The Demon with Holy Radiance

"Do I even need you to tell me that?"

The Bow Lady seemed to roll her eyes, though she had no physical form. It wasn’t just that she and Yang An had a tacit understanding of what he wanted—she wouldn’t have passed up souls with this much value anyway.

While the Bow Lady digested the memories of the men from earlier, Yang An led Wen Yin back to the mountain they had come from.

"You got lost again, didn’t you, Wen Yin?"

Back inside the array, Yang An asked, amused.

Wen Yin looked utterly mortified, though she was still a little confused.

"But I swear I did exactly what you said. I traveled southeast from the Treasure Temple Domain to Pushean State, and I even passed through the Land of Shattered Armor where it was located. And you were right, there weren’t many monsters there.

"But for some reason, after I passed through the Land of Shattered Armor, I just kept walking... and then I completely lost my way..."

Her voice grew quieter and quieter as she spoke, eventually trailing off into a mumble.

"How long did it take you to cross the Great Virtue Temple’s territory?"

"...One month and thirteen days."

"So that means you only passed through the Land of Shattered Armor two days ago..."

Yang An sighed in resignation. He understood now. Her eye condition wasn’t the real problem. The main issue was Wen Yin’s complete lack of a sense of direction.

At her Cultivation Level, a smooth journey across the state territories under the Great Virtue Temple’s control shouldn’t have taken nearly this long.

Her eye condition could probably be fixed with some kind of Technique. It might even be resolved by integrating a suitable Power of Rules in the future.

But this terrible sense of direction... how could he fix that?

"Settle in here with me for now, Wen Yin. We have to wait for some others to arrive before we can make our next move."

Setting aside the issue of her difficult travels, Yang An said.

"Are you planning to rebuild the Mystic Path Sect?" Wen Yin asked curiously.

Yang An shook his head.

’I’ve already thought this through. I have no intention of establishing another sect or power. The more people there are, the more of a drag they become. It would also divert too much of my energy. It’s simply not worth it.’

’It’s better to be on my own. A few helpers are all I need. That way, I’m not tied down.’

’As for cultivation, I now have the Earth Spirit Stele, which gives me a source for Techniques and Forbidden Artifact Fragments.’

’All I’m lacking are some resources to speed up my cultivation, and it’s not like I can’t find those on my own.’

’Most importantly, I don’t want to be constrained by anyone ever again.’

’Everyone else sees me as a chess piece. So why can’t I be the one to jump off the board?’

He shared his thoughts with Wen Yin, who said she understood.

Unless you become one of the great powers of the Four Outer Domains, there will always be someone above you in control.

Soon, a message came from the Bow Lady.

"Listen up, you little punk. I’m done digesting those guys’ memories. Looks like your little junior sister here has stirred up some serious trouble."

Hearing the Bow Lady’s voice, Yang An frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Those men you just killed were sent on a secret mission by the new State Lord of the Golden Soul Sect’s Chongwen State. Their objective was to set up part of an array in Chongwen State, near the Land of Shattered Armor.

"Your junior sister just happened to be passing by. They thought she’d discovered their operation, so they tried to kill her to keep her quiet. Instead, they all ended up dead at your hands."

"Er..."

’The Golden Soul Sect again?!’

The Bow Lady’s words made Yang An wonder if he was just cursed with bad luck.

’I’m actively trying to avoid any entanglement with these major sects, keeping my distance, but things just never go my way.’

’Wen Yin gets lost for a bit, and she stumbles into this kind of mess.’

’First I kill one of their State Lords right after entering the Fusheng Domain, and now I’ve killed more of their people. It’s like I’m destined to be enemies with the Golden Soul Sect, isn’t it?’

’Out of the frying pan and into the fire. This Fusheng Domain isn’t any better. I have no idea why the Workshop Master insisted on gathering the Scripture Defector Association here.’

Still, he didn’t think he was wrong to kill them.

’In a situation like this, those men were clearly going to report back. They would have put both me and Wen Yin on their kill list. It’s a good thing I killed them all and left no survivors.’

"Will the Golden Soul Sect find out that those men are dead?"

"Not right away," the Bow Lady answered honestly. "But if they’re late getting back, the new State Lord of Chongwen State will definitely get suspicious. The men had no contingencies on them."

"That’s good."

’That means I still have time.’

’How did they die? Where? It will take time for anyone to investigate that.’

’And even if they find the location, they can’t necessarily prove I was the killer.’

Still, to be on the safe side, Yang An decided it was best to move.

He’d learned his lesson about the nature of people from the Golden Thread Pavilion and the Great Virtue Temple. People from these major powers don’t bother with reason. Once they decide you’re the killer, they’d rather kill the wrong person than let a suspect go.

Through the Tree of Flesh and Blood, Yang An already knew the whereabouts of the others; they were scheduled to arrive over the next few days. Changing the meeting point now might draw some complaints from the members of the Scripture Defector Association, but Yang An didn’t care.

He and the Workshop Master were partners, and the Workshop Master had given him full responsibility for the Scripture Defector Association.

Anyone with a problem could take it up with the Workshop Master. And if that didn’t work, a good beating would solve it.

However, the Bow Lady’s words also made Yang An a little curious.

’Why would the new State Lord of Chongwen State send people to set up an array so close to the Land of Shattered Armor? What’s its purpose?’

’The array must be incredibly important. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have sent a secret team and been so quick to kill anyone who saw them.’

He was curious, sure, but he wasn’t about to go investigate. Getting away was the top priority.

Coming back to his senses, Yang An told Wen Yin to wait a moment while he collected the surrounding Array Flags in preparation to leave.