chen and three elders to the abandoned teleportation array near the Spirit Realm rift. The array's foundation was dilapidated, with most of the core runes worn away, leaving only the most basic sensing circuits faintly glowing. Ling Chen stood in the center of the array's foundation and poured chaotic spiritual power into the Myriad Dao Returning to Ruins Diagram—the scroll slowly unfurled, and an ancient aura swept across the array's foundation, carrying residual spatial fluctuations as it suddenly extended towards the Spirit Realm.

A dark rift was torn open in space. A faint crimson demonic light flickered at the other end of the rift. The Myriad Paths Returning to Nothingness Diagram devoured the oncoming spatial turbulence, locking onto the coordinates of the teleportation array at the other end. What Ling Chen saw in his sea of ​​consciousness wasn't text coordinates—it was an image. A dark stone palace, filled with supply boxes identical to those at the Sword Tomb Altar. A teleportation array in the corner was cooling down, and a cloaked figure was crouching before it, examining it.

Jian Xuan asked in a deep voice, "What did you see?"

"The Furnace Holder—is not one of the old subordinates." Ling Chen's voice was somewhat strained. "He's a living demonic cultivator. His cultivation is at least at the mid-stage of the True Condensation realm, and his demonic energy is pure, not parasitic. The other end of the teleportation array doesn't connect to an abandoned cave, but to a demonic supply hall that's still in operation. This is the old subordinates' logistical hub. Every three months, the Furnace Holder uses a one-way teleportation array to distribute spirit stones and pills to various strongholds in the mortal realm. The next supply time—is in five days."

Jian Xuan exchanged a glance with the three elders.

"Make our move five days later during their handover. Capture the furnace keeper alive and seal off the supply hall. The Spirit Realm will definitely retaliate if they lose the supply hall, so we need to make sure Sunset Valley and Iron Sword Sect are prepared in advance."

He turned to face the main peak of the Qingyun Sect, his voice low but resolute: "A message to the three major sects—the Qingyun Sect will lead a joint operation to annihilate them. This time, it's not just the Qingzhou stronghold; the supply lines near the Spirit Realm rift will be uprooted."