Longevity: Starting as a menial servant in the Green Wood Sect

The dawn in Broken Soul Valley has never brought any warmth.

The hazy sunlight struggled to pierce through the perpetual miasma, casting its light on the blood-soaked clearing of the logistics camp. A biting wind, sharp as a knife, whipped up dust and dried bloodstains, emitting a sickening wail.

The campsite was eerily quiet today.

The rogue cultivators who used to argue endlessly over missions and a few fragments of spirit stones were now kneeling in the mud, all silent and trembling, not daring to even breathe.

Directly in front of them, on the grand chair that originally belonged to Steward Ma, sat a sinister-looking man dressed in a black robe.

This man was about forty years old, with high cheekbones, narrow eyes, and a chilling aura always lingering in the corners of his eyes. He didn't deliberately release his spiritual pressure, but the faint, yet palpable, murderous aura surrounding him sent shivers down the spines of everyone present.

Zhou Tong.

He was a notorious ruthless figure in the Enforcement Hall, a peak Qi Refining Ninth Level cultivator, just one step away from Foundation Establishment. Because of his cruel methods, often wiping out entire families, he was privately known as "Butcher Zhou" by cultivators.

"Although Fatty Ma is a good-for-nothing, he is still a member of my Enforcement Hall."

Zhou Tong toyed with two iron walnuts in his hand, making a crisp "crackling" sound. The sound wasn't loud, but it clearly pierced everyone's eardrums. "He died here last night, right under your noses. And you didn't even see a hair on the murderer's head?"

He slightly raised his eyes, his gaze falling on the six guards and disciples dressed in Qingmu Sect uniforms kneeling in the front row.

These men were the attendants who had been responsible for the safety of Steward Ma last night. They were now pale with fright and trembling all over.

"Uncle Zhou... Uncle Zhou, spare us! The poison took effect too quickly, we... we didn't have time to react!" A guard disciple kowtowed repeatedly, his forehead covered in blood.

"Not enough time to react?"

Zhou Tong sneered, his iron walnut suddenly stopping. "As a guard, to serve one's master while he is dead is dereliction of duty. Since you can't react in time, what use are your eyes and head?"

Before he finished speaking, he made no move.

"Clang!"

A blindingly cold light flew out from his sleeve without warning, like a venomous snake that would devour its prey, drawing a strange arc in the air.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!..."

A series of muffled thuds of sharp blades piercing flesh followed.

The six guards' pleas for mercy abruptly ceased. Six enormous heads shot into the air, blood gushing from their necks like fountains, instantly staining the open space a glaring crimson.

The strong smell of blood, mixed with the lingering stench of corpses, made the stomachs of the kneeling cultivators behind them churn, but they covered their mouths tightly, not daring to make a sound.

Gu An knelt at the back of the group of rogue cultivators, his head bowed, seemingly trembling with fear, but in reality, he calmly observed every detail of the scene from the corner of his eye.

"Such ruthless methods, such a fast sword."

Gu An felt a chill run down his spine. That sword strike just now wasn't an ordinary sword control technique; it was a mutated method infused with some kind of wind attribute, and it was incredibly fast. Even now, if he didn't activate the Golden Light Technique to withstand it head-on, he probably wouldn't be able to dodge it unscathed.

This week, Tong is more than ten times more dangerous than that good-for-nothing Manager Ma, who rose to power through connections.

"Clean it up."

Zhou Tong waved his hand casually, and several black-clad law enforcement disciples immediately stepped forward and dragged the corpse away expressionlessly, as if they were cleaning up a few bags of garbage.

"Next, it's your turn."

Zhou Tong slowly stood up, his sinister eyes scanning the group of rogue cultivators behind him like a hawk's. "Fatty Ma is dead, but his belongings and that ledger are gone."

He walked down the steps one by one, and with each step, the terrifying pressure from the ninth level of Qi Refining intensified.

The few low-level Qi Refining cultivators kneeling in the front row were pale-faced and bleeding from the corners of their mouths, having suffered internal injuries from the pressure.

"I'll only ask once."

Zhou Tong walked up to a rogue cultivator, looking down at him. "Last night, who was the first to approach the corpse?"

The rogue cultivator was so frightened that his teeth chattered, and he shakily pointed his finger at Gu An in the crowd.

"It was...it was that guy named Lu Guan...he said he was a doctor...and rushed in to save people..."

Swish!

All eyes immediately focused on Gu An.

Zhou Tong's gaze followed, and that chilling pressure instantly locked onto Gu An.

At this moment, Gu An felt like a frog being targeted by a venomous snake. His spiritual energy instinctively wanted to circulate and resist, but he suppressed this instinct with all his might.

[Breath-Concealing Pendant: Full Power Operation]

[Turtle Breathing Technique: Heartbeat Suppression]

[Withered and Flourishing Spirit Seal: Life Force Withers]

Under the combined effect of these three methods, Gu An appeared to Zhou Tong as a piece of dry, rotten wood. His aura was weak and chaotic, and his spiritual power was impure and mixed. He was a typical useless rogue cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining, and one whose foundation was damaged and whose potential was exhausted.

"you?"

Zhou Tong walked up to Gu An, his gaze lingering for a moment on Gu An's sallow face filled with fear. He frowned slightly. "A piece of trash at the third level of Qi Refining dares to rush in to save someone?"

"My...my sir, I'm innocent!"

Gu An didn't just kowtow like ordinary people. Instead, he exaggeratedly shrank back, and snot and tears instantly streamed down his face. His cowardly and afraid-of-death appearance was incredibly realistic.

"I...I just wanted to show off...hope I could get a reward...who knew...who knew the poison would be so potent!"

Gu An cried and wailed, her hands trembling as she reached into her clothes.

Zhou Tong's eyes narrowed, and his spiritual energy stirred slightly. If this person dared to take out any magical artifact, he would instantly blast it into pieces.

However, what Gu An pulled out was a dirty cloth bag stained with black blood.

"This...this is what Steward Ma accidentally grabbed when he died..."

Gu An held the cloth bag in both hands as if it were a hot potato, trembling like a leaf. "I...I was bewitched last night...I wanted to embezzle it...but...but I saw those officials die...I'm scared! This money is too hot to handle! I don't want it! Give it all to you, sir! Please spare my life!"

As he spoke, he dumped the cloth bag onto the ground.

Splash!

About twenty low-grade spirit stones rolled out, looking particularly shabby amidst the bloodstains.

This was precisely the small change that Gu An had "seized" from Steward Ma's storage bag last night. He knew very well that in the eyes of these important figures, saying that he hadn't taken anything would seem fake; only by showing the greed and cowardice typical of small people could he minimize their suspicion.

A hint of disdain flashed in the eyes of the surrounding rogue cultivators.

So that's why they rushed up there—they're such fools who value money over their lives.

Looking at the pitiful few spirit stones on the ground, Zhou Tong's killing intent faded slightly, replaced by even stronger contempt and disgust.

"Just for this little bit?"

Zhou Tong sneered and kicked the spirit stones away. "As expected of a rogue cultivator, he reeks of poverty."

Although he looked down on Gu An, he believed that Gu An's greedy, cowardly, and opportunistic behavior was the most in line with the nature of such a lowly ant.

If this person acts with righteous indignation or composure, then there is a real problem.

"Get up and talk."

Zhou Tong snapped impatiently.

Gu An felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He scrambled to his feet, but still didn't dare to raise his head. He stood to the side with his shoulders hunched, looking like a coward who was ready to run away at any moment.

"I'm asking you."

Zhou Tong took a step closer, his voice low and chilling, "When Fatty Ma died, besides this bag of spirit stones, did you see anything else? Like... a blue-covered booklet?"

That's the key point.

Zhou Tong didn't care about Steward Ma's life or death, nor did he care much about the storage bags full of spirit stones. What he cared about was the ledger that recorded the shady transactions. If that ledger fell into the wrong hands, or if it was reported to the sect's higher-ups, even he would be in serious trouble.

Gu An felt a chill run down his spine, knowing this was a critical moment of life and death.

His expression instantly turned bewildered, as if he were trying to recall something, before transforming into extreme terror.

"A booklet? I...I don't see it, sir!"

Gu An shook his head frantically, speaking rapidly and incoherently, "At the time, Steward Ma was practically melting... blood was flowing everywhere... I was only focused on helping him up... and then this bag fell out... I was terrified... I really didn't see any booklet! If I dare to lie to you, sir... may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!"