As Xiao LingYue slowly hobbled to the desk he began to bow before hearing the voice once again within his ears like the whisper of death.
"Normally I see old men trying to look young for the women, heh, first time I see a young man trying so hard to be old" The voice chuckled.
The vigilance within LingYue's heart rose exponentially as his heart turned cold.
"No need to be alarmed, since you're here as a customer then you'll be treated as such." It spoke once again.
Xiao LingYue's brows furrowed as he nodded, slowly browsing the wares before making his purchases.
He had received a few vials of beast's blood as well as a few Stage 2 ferocious beasts' cores.
Beasts cores and Ferocious beasts were labelled depending on the level of power they had.
A stage 1 beast core would be a ferocious beast around the strength of the body tempering stage. It could be labelled as low, mid or peak.
The same could be said for the stage 2 beast core which would be equivalent to a meridians opening cultivator.
The stage after stage 2 was called a Demonic Soldier Core. This was equivalent to a dantian opening cultivator and these beasts were far stronger and just as intelligent as humans but seldomly seen.
* * * * * * * *
Xiao LingYue slowly hobbled his way through the market as he continued to purchase beast cores and beast's blood as well as an assortment of healing and antidote pills before making his way back to the inn.
Once he reached the lodging district he noticed a few disciples searching high and low for something or someone; they were dressed in sky-blue robes with white clouds extravagantly decorating the sleeves and hems.
His eyes narrowed as he noticed these people were wearing similar clothing to those he killed that night as he stuck to the shadows before slowly hobbling in a different direction...
* * * * * * * * *
" Whether he's flown into the sky or buried in the ground, we'll find that bastard !" Li Jihai stated loudly as he searched area by area with a platoon of reinforcements from his sect.
Li Jihai stood with his nose to the sky as he shouted and laughed boisterously, leading the reinforcements to capture the criminal of the Blood Gate Cult.
Shortly after Ye Ru, the Jade Maiden came with the twins as they led their disciples to search for any Blood Gate Cult disciples.
As they said, 'An enemy of an enemy is a friend!'
Bing Mei Shi was worried because this wasn't how she wanted the plan to go, everything seemed askew and she could only aim to get this back to a war where every man was for himself.
Her eyes watched as disciples searched high and low for these disciples instead of continuing the search for the 7 Soul Peony.
It was a good decision she had told her brother to stay out of sight since he was not good at hiding his emotions due to the fact he was a very straightforward and inflexible individual.
She bit the nail of her thumb as she slowly distanced herself as she made a sign with her other hand behind her back to let the family guards who were dressed as beggars know that the time was now.
Amongst the already chaotic city, rumours began to arise about the 7 Soul Peony which the Cloud Chasing Sect wanted to monopolize.
The City which was like a dormant volcano instantly became active, erupting with renewed fervour and vigour as everyone's eyesight was placed on the Cloud Chasing Sect.
The search soon stalled as everyone's attention was focused on the Cloud Chasing Sect and the Silver Deer Forest.
Many disciples from the Heaven Net Society and the Cloud Chasing Sect could be seen rushing out of the city and into the Silver Deer forest as their greed outweighed their rationality.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Xiao LingYue had originally planned to go back towards the inn to finish cultivating while using the cores he bought but after hearing the rumours and remembering what was said at the Bing Residence he soon left the city as he also walked into the thicket of the forest.
The sounds of battle could be heard as screams, shouts and screeches drowned the ambient sounds of the forest.
The forest tumbled and shook as a mass of killing was underway; flesh, bones, entrails and different bodily appendages could be seen flung about haphazardly within the surrounding area.
The scent of blood soon began to permeate the forest as the howls of beasts became louder, their appetite stoked as they became even more violent...
Before long Xiao Lingyue came across a Cloud Chasing Sect disciple as others slowly walked out from behind the foliage and trees as they surrounded him.
"Look at this Old Bastard, Ahaha did you come here to find a nice gravesite?" A cocky-looking youth said as he drew his sword.
Xiao Lingyue slowly looked around as his turbid-looking eyes slowly sharpened while his hunched back straightened, and his aura began to billow around him as his spiritual fluctuations were no longer suppressed.
His hand slowly raised to his face as flakes fell off piece by piece as he grabbed his face and pulled, revealing a face that could be almost deemed as pretty and unblemished ivory skin.
He had black sword-like brows and deep dark obsidian hair which fell over his shoulders like a cascading waterfall, his almost glowing ruby-coloured slit eyes formed a stark contrast to the beautiful face as his eyes gave off a cold and ruthless temperament while his figure now stood straight like a pine tree going against the heavens.
The Cloud Chasing Sect disciples breathing became a bit rushed as they watched this transformation occurring before them.
To his astonishment he had recognized this youth but before he could shout for help, a gleam of blade light passed as his head shot skyward, blood spraying as the other disciples stood rooted to the ground in fear. . .
Xiao Lingyue's face lit up with an eerie smile as he said aloud,
"Time to get some cultivation resources. . ."