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Landon wore a gentle expression, looking every bit the loving father. He gently took Liana’s small hand and said softly, “You’ll support your father, won’t you?”

Liana gave no reply.

Curled up beneath the oversized black robe, her tiny figure was almost completely concealed. The edges of its wide sleeves were soaked with crimson blood. Her face was deathly pale, the usual liveliness gone from her features. Her vacant eyes stared ahead like those of a lifeless doll.

Yet anyone who looked closely would notice that her entire body was trembling uncontrollably. As though the man standing before her was not her father, but a man-eating beast.

A smile spread across Landon’s face. “My daughter really does care about me. Don’t worry, Liana. Once this is all over, I’ll cure your mother’s illness.” He paused for a moment before adding, “That is… if she can still be saved.”

With that, he prepared to leave. There was still much to be done tonight. Until the final objective had been accomplished, he could not allow himself even the slightest lapse.

Yet just as he rose to his feet, Liana, who should have been unable to move after losing control of her body, suddenly struggled to extend her hand and grabbed the corner of his robe. She was still terrified, yet she summoned every ounce of strength she had to utter those words.

“Father… please… spare Lord Mountain Ghost…”

“……”

Landon fell silent for a moment before reaching out to gently pat Liana’s head. “I really don’t know what kind of spell she cast on you. In just a few days, you’ve come to care about her this much. I’ve raised you for so many years, yet you’re still so distant with me.”

Liana said nothing. Or rather, she could no longer speak. Even so, she stubbornly refused to let go.

“Don’t worry. I won’t kill her.” Because according to the plan, she would become nourishment for Demon Emperor. Naturally, Landon had no intention of saying that aloud. He gently pried his daughter’s fingers away and smiled.

“So there’s no need to worry about such things. Get some rest. After everything you’ve just done, you’ve exhausted yourself far too much. A great many things still lie ahead, and I’ll be needing your help.”

With those words, Landon ignored the growing despair in his daughter’s eyes and stepped out of the carriage into the sea of blood and flames beyond.

“Lord Ye.”

Having finished cleaning up the remnants of the Wang family’s estate, numerous shadowy figures knelt respectfully on one knee before him. Landon raised his head and gazed toward the distant horizon.

Dawn was approaching, yet this was still the darkest hour before first light. Maplefall Town remained submerged beneath the suffocating veil of night.

‘Then let it become even darker.’

“Begin.” Landon issued the order coldly. The shadowy figures drifted away like ghosts, silently making their way toward the sleeping residential district.

Moments later, the silence was shattered. Piercing screams of terror and agony awakened the night. Bloody light shot into the heavens. Blood flowed from the homes of the townspeople, trickling through cracks in the old walls, along roadside drainage channels, and across the worn traces etched into the bluestone streets. Together, they gradually outlined an intricate and mysterious pattern.

Within those rippling fluctuations, Landon could clearly sense that something was steadily breaking apart. And from the widening cracks of that disintegration seeped a sliver of an aura so dreadful that it sent chills through his very soul, filling even him with fear. Yet at the same time, it filled him with unparalleled exhilaration.

The fanaticism and excitement he had long concealed deep within his eyes were finally laid bare.

“So this is the aura of the Demon Emperor, sealed here a thousand years ago by the ancestor of the Immortal Cloud Pavilion. How terrifying.” But the more terrifying it was, the more intoxicating Landon found it.

Having been shackled by his talent and status within this insignificant little town for decades, all the resentment that had accumulated inside him at last found its release. He turned once more to the shadowy figures and issued another command.

“Kill faster.”

The cries grew ever more heartrending, and the stench of blood became ever thicker. The maple trees lining both sides of the road swayed gently in the breeze. Their fiery crimson leaves rustled ceaselessly, as though singing a mournful elegy for the dead.

***

* **The Gongsun Family, Main Hall.**

The atmosphere was especially heavy. Every member of the Gongsun family had gathered inside the main hall, all lowering their heads and not daring to utter a single word.

Occasionally, one of the bolder juniors would secretly raise their head, curiously sizing up the figure seated at the head of the hall.

The man wore a tattered Daoist robe and carried a worn satchel covered in patches. His beard and hair were both a tangled mess, making him look utterly unkempt.

Had it not been for the family head respectfully standing at his side, personally serving him tea, no one would have guessed that this ragged old Daoist, who looked little better than a beggar, was the ancestor of the Gongsun family.

The old Daoist was none other than the one Lilith had encountered before. He had long since abandoned the name he was born with. Upon entering his master’s tutelage, the ancestor of the Immortal Cloud Pavilion had bestowed upon him the Daoist title Kumu. From that day onward, he became the seventh disciple of the Pavilion’s ancestor and was now its Seventh Elder, Daoist Kumu.

Very few people, however, knew that he had originally come from the Gongsun family of Maplefall Town. In truth, compared to the City Lord’s Manor, the Gongsun family was the true proxy supported by the Immortal Cloud Pavilion, thanks to Daoist Kumu’s connection.

However, because the surname Gongsun was exceptionally sensitive within the Immortal Cloud Pavilion, the Gongsun family had always remained the most low-profile among the three great families.

Even during the struggle over the Blood Demon Pill five years ago, the Gongsun family had merely tested the waters before withdrawing, allowing the Ye and Wang families to fight over it however they pleased.

After all, even if one of those two families really did produce a Saint Realm expert, it would never threaten the Gongsun family’s standing.

“Well, Ancestor?” Facing Daoist Kumu, the slightly plump Gongsun family head, Gavin, couldn’t help but wear a flattering smile. “How is the Qingye Tip? Not bad, is it?”

Qingye Tip was the finest tea produced in Maplefall Town. Every year, only the tea plantation south of the city yielded a few hundred grams of it, and those were divided among the town’s major families. Even Gavin himself rarely brought himself to drink it.

“Mmm, it’s acceptable.” Daoist Kumu took a small sip and nodded. In truth, he couldn’t taste any difference between it and the cheap tea he usually bought by the sack for a few copper coins. Still, in front of his descendants, he had to maintain at least a little dignity.

“The aftertaste lingers pleasantly, so the tea leaves themselves are undoubtedly of excellent quality. However, the base aroma is lacking. I suspect the tea master’s roasting technique was rather mediocre.”

“I-Is that so?” Gavin looked utterly impressed. “As expected of our Ancestor. I heard the tea master fell ill this year, so his apprentice took over in his place. It seems an apprentice is still an apprentice. There are indeed some shortcomings.”

“Ah, since he’s merely a disciple, why be so harsh on him?” Daoist Kumu replied leisurely as he set down his teacup.

Those words, however, were exactly what Gavin had been waiting for. His eyes lit up immediately, and he promptly put on a pitiful expression, seizing the opportunity. “In that case, Ancestor, could you perhaps not be so harsh on us descendants either? Fifty thousand spirit crystals… that’s enough to shake the very foundation of our Gongsun family.”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Do you think this I am coveting your spirit crystals?” Daoist Kumu glared at him. “Those spirit crystals are meant to maintain the great formation protecting Maplefall Town. The three great families and the City Lord’s Manor must each contribute fifty thousand. Not a single spirit crystal less!”

“I understand the reasoning, but…” Gavin forced a bitter smile. “But ten years ago, it was only thirty thousand spirit crystals. The amount keeps increasing every time. How are we supposed to endure this?”