What do you mean by saying that the corpses I sew are all ominous creatures?

I'm very likely a victim of a setup.

Sure enough, after Shi Cuishan slowly stood on a protruding rock at the entrance, he stopped clapping.

His gaze passed over me, glanced at the mutated pangolin's corpse on the ground, and then he spoke with a chuckle.

"The younger generation is truly formidable."

Despite his young age, his skills were indeed as formidable and sharp as rumored.

His decisiveness and meticulous planning are truly impressive.

Shi Cuishan's voice echoed in the empty cave, carrying a sense of relaxed control.

"This beast that I have carefully nurtured for several years is not yet fully grown."

But even ordinary Dan Realm experts would have to take a detour in this underground fire vein.

I never imagined that I'd become a corpse before even lasting twenty rounds against you.

At this point, Shi Cuishan's eyes gradually turned cold, and his tone revealed a chilling killing intent:

"No wonder our people have been repeatedly defeated by you in Jiangcheng."

Upon hearing this, I narrowed my eyes slightly, furrowed my brows tightly, and stared at him coldly.

Jiangcheng? It's repeatedly fallen into my hands?

I didn't respond immediately, but instead took the opportunity to secretly speed up the circulation of the evil pill within my body.

I was rapidly circulating my Fiend Pill, absorbing the free energy in the surrounding air, and doing my best to recover the physical strength I had lost in the battle.

At the same time, my Qi perception network began to silently spread towards Shi Cuishan and the mine tunnel behind him.

They were investigating whether there were any other ambushes.

As my sensory network expanded, my brain was also working at lightning speed.

Those rogue cultivators and evil practitioners with whom I had old grudges... such as Yan Kuan and Hong Gu, have basically been wiped out by me, their ashes scattered.

There is no powerful force behind me seeking revenge.

Aside from those independent cultivators, there are only two forces left in Jiangcheng who would still target me.

One is the Qi family, a powerful local family in Jiangcheng that Lu Yan only recently discovered through the flow of funds.

However, the only time I had a secret conflict with the Qi family was in that dead-end alley.

But that was only a brief encounter, and it certainly didn't amount to the "repeated" losses that Shi Cuishan mentioned.

Now that the Qi family has been ruled out, the answer is obvious if we follow this clue upwards.

Jiangcheng has suffered great losses at my hands time and time again.

We encountered many evil cultivators as cannon fodder in the Corpse Domain outside Jiangcheng Ancient Town, as well as General Zuo, whom we defeated together deep in the underground palace.

The masked man I killed during the conspiracy to perform a ritual at the reservoir.

Then there was that night at the City God Temple, where the elite Dan Realm warriors who came out in full force were wiped out by me and the Folklore Bureau, as well as that incredibly strong middle-aged man who was forced back by Lei Zhenshan.

These accounts can be calculated clearly.

After ruling out all other possibilities, that leaves only another large and mysterious organization.

Shi Cuishan is actually one of the guardians of the cauldron!

Once I understood this, I calmed down.

I stood on the igneous rock, my right hand gripping the black knife, pointing diagonally at the ground, while my left hand hung casually at my side.

Then, I looked at Shi Cuishan, who was standing on high, and slowly said:

"So it turns out he's a master who guards the cauldron."

To lure me into their scheme, they even used a strange beast they had carefully raised for many years to die in order to avoid arousing my suspicion.

This is certainly a very extravagant gesture.

Upon hearing this, Shi Cuishan, who was standing on the protruding rock, chuckled.

The wrinkles on his face smoothed out, and the simplicity and worldliness that originally belonged to a country blacksmith vanished.

Instead, there is a cold-blooded indifference to life stemming from long-held positions of power.

"You're really smart; you figured out my identity in just a few words."

Shi Cuishan stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over the churning lava river in the underground cave, his tone carrying an undisguised arrogance:

"To tell you the truth, although I am indeed a blacksmith, I have also served under the Lord for many years."

This Qing Shi Town is a thorn in my side that I'm responsible for keeping an eye on.

At this point, his gaze returned to the mutated pangolin corpse that I had gutted.

A barely perceptible hint of heartache and regret flashed in his eyes.

"That beast shouldn't have died here."

Shi Cuishan sighed, shook his head, and said:

"I'd like to keep it in this fire vein for a few more years, old man."

"Before the appointed time has passed, the medicinal properties and power of its fire-attribute demon core will be greatly reduced."

After a pause, his gaze returned to me, and he snorted coldly before continuing:

"It's just a pity that before you came to Qing Shi Town, some arrogant guy specifically gave you instructions."

You're quite the devil, always coming up with new tricks.

Shi Cuishan spread his hands, making a helpless gesture:

"That's why I'm luring you down into the depths of this fire vein all by yourself, and making you completely believe that all of this is real."

As an old man, I had no choice but to reluctantly give up my love and turn the charade into reality.

After all, you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub.

If I just made up some fake thing, it wouldn't fool your eyes.

Having said that, Shi Cuishan stopped talking nonsense and raised his hands, patting them slowly in front of his chest.

"Slap! Slap!"

Two crisp claps echoed far and wide in the empty and scorching underground mine.

Just as the applause subsided.

I could clearly sense several auras that were absolutely no less than those of the Dan realm, like ghosts.

It forcefully broke into my field of vision in an instant.

However, they did not enter the mine space where the underground fire vein was located.

Instead, it seemed to go deeper into the mine along different tunnels, and then stopped around the mine, just a wall away from us.

From the moment I sensed them until they were in place, it took less than two or three seconds.

They perfectly avoided my blind spots, yet subtly formed an encirclement, locking the mine I was in firmly in the center.

No matter which direction I choose to break through, I will be blocked immediately.

Judging from the looks of it, this was definitely a premeditated ambush that had been planned and rehearsed several times.

"Start the battle."

Shi Cuishan stood on the high ground, looking down at me, and let out a short, cold shout.

As he gave the order, the few Dan Realm cultivators hidden in the shadows seemed to simultaneously activate some kind of secret technique.

"Boom—!"

Suddenly, it felt as if a small earthquake had struck the entire underground mine.

The igneous rock beneath my feet began to tremble violently, and the lava river that had been flowing slowly around me was suddenly stirred up by a pair of invisible giant hands, plunging into a violent state.