"What a terrifying method, to extend hatred to a child and commit such cruelty. Damn it, even I can't stand this!" Liang Xiaoke burst out cursing. He was a zombie; it was natural for zombies to kill, as their sustenance was human blood. But the high-ranking members of the Yuan Ling Sect? They were human too. Killing was one thing, but torturing people like this had completely extinguished their humanity...

"It seems the Yuan Ling Sect is everywhere. We can run into their traces just by stepping out. Big Brother, we must hurry to Yunjing City. I truly want to see what is hidden behind the Yuan Ling Sect..." Ye Jingyu nodded in agreement, his voice firm, yet he continued to speak...

"Good..." Liang Xiaoke nodded as well. He was equally curious about what lay behind the Yuan Ling Sect...

"But before we go there, there is one more place we need to visit..." Ye Jingyu said coldly...

"Where?" Liang Xiaoke's interest was piqued...

"Follow me..." With that, Ye Jingyu vanished into thin air. Liang Xiaoke certainly didn't lag behind and followed immediately...

In the courtyard, aside from those few corpses, there was no other sign of activity...

Haizhou was a prefecture entirely surrounded by water. The east faced the ocean, the south was bordered by the Tian River, and furthermore, Haizhou contained hundreds of lakes, large and small. If someone looked down from a great height, they would see that the entire region resembled a shattered mirror, covered in fragments everywhere...

About a hundred li northwest of Miaocheng, there lay a lake of unknown name. In the center of the lake was an island. Because the lake was vast and its waters exceedingly deep, water monsters frequently haunted its depths. Not just ordinary folk, but countless high-level martial artists had perished here. Over time, fewer and fewer people came, and no one dared traverse the lake's surface to reach that small island in the center...

The island was covered in somber woods and featured a hill seven or eight hundred meters high. If pavilions had been erected atop it, it would have been an excellent retreat spot. However, this hill was densely overgrown with trees, showing no sign of human cultivation, clearly a place untouched by people for ages...

Yet, hidden from the view of most, nestled at the foot of the hill and encircled by the lush forest, was a massive cavern. Any person who set foot on this land would surely discover this cave, but strangely, after so many years, not a single soul had set foot here, and if anyone had, they certainly hadn't left alive...

This was because guarding the cave entrance were two White Apes, each standing over three zhang tall, their bodies pure white, and their eyes burning crimson...

Both White Apes had long iron chains wrapped around their legs, the other ends anchored deep within the mountain. Two savage beasts, each possessing strength equivalent to a level five creature, were tethered like mere watchdogs. The fact that they were guarding the cave meant that whatever secret lay inside was undeniable...

Venturing into the cave revealed an internal world unto itself. The stone walls were embedded with luminous stones, preventing total darkness. Inside, hundreds of large and small stone chambers had been hewn out. Every single chamber was stacked high with large, transparent jars. Most jars were empty, but some contained snakes, scorpions, centipedes, toads, and other venomous creatures...

At this moment, a squad of grim-faced men dressed in black approached silently from the side. The leader held an infant by the neck. Whether sensing immense danger or not, the baby wailed loudly, but the men paid it no mind, carrying it directly into one of the larger stone chambers...

This chamber housed a colossal medicinal cauldron, which was currently boiling violently, the contents appearing a deep, blood-red hue...

An old man in a gray robe stood stirring the contents of the cauldron with a massive ladle. He exuded a heavy, sanguineous odor. Behind him was a pile of corpses—a pile composed entirely of children no older than one year...

Every corpse had a gaping hole torn through its chest, blood splattering everywhere, permeating the air. Yet, the old man seemed to savor this atmosphere...

"Sir, this is the last child!" Upon entering the chamber, the squad of men displayed extreme deference. The leader bowed exceptionally low to the elder, his respect tinged with palpable fear...

The old man gave no sign of speech, merely extending his withered, bony right hand. The large man dared not argue and presented the infant he held.

The old man snatched the baby by the head, lifting it before his face. Looking at the continuously wailing infant, his eyes were utterly cold...

"This is the ninth time. It shouldn't fail again!" he uttered dismissively, then, without hesitation, reached towards the infant's chest...

A cyan light flared from his palm. The infant's frail body could not withstand the old man's strike; its chest was torn open as easily as tofu. The baby's cries turned to agonizing shrieks, yet the old man remained unmoved as he extracted the tiny heart...

He casually tossed the infant backward. Its head struck the wall with a dull thud, exploding into a mist of blood. White, viscous brain matter splattered onto the stone, painting a pale flower. The infant's sounds abruptly ceased...

Watching the old man skillfully drop the small heart into the cauldron, even the squad members gasped inwardly. This was the ninth time. One hundred infants each time—that made nine hundred babies in total. What kind of elixir was he refining?

This question surfaced in the minds of the men, but facing the chilling elder, they dared not utter a word...

As they watched the boiling liquid slowly subside after the heart's immersion, it settled completely after about fifteen minutes. A slow smile gradually spread across the old man's face...

"The Nine Yin Yang Elixir is finally a success! Hahaha, I can enjoy a woman's body again soon! Hahahaha..." Inhaling the blood-soaked air, the old man's grin grew increasingly smug...

When the men heard that the elder had gone to the lengths of killing nine hundred infants just to refine an aphrodisiac, their faces paled repeatedly. Even with their hardened dispositions, they were deeply shaken by the old man's cruelty...

"What? Are you not happy for me?" Sensing their thoughts, the elder's tone sharpened...

The men immediately broke into a cold sweat, preparing to kneel and beg for mercy, when a tremendous clamor suddenly echoed from outside, causing astonishment to flash in their eyes...