Clan Cultivation: Starting from Foundation Establishment on Mount Luoxia

Chapter 188 S-Level Speedrun

Night Owl and his team found an abandoned shrine in the town to stay.

The shrine is not large; half of the main hall has collapsed, and only the side hall can still barely provide shelter from the wind and rain.

Lin Xue cleared a clean area, Zhou Yuan set up a few simple warning devices at the door, and the monkey squatted in the corner munching on compressed biscuits taken from the system backpack.

"The first day should be safe," Night Owl said in a deep voice. "According to intelligence, Sadako won't launch a large-scale attack in the first few days. Let's rest first, and start reconnaissance separately tomorrow."

Lin Xue nodded, Zhou Yuan remained silent, and the monkey continued to nibble on its biscuits.

Li Xiaoyao leaned against the wall, closing his eyes to rest.

But his divine sense had already spread out silently, covering the entire town.

The town is small.

There are three streets running east to west and two roads running north to south, with about two hundred households scattered around, totaling less than a thousand people.

Li Xiaoyao's divine sense, like an invisible thread, probed into every house and into the mind of every person.

A few seconds later, he opened his eyes.

Understood.

This small town is where Sadako lived. The well is in the woods east of the town, covered by a huge rock.

The truth about Sadako is scattered among several key figures.

The old lady in the west of the town was Sadako's neighbor back then and witnessed Sadako being bullied.

The middle-aged man in the town was one of the children who bullied Sadako back then, and now he has become a thug with a fierce face.

The shrine master of Zhenbei once tried to suppress Sadako's vengeful spirit with talismans, but it was only a temporary solution.

and also……

Li Xiaoyao withdrew his divine sense, a slight smile playing on his lips.

This task was far too easy for him.

It's so simple it's almost boring.

He looked at the four Tier 1 players. Night Owl was studying the map, Lin Xue was wiping her longsword, Zhou Yuan was resting with his eyes closed, and Monkey had finished his biscuit and was playing with his dagger idly.

"We need to speed things up," Li Xiaoyao thought. "Seven days is too long."

With a thought, a subtle divine thought silently probed into the minds of the four people.

That night.

Lin Xue was the first to notice something was wrong.

She kept watch until late into the night when she suddenly heard a faint, mournful cry coming from afar. The cry was shrill and plaintive, as if it were coming from the depths of the earth.

"Captain." She nudged Night Owl awake.

Night Owl opened his eyes alertly and gripped his weapon tightly.

The crying grew closer.

"Something's coming!" he exclaimed, jolting awake. "Wake everyone up!"

But before they could wake Zhou Yuan and the monkey, the crying had already reached the entrance of the shrine.

A white figure slowly crawled out of the darkness.

Sadako.

Night Owl's expression changed drastically: "How could it be so fast! It shouldn't be like this on the first day..."

Before he could finish speaking, Sadako pounced on him.

The screams rang out in the night, but soon fell silent.

Li Xiaoyao sat motionless against the wall. His body was covered in blood.

But in reality, it was just an illusion.

The real Li Xiaoyao had already concealed his presence, standing quietly in the corner, watching Sadako devour the four Tier 1 players one by one.

"I'm sorry," he muttered to himself, "If you guys don't die, this mission won't be easy for me."

The following night, Sadako reappeared.

This time, she went directly to where Li Xiaoyao was hiding.

But she stopped as soon as she climbed through the door.

An invisible pressure emanated from Li Xiaoyao, the aura of a mid-stage Purple Mansion cultivator. Even a slight leak of it was enough to render the late-stage Qi Refining vengeful spirit immobile.

Sadako froze on the spot, her pale face showing fear for the first time.

Li Xiaoyao walked up to her and placed his hand on the top of her head.

Soul Search.

Sadako's memories flooded his mind like a tidal wave—her short life, her experiences of being bullied, her despair at being pushed into the well, the process of her resentment lingering after death and turning into a vengeful ghost, and everyone she had killed over the years...

Three breaths later, Li Xiaoyao withdrew his hand.

"I understand," he said softly. "You weren't born a demon; you were forced into this state."

Sadako's vengeful spirit trembled, seemingly awaiting his judgment.

Li Xiaoyao turned around and walked out the door.

His divine sense spread out again, enveloping the entire town.

Then, he raised his hand.

An invisible ripple spread from his palm, instantly covering every corner of the town.

Wherever the ripples passed, all the townspeople fell to the ground at the same time—whether they were those who had bullied Sadako in the past, those who had stood by and watched, or innocent descendants, all lost their lives in that instant.

There were no screams, no struggles, no reaction whatsoever.

It felt like the power button had been pressed.

Li Xiaoyao withdrew his hand and turned to look at Sadako.

"They're all dead," he said calmly. "Your revenge is complete."

Sadako's vengeful spirit stood there, staring blankly at him.

After a long while, the resentment emanating from her began to slowly dissipate. Her pale face gradually became clearer, younger, and... more like a human being.

She nodded to him, then transformed into a soft ray of light and disappeared into the night sky.

A crystalline fragment fell from the light and drifted to Li Xiaoyao's side.

Li Xiaoyao reached out and took it, probing it with his divine sense—

[Acquired Skill: Resentment Perception (Mental Type)]

[Effect: Can sense negative emotions such as resentment, malice, and murderous intent within a certain range. The range expands as mental attributes increase.]

[Rating: C-rank skill, derived from Sadako's gift]

Li Xiaoyao collected the fragments, a slight smile playing on his lips.

not bad.

.....

As the first rays of dawn shone into the town, a system notification sounded in his ear:

Mission "Midnight Ring" Completed

Number of survivors: 1

Task completion rate: 100%

[Hidden Truth Unlocked: Sadako's Past (100%), All of Sadako's Enemies Destroyed (100%), Sadako's Resentment Released (100%)]

[Mission Rating: S]

[Points Reward: 1000 (Base) + 2000 (S-Rank Bonus) = 3000 Points]

[Bonus Reward: The mental skill "Resentment Perception" has been obtained]