The murderer is cleaning up the traces.

Luo Yu remained silent. Having lingered in the cultivation world for so long, he knew that women were just as dangerous as men and possessed immense destructive potential. However, as a modern person, watching a delicate classical beauty commit suicide right before his eyes was somewhat difficult to accept.

Fortunately, he was no bleeding heart; he had nothing to say to those who wanted to kill him. The other party had their hardships, and he had his. If he was expected to understand her hardships, why shouldn't she understand his? The notion of returning grievance with virtue was entirely unsuited to the needs of social survival and development. Blind indulgence and appeasement only made the stubborn more obstinate, bringing further trouble into the lives of others, and it was something that must never be done.

Luo Yu was willing to believe in the better side of human nature. He believed that no matter who a person was, there were always important and precious emotions buried within their heart. As long as that person still had emotional ties to the world and things they wanted to protect and cherish, they could not be considered utterly devoid of conscience.

However... after seeing so many entanglements of gratitude and resentment played out daily in the cultivation world... everyone was driven by circumstances, with unspeakable grievances. The reasons for harboring grudges were so convoluted and winding that they were a thousand times more melodramatic than any sensational tabloid story. The rights and wrongs of these matters were a tangled skein, impossible to untangle even with heaven-defying spiritual awareness. The destructive power of these cultivators far exceeded that of ordinary mortals. The consequences of their actions casually resulted in shattered souls, rivers of blood, innocent bystanders catching stray bullets, and bystanders getting their feet wet—which in turn triggered a new cycle of grudges, pulling even innocent bystanders into the fray.

Thus, right and wrong no longer mattered; only the result was important. Luo Yu had also learned to omit the process when viewing things. If this had happened in the past, seeing such a beauty driven to her death before him would have filled Luo Yu with sighs, sadness, and lingering guilt. He would have felt that this woman's family was implicated by the black dragon, that she was a deeply devoted and steadfast woman as well as a victim, and that she was worthy of sympathy. He would have reasoned with her patiently, or at least given her a chance to turn over a new leaf.

Yet, after understanding the various obsessions and methods of cultivators, Luo Yu no longer dared to be overconfident, and his thoughts simplified into: Since you are determined to kill me, and I do not wish to die, then tough luck—go die yourself. It was concise, clear, and free of hesitation.

Tang Zicen was heartbroken to the extreme, weeping bitterly as he cradled his elder sister's corpse. The Song clan cousin stared blankly for a long while before suddenly scrambling up from the ground. He quickly snatched up a large boulder, his eyes split wide with bursting veins, and lunged toward Qin Yue with a tragic and fierce expression, roaring, "I'll fight you to the death!"

Qin Yue lifted his chin slightly, and a flash of golden light illuminated the space before him. The Song clan cousin transformed into a moth flying into a flame, plunging recklessly into the fire without leaving even a trace of ashes.

Tang Zicen seemed completely oblivious to the events around him, his gaze lost and vacant.

As the eldest legitimate son of a noble family, how could he not understand the gravity of the concerns weighing on his sister? A woman as proud as his sister had now willingly ended her life right before his eyes... simply because she feared that the black-robed Immortal Lord would take matters into his own hands and pin this bloody feud onto him. His own life was not worth mourning... but if he died, his sister's sacrifice and final wish would be rendered completely futile and worthless. He had been pampered by the clan ancestor since childhood; if he were to die just like that... how could the ancestor let the matter rest? The ancestor would likely risk mutual destruction to seek revenge against this Immortal Lord. When the ancestor suffered a misfortune, how could he ever find peace of mind?

Tang Zicen felt an unspeakable anguish, his heart turning to ashes. The opponent possessed overwhelming magical power, leaving no hope of revenge. If he were to commit suicide, wouldn't he be failing his sister? If he sat and awaited death, he would likely implicate his loved ones. If he bowed his head and begged for mercy, every fiber of his being rebelled against it.

Dazed, he cradled the gradually chilling corpse, collapsing limply onto the ground. His expression grew numb, and all light vanished from his eyes, making him look like a lifeless wooden puppet as he plunged into utter despair.

Luo Yu felt no aversion toward Tang Zicen, and seeing the other man in such a state stirred a trace of unbearable pity within him. The man was already this miserable—did they really need to drive him to total extermination? Damn it, this problem was truly tricky.

According to modern law, although the other party was an accomplice, she was still guilty of "attempted intentional homicide," so the charge would hold, even if the sentencing required further deliberation. But in the cultivation world... this did not even count as a crime. There were no judges or police uncles running around; murderers were everywhere, and neither he nor Qin Yue was innocent—no, not just less than innocent, they were pitch black. This kind of problem was far too exhausting; better leave it to his wife to decide.

As for Qin Yue, if he were the only one present, things would be very simple: kill him and be done with it. Although Tang Pidan had offered her life in penance and requested lenient treatment for her younger brother, Qin Yue would never give her that face.

However, while he might disregard that woman's face, he could not disregard Luo Yu's.

Qin Yue could tell that Luo Yu had no desire to kill this person.

Unless absolutely necessary, Qin Yue was always reluctant to appear too cold-blooded in front of Luo Yu.

He did not want Luo Yu to become as indifferent as he was, nor did he want his own temperament to influence the balance in Luo Yu's heart—even though he wouldn't mind no matter what Luo Yu turned into, he understood that such a change would violate Little Yu's innate nature. There were things too heavy in human nature that he did not wish Little Yu to carry on his shoulders.

However, even if he were willing to protect Luo Yu's waning kindness and benevolence, that willingness was built upon the premise that "the enemy posed no threat to their side." And when examined closely, this Tang Zicen and the Tang family standing behind him were simply not considered worthy of Qin Yue's attention.

He slowly walked over to Tang Zicen, gently touched the man's forehead, and scanned his current thoughts at a glance.

After confirming that the man lacked the courage and intent to cause them harm, Qin Yue calmly took Luo Yu's hand and walked away as if nothing had happened.

Tang Zicen stared blankly at the receding backs of the two figures until they vanished completely.

He withdrew his gaze and emitted a self-deprecating, bitter laugh. Even if his hatred turned to searing poison throughout his body, what could he possibly do? His sister had possessed boundless divine powers and an arrogant pride, and the ancestor had never liked her. When she defied the ancestor's orders and stubbornly married her husband, the ancestor had treated her like a stranger and would never step forward to avenge her... As for himself, from this day forward he would merely be scraping by, living a cowardly existence...

...

Luo Yu lowered his head and pondered the entire way: Damn it, they had been targeted for so long without knowing a thing! Fine, the other party was a Nascent Soul cultivator; if she chose to sneak around, the Golden Core lackeys in Glass Palace truly wouldn't be able to detect her. Over the past few years, all the lackeys who had advanced to the Nascent Soul stage had been dispatched to search for the black dragon, and both he and Qin Yue had been far too focused on the primary culprit, completely forgetting about everyone else.

There had been thirty-five Nascent Soul cultivators killed back then, and the extra five were individuals "accidentally killed" by Bai Wuhuo while placing bets on the side. Because those five had no one backing their families and servants, they were eventually driven out of Langhai Plain by the local residents... He had only heard about this from his neighbors long after the fact. Damn it, thinking about it this way, he had inadvertently offended a lot of people! If every single one of them came seeking revenge like that woman, it would truly become quite troublesome!

Luo Yu voiced his worries to Qin Yue, but Qin Yue remained entirely nonchalant. "So what? This seat commands a thousand Nascent Soul subordinates; aside from madmen, who dares to act presumptuously?"

Luo Yu argued, "Those manpower reserves aren't made public, so who would know? Ignorance breeds fearlessness, doesn't it? That woman was just like that! If she had known we were Void-Hua cultivators, she would have bolted and hidden far away."

Qin Yue replied with a deadpan face, "Precisely. With the fox around, these people still wouldn't dare to act presumptuously."

Luo Yu muttered under his breath, "Even if they don't come make trouble... they will still harbor resentment."

"Then let them hate."

"Fortunately, Big Brother guarded against this early on... The outside world has no idea that Supreme Artifacts and Glass Palace are connected. If these people ran over to make trouble at the shops, our business would definitely be affected... Hmm, I can't let others find out that I am the Yunlu Ancestor. Should I send a warning to the people in the gorge? The residents there know that Supreme Artifacts belongs to our family."

Qin Yue thought for a moment and said, "Send a greeting to reassure them along the way... When we open new shops in the future, let's change the names anyway. The market in the Eastern Divine Realm is still vast." A large number of their subordinates had been dispatched to search for people in recent years, which had severely impacted the development of Supreme Artifacts. Although business at every shop was booming, production output was limited, making it impossible to open more branches.

Luo Yu nodded fiercely. "Then we'll shift our focus to new brands. Supreme Artifacts can slowly 'commit suicide,' while we open several other distinct brands. On the surface, they'll compete with one another, but behind the scenes, they'll secretly support each other to prevent any single brand from dominating and making others envious."

After returning to the inner chambers of Glass Palace, the young couple issued a series of new directives.

In accordance with these instructions, a talisman and artifact shop named "Niu's" quietly opened in a certain small town one day. Not long after, another shop called "Mystic Arms" moved in. Whether it was the long-established Supreme Artifacts cutting corners or these two new shops possessing genuine strength, the merchandise of all three shops seemed quite exceptional, each with its own distinct merits. With three tigers prowling a single mountain, a fierce business war broke out in the town. In the end, Niu's emerged victorious, Supreme Artifacts plummeted into obscurity, and Mystic Arms closed down, reportedly planning to relocate elsewhere.

Similar scenarios played out quietly across every town where Supreme Artifacts had a presence. Supreme Artifacts still possessed some foundation and managed to hold on for a while, but after a few years, it slowly withered away. Most branches closed down, leaving only a sparse three or five stores, which would likely vanish soon as well.

Niu's took the place of Supreme Artifacts. However, Niu's was not as formidable as Supreme Artifacts had been in its heyday, because Mystic Arms was always lurking behind the scenes, snatching up business—rumored to be a feud carried over from two towns ago. Later on, a shop named "Slaughter Artifacts" moved down from the north, colluding with Mystic Arms to squeeze Niu's toward the east. Then, Slaughter Artifacts and Mystic Arms failed to divide their spoils evenly, causing their alliance to fracture. The two sides began fighting over the market in a chaotic uproar, only for another shop called "Exquisite Pavilion" to pop up behind them...

The magical artifacts sold by these shops grew increasingly refined with each passing day, and their business tactics grew more elaborate. They fought so fiercely that they only grew stronger through conflict. One day they would team up to fleece customers, and the next day they would backstab each other. Other merchants in the industry scrambled to get out of the way, muttering, "Damn it, these shops have zero bottom lines! Their magical artifacts are already quite good; why turn on each other when they could just run an honest business? It's fine if you guys want to fight, but the crossfire leaves us with no peace! Forget it, we can't afford to provoke them, so we'll just hide..."

Finding themselves unable to squeeze out their remaining rivals even after driving everyone else away, these shops had no choice but to shake hands and forge a truce, signing agreements to conduct proper business. Yet, they still looked at each other with lingering disdain, continuing to secretly crowd each other out. Heaven only knew how long their peace would last.

Luo Yu and Bai Wuhuo sat at the large table in the inner hall of Glass Palace, holding financial reports and reviewing them point by point:

"Look, Slaughter Artifacts generated the highest profit this year, Mystic Arms did quite well too, while Niu's sales volume has dropped..."

"A Thousand Miles in an Instant is doing great as well! Who would have thought that a specialty flight-artifact store would outsell weapon shops? Should we convert Exquisite Pavilion into a specialty store exclusively for women's magical artifacts?"

As they were engrossed in their review, Qin Yue suddenly strode into the room in a hurried manner. "That fellow has shown himself!"

Bai Wuhuo froze, and Luo Yu tossed the report in his hand aside. "Where is that beast? Let's go!"

Qin Yue said, "Don't rush. We've only picked up some traces; its exact location remains unclear. A secret dispatch from the letter pavilion states that three days ago, a black dragon was spotted injuring people near Tianlan City in the northwest, and a one-armed, one-eyed man was seen frequenting an apothecary. Scouts searched inside and outside the city but found no trace of him... It's assumed he went elsewhere."

Bai Wuhuo stood up, leaning his hands on the table as a fierce, murderous glint flashed in his eyes. "Hmph... It seems he was injured extremely severely last time, likely falling into a deep slumber, and has only finally awakened now."

Luo Yu gnashed his teeth. "Damn it, I've always been afraid it would drop dead before we found it; now I can finally rest easy! Who tracked down this information? Give that fellow a hefty reward!"

Qin Yue narrowed his eyes and slowly said, "Since it has shown itself, it surely won't stay quiet for long. It wouldn't be surprising if it makes a move in the near future—guards!"

The four front-hall guards immediately stepped inside upon hearing the call, dropping uniformly onto one knee. "Subordinates are here!"