The Withered Shrine lay behind him , a shattered ruin slick with fresh blood and the lingering stench of ancient death. 

Jiang Xuan strode forward through the crimson mist, his every step leaving scorched footprints in the earth. 

His body pulsed with residual energy, veins alive with fire, the God-Spite Essence burning hotter than ever within him.

Beneath his skin, the Blood Calamity Surge coiled like a living thing , restless, ravenous, awake .

Above Canglei Mountain , the sky darkened into an ominous bruise.

Ominous clouds gathered and twisted into unnatural shapes, writhing as if possessed by something unseen. 

Distant flashes of blood-red lightning split the heavens, casting eerie glows across the sect’s towering peaks.

The sect’s ancient defensive wards flickered at the edges of the mountain’s barrier , weakening , destabilized by the killing aura that now suffused the land itself .

Every cultivator on the mountain felt it.

High within the Grand Hall , sect elders gathered around a bloodstained divination mirror , its surface rippling with corrupted visions. 

Venerable Shan stood motionless, his face drained of color, lips tight with dread.

“He’s broken through the seal,” Elder Qiu rasped, voice hoarse with disbelief. “He’s no longer just tainted… he’s infected .”

“And killed every Blood Seeker we sent,” another elder spat, fists clenched in fury. “That outer disciple turned butcher.”

“Summon the Inner Guardians. ” The command rang sharp, final.

Even as the words left their mouths, the response was already underway.

Figures clad in crimson armor surged through the inner courtyards , twenty of the sect’s most elite inner disciples, each trained for war, each armed with formation talismans and soul-binding artifacts designed to bind even the strongest rogue cultivators.

At their head rode Liu Yanzhi , Liu Tianyi’s elder brother , a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator cloaked in cold, unshakable intent. His eyes burned with rage, his gaze fixed on one target alone.

“Find him, ” he snarled, voice edged with unrestrained hatred.

“I want his head delivered to my feet , still warm. ”

But Jiang Xuan was not hiding.

He moved through the lower valleys like a crimson phantom , his presence distorting the spiritual currents in the air, twisting them into violent spirals. Birds shrieked and fled before he even passed. 

Beasts whimpered and cowered. 

The very earth seemed to recoil from his footsteps, trembling under the weight of his power.

[System Notice: Blood Calamity Surge - Extended Effect Active. ]

Ahead, an inner courtyard guard patrol emerged from the mist , five inner disciples, clad in sect armor, their swords drawn and spiritual energy flaring. They spotted him at the last moment, too late to react.

“Stop! In the name of the sect. ”

Too late.

Jiang Xuan’s palm erupted in a storm of crimson tendrils , writhing like living veins of death. 

The Blood Calamity Surge lashed forward, the mist twisting into the shape of a serpent-dragon’s gaping maw , its fangs lined with jagged hunger.

The first disciple vanished in a spray of gore , his scream cut short as his blood was ripped from his body in an instant.

The others barely had time to draw their swords before death found them.

Spiritual energy flared , blades ignited with cultivation power , but it meant nothing.

He didn’t stop.

A single punch , brutal, precise , shattered the ribcage of the second disciple. 

A sickening crunch echoed through the air as the man collapsed, coughing up blood and teeth.

One kick sent another flying , slamming headfirst into a stone wall with such force that his skull burst like overripe fruit, 

leaving behind a grotesque smear of red.

The last two tried to flee , one managed three steps before a crimson tendril shot through his chest, ripping free his spine in a gory arc.

The final disciple dropped to his knees, trembling, eyes wide with terror.

“P-please… spare me…”

Jiang Xuan leaned in close, voice soft yet colder than winter steel.

“Tell your elders…” he whispered.

“The Harbinger has returned .”

Then, with a flick of his fingers, the boy’s throat split open , not violently, not messily , but cleanly , as if his flesh had betrayed him.

A second mouth opened where none should be.

[System Notice: Vitality Restored. Hunger Brand at 120%. ]

Far above, atop a distant cliff veiled in silver mist , the silver-veiled figure stood motionless, watching the chaos unfold below like a god observing mortal folly.

A voice whispered from behind him, low and uncertain.

“Shall we intervene? ”

“No, ” the veiled man murmured, his tone calm, unwavering.

“He’s not done yet. The bloodstorm hasn’t peaked. ”

Back at the sect’s main square, chaos reigned .

Bells tolled in frantic warning, their deep voices echoing through every hall and courtyard. 

Formation stones blazed to life, glowing with desperate energy as ancient wards flickered under unseen pressure. 

Spirit beasts howled in fear, sensing the shift in power long before their masters did.

Elder Qiu bellowed over the rising panic, his voice raw with urgency.

“Lock the mountain! No one leaves, no one enters! Seal all exits , now! ”

At the mountain’s southern pass , a squad of rogue cultivators clad in dark cloaks waited in silence , patient, deadly, prepared. 

Their leader, his face half-hidden beneath jagged lines of bone-white warpaint, grinned as a blood-soaked jade talisman pulsed violently in his grip , responding to the ancient force now stirring beneath Canglei Mountain.

“The shrine’s seal is broken. ” His voice was a whisper of anticipation.

“Prepare for Phase Four. ”

Meanwhile, Jiang Xuan moved steadily toward the heart of the sect , the Grand Hall , its towering silhouette looming ahead like a fortress of fate.

His Blood Calamity Surge flared behind him, a storm of crimson mist sweeping through the air like an advancing tide, staining the wind with death.

This was no longer a hunt.

This was war .