Advancing from the Initiate Realm to the Blood-Stained Realm is the same as advancing from the Common Realm to the Initiate Realm. One must pass through a tribulation; only then will one possess the qualifications to ascend to the Blood-Stained Realm. However, this Blood-Dye Tribulation is different from the tribulation faced upon entering the Dao. Each individual encounters different perils during their tribulation.

Take the sixth elder of Yunti Peak, Gan Xingba, for example. He underwent a Heart Tribulation. If he could not find his way through it, he would sink into it, losing any chance to break through for all eternity. This kind of tribulation appears dangerous, yet it poses no real danger to the person themselves. In fact, with gentle caresses and beautiful women to serve him, it could even be quite comfortable. However, because the Heart Tribulation is less challenging, Gan Xingba had to continue his arduous cultivation for another thirty years before he could achieve the Blood-Stained Realm.

Ge Ping, on the other hand, faced a fate tribulation fraught with immense danger. Once the tribulation erupted, it could potentially harm his life. It was extremely perilous. But although a fate tribulation is dangerous, the benefits after overcoming it are even greater. After passing his tribulation, Ge Ping ascended to a Blood-Stained Cultivator in just three to five years, which was ten times faster than Gan Xingba.

As for his own tribulation, Qi Xiu had a vague confidence in overcoming it, but it was like looking at flowers through fog or gazing at the moon reflected in water—not clear at all. He could only feel a rough idea of it.

It should be related to this Golden Flower Maternal Sect...

His gaze shifted slightly as he looked at the Blood-Stained Great Cultivator who was controlling the hundred-mile golden cloud. Qi Xiu transformed into a stream of water, sweeping up Yuan Baiyi and the other three, and they instantly flew hundreds of miles away, disappearing from this region in the blink of an eye.

Half a minute later, a figure gracefully appeared, stepping onto a yellow cloud. A noble and elegant woman with a frown landed on the top of this mountain. This person was one of the nine Holy Maidens of the Golden Flower Maternal Sect, the Ling Yun Holy Maiden. At the same time, she was also the elder sister of the Chiling Saintess.

They've run?

Looking around, within a thousand miles there was no longer a single Daoist shadow to be seen. The Ling Yun Holy Maiden looked down at the mountaintop that had been leveled by the red sand formation, her eyes slightly cold. To trouble my Golden Flower Maternal Sect, they truly do not know the immensity of heaven and earth.

With a cold snort, Ling Yun Holy Maiden, one of the nine Holy Maidens of the Golden Flower Maternal Sect, rode atop the hundred-mile yellow cloud. At the same time, messages were sent flying towards various regions of the Golden Flower Maternal Sect, instructing branch altars to aid in the search and manhunt.

Now this entire Yangshan Prefecture is my Golden Flower Maternal Sect's territory. Run? I would really like to see where you can run to!

In an inconspicuous mountain stream, the babbling brook snaked its way down the valley, with sparsely vegetated forests and jagged rocks. Using the fog illusion technique from the Black Water True Skill, their hiding place in the dry and dark mountain cave was layered in concealment.

Qi Xiu's brow was slightly furrowed. Yuan Baiyi was telling their tale while gently shaking his head, his eyes filled with helplessness and a trace of anger.

"That's the situation. The Golden Flower Maternal Sect has struck a deal with Divine Sorrow Ridge. They use the 'Ten Thousand Pregnancies Origin True Scripture' to breed our Human Race like livestock, to continuously produce offspring, which are then provided to Divine Sorrow Ridge. In return, Divine Sorrow Ridge has ceded several territories to the Golden Flower Maternal Sect, and they have promised to take only fifty percent of what the Golden Flower Maternal Sect conquers.

"Now Yangshan, Yuantong, Shuyang, Meitan, Qingjun, Baiwu have all fallen into the hands of the Golden Flower Maternal Sect. Millions of the Human Race have been bred by that so-called An'ning Holy Nation, turned into puppets for their faith extraction and childbearing."

With fists clenched tight, Yuan Baiyi's expression was gloomy and filled with rage. As soldiers, protecting the homeland is a sacred duty! Yet, in the vast Dianchuan Province, Demons run rampant, and evil cults wreak havoc. He had the heart to eliminate the Demons but was powerless to reverse the tide. This pent-up frustration lodged in his chest, unable to be expelled or swallowed, leaving him restless night after night, unable to let go.

Indeed, traitors are found in every world.

Gathering his sleeves, Qi Xiu's eyebrows lifted slightly as his gaze fell. Those who knew him understood that gathering his sleeves and lowering his gaze was a very strong signal: he was contemplating murder.

"You say you came here because the County Yamen ordered your forces to help a portion of the people who wanted to flee from An'ning Holy Nation. But as soon as you entered the territory of Yangshan Prefecture, you were ambushed by the Golden Flower Maternal Sect. Didn't you ever suspect that someone deliberately leaked your whereabouts?"

His gaze shifted; Qi Xiu looked towards Yuan Baiyi and his two companions. This wasn't because he was advocating conspiracy theories. It was because Yuan Baiyi's mission this time was riddled with suspicious points.

Although Yangshan Prefecture had only recently fallen into the hands of the Golden Flower Maternal Sect, this evil cult's methods of bewitching the populace, expanding its followers, and mutating living beings were extremely rapid. It was like this more than a decade ago, not to mention today, more than a decade later. Add to that, as soon as Yuan Baiyi and his companions stepped into Yangshan Prefecture, they encountered a large-scale ambush by the Golden Flower Maternal Sect's forces. There was also a sneak attack by the Chiling Saintess wielding the Red Sand Soul Extinguishing Formation Disc. This looked like a well-calculated, long-planned ambush no matter how you saw it.

"Impossible, the order was personally issued by the County Yamen. Could they be in collusion with the Golden Flower Maternal Sect? Daoist sir, such accusations should not be made lightly."

A tall and thin man with a narrow face beside Yuan Baiyi frowned and spoke. This man was named Miao Tang. He was Yuan Baiyi's deputy Capital Commandant, with a Dao-Entering Realm Complete cultivation. Although grateful for the rescue by this young Daoist who had suddenly appeared, Miao Tang couldn't ignore that Qi Xiu's previous words almost explicitly suggested the County Yamen's collusion with the Golden Flower Maternal Sect. Those words, if not during these times, would be enough to sentence Qi Xiu for the crime of spreading demoniac fallacies!

"I'm merely hypothesizing a possibility and did not say that there is an issue with the County Yamen. As for whether what I said is correct or not, just ask, and you will know."

As soon as Qi Xiu finished speaking, the four people in the cave turned their heads in unison, looking towards a figure not far away with a supple form, an ethereal demeanor, and still unconscious. The Chiling Saintess!

"Gentlemen, who will handle the interrogation?" Qi Xiu asked.

Facing Qi Xiu's inquiry, Yuan Baiyi and the other two looked at each other. They were soldiers, not from the Dali Temple. Interrogation was a specialized skill they had heard of but never practiced themselves. And this Chiling Saintess was no ordinary woman. Being one of the nine Holy Maidens of the Golden Flower Maternal Sect, she naturally had her extraordinariness.

"None of you know how? Then it seems I'm the only one left."

Slowly rising to his feet, Qi Xiu walked over to the unconscious Chiling Saintess and covered her mouth and nose with his right hand. The mist, suffused with a faint dreamlike luster, continuously poured into her body through her seven orifices, infiltrating her brain.

"Mmm."

After a moment, a muffled groan escaped, and the Chiling Saintess slowly came to, but her beautiful eyes were hazy and blurred as if she were deeply intoxicated.

Grasping the Chiling Saintess's chin, Qi Xiu gently asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Zhang Caixia, the Chiling Saintess, one of the nine Holy Maidens of the Golden Flower Maternal Sect," the Chiling Saintess replied without any hesitation.

"Zhang Caixia... That's a good name."

His mouth twitching slightly, Qi Xiu nodded slowly. The Black Water True Skill was an utmost pure Demonic Path technique, and among its divine marvels was this bewildering and soul-enticing skill. The mist that he had just infused into the Chiling Saintess's body was from the Black Water True Skill: the sequence of Ice, Snow, Hail, Dew, Fog, Frost, Rain, Cloud, specifically, the dew branch's Heart-bewitching Dew.

After testing the effects of the Heart-bewitching Dew, Qi Xiu looked serious and continued his inquiry, "When you ambushed in Yangshan Prefecture, was it a chance encounter or a premeditated plan?"

"It was already planned."

Upon the Chiling Saintess's response, the expressions of Yuan Baiyi and the other two changed instantly, and they couldn't help but rise and come closer.

Scanning Miao Tang's grim face, Qi Xiu said, "Then how did you get the information to know they would pass through here to enter Yangshan Prefecture?"

"The County Yamen has our insiders."

At these words, the countenances of Yuan Baiyi and the others altered drastically. The County Yamen had indeed been corroded by the Golden Flower Maternal Sect. For a moment, the three of them felt as if the sky had darkened.

Miao Tang couldn't help but ask in a deep voice, his cheeks puffed up, "Who is your insider!"

"I don't know. It's a major secret within the Sect. Only the Sect Hierarch and the two Vice Sect Hierarchs are privy to it," the Chiling Saintess shook her head as she responded.

After asking many more questions about the secrets of the Golden Flower Maternal Sect, Qi Xiu waved his hand and allowed the Chiling Saintess to fall unconscious again.

"The situation is now clear," Qi Xiu stated. "A traitor has appeared inside the County Yamen, and he's the one who leaked your whereabouts. There might not even have been any common folk to rescue. The so-called mission was just an excuse for you to come here and face death."

The revealed truth left Yuan Baiyi and the others speechless. After all, this truth made them feel colder and more despondent than if they had died in battle. The highest administrative center of Dianchuan Province had also been penetrated by a cult. Was there any hope left for Dianchuan Province?

Looking at Yuan Baiyi who was staring silently at the ground, Qi Xiu said, "Old Yuan, I have a question for you. If you find it difficult, you can choose not to answer, but please do not lie to me."

Raising his head to glance at Qi Xiu, Yuan Baiyi straightened up and spoke softly, "Ask."

"Is our Military Governor still alive?"

As soon as Qi Xiu uttered these words, Miao Tang and the other deputy by his side stood up abruptly, drew their swords with a clanking sound, and shouted sternly, "How dare you! General, this man..."

Raising his hand to stop his deputies, Yuan Baiyi looked intently at Qi Xiu's calm expression. "What do you mean by that?"

"No particular meaning," Qi Xiu said lightly, spreading his hands and ignoring the two fierce glares ready to pounce on him. "Just like I said earlier, if you don't wish to answer, you don't have to. But please do not deceive me."

Gazing at Qi Xiu for a long time, Yuan Baiyi waved his hand to signal Miao Tang and the other deputy to sit down, then slowly sighed, "I can't answer that question for you."

With a focused gaze, Qi Xiu nodded. "Alright, I understand."

Getting up, he stuffed the unconscious Chiling Saintess into a Spirit Pill bag and strode past Yuan Baiyi and the others. "It's been a long time since I last saw you, and I really wanted to have a good catch-up. But I do have urgent matters to attend to now. Let's do it next time. Next time we meet, I'll buy you a drink."

With these words, Qi Xiu brushed off his sleeve and started walking towards the entrance of the cave.

Yuan Baiyi stood up and called out to Qi Xiu, "Wait, what are you going to do? The Golden Flower Maternal Sect is not what it used to be. The sect teems with powerful experts, and there are also great masters sent by the Demonic Evil Cultivators stationed there. Going there alone, the odds are against you!"

"Hahaha, ever since I entered the Dao, I have always turned bad luck into good fortune, and misfortune into blessing. Just a mere Golden Flower Maternal Sect. No matter how fierce, can it be worse than Divine Sorrow Ridge?"

Without turning his head, Qi Xiu laughed lightly, waved his hand, transformed into a beam of Escape Light, and in the blink of an eye, disappeared from the sight of Yuan Baiyi and the others.

"General..."

Moving closer slowly, Miao Tang, with a somber expression, was about to say something when he saw Yuan Baiyi with a determined look, clenching his teeth tightly. "No one is to speak of meeting Qi Xiu today. If anyone dares to leak a single word, do not blame me for being ruthless!"

Seeing Yuan Baiyi so angry for the first time, Miao Tang and the other quickly bowed and responded, "We understand!"

"Let's go! Back to the County Yamen! I want to find out who exactly it is that has even infiltrated my Dianchuan Province's County Yamen!"

With a cold snort, Yuan Baiyi looked towards the cave's entrance, revealing a complex expression beneath his furrowed brows.

Guiding the Escape Light through the high skies, Qi Xiu transformed once again, reverting to the appearance of a pallid and eerily ethereal Demonic Cultivator Daoist.

My Bloodstained Calamity is destined to be with the Golden Flower Maternal Sect. This calamity cannot be evaded. The more I hide, the more perilous the calamity becomes.

Narrowing his eyes, Qi Xiu surveyed his surroundings, as wisps of indistinct greyish-yellow energy began to emanate from the void around him, entwining around him. This was the Calamitous Qi.

Once enough of this Calamitous Qi accumulated, his calamity would erupt. And if he were to successfully overcome this calamity! He could ascend to the Blood-Stained Realm. To become a true Great Cultivator!

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