novelraw Chapter 326: The Black Tortoise Hall Massacre
Chapter 326: The Black Tortoise Hall Massacre
This novel is translated and hosted only on Bcatranslation.
A fierce wind howled.
Ji Han Zhou glanced back curiously.
“Senior Sister Yu, what are you looking at?”
Yu Zhao withdrew her gaze, pretending to be calm. “Nothing.”
“But it seems like you’ve been looking back the entire time.”
“You must be mistaken.”
Yu Zhao stubbornly denied that she was checking whether Dean Mo Xin was pursuing them.
Though she believed that Dean Mo Xin wouldn’t bother with a junior like her, running off without notice still left her feeling guilty. Fortunately, after two days of anxiety, she finally relaxed, shifting her focus away from Dean Mo Xin and the Wordless Heavenly Book, and instead began asking Ji Han Zhou about Black Tortoise Hall.
Ji Han Zhou, naturally, shared everything he knew without reservation.Black Tortoise Hall was home to two Nascent Soul cultivators, over thirty Golden Core cultivators, and numerous disciples.
The hall’s master, Hong Ying, was a renowned body cultivator capable of tremendous feats of strength, and the deputy master was similarly famous for physical prowess. Under their influence, the sect revered physical strength and followed the Path of Body Refinement.
However, while body cultivators excel in the early stages, their path becomes increasingly challenging later on, and their combat style can lack versatility. To address these disadvantages, Black Tortoise Hall aligned itself with Heavenly Sword Sect, known for its offensive techniques. This alliance enabled the hall to flourish, and rumors suggested a third Nascent Soul cultivator would soon emerge.
Who could have anticipated such calamity? The entire sect was wiped out, even the two Nascent Soul hall masters failing to escape their fate.
Ji Han Zhou’s eyes revealed a trace of sorrow.
Yu Zhao, recalling Lin Shuang’s tragedy with the Seven Stars Sect, lowered her voice. “Could Black Tortoise Hall have been guarding a Spirit Vein?”
“A Spirit Vein?”
Ji Han Zhou’s sword faltered briefly before he shook his head. “That, I can’t say. The sect has never mentioned it.”
To Ji Han Zhou, a member of Heavenly Sword Sect, Spirit Veins were not particularly rare. His mother, the Sword Sovereign Jiu Hua, owned a small Spirit Vein herself. What puzzled him was why Yu Zhao would ask such a specific question when she knew so little about Black Tortoise Hall. It seemed contradictory.
Watching her closely, he tried to discern her thoughts, but Yu Zhao fell silent after asking the question, offering no further explanation.
Three days later, after non-stop travel, they arrived at Black Tortoise Hall’s location, only to be met with devastation.
Not a single clue remained; even finding an intact brick was a challenge.
The news of Black Tortoise Hall’s destruction had somehow spread, and opportunistic cultivators had flocked to scavenge anything of value. Those who arrived first took all they could, while later arrivals, finding nothing worthwhile, vented their frustration by smashing everything. As a result, the sect’s already ruined state worsened.
Even now, rogue cultivators rummaged through the rubble, hoping for overlooked treasures.
Seeing this, Ji Han Zhou’s anger surged, and he instinctively gripped his sword.
Establishing a sect is no easy feat.
Destroying one, however, is all too simple.
Generations of effort had been reduced to ashes.
Feeling a deep sense of loss, Ji Han Zhou’s aura grew cold.
“You have three breaths to leave this place immediately!”
His icy voice echoed across the ruins.
Some cultivators, sensing their strength, had already stopped their looting when Yu Zhao and Ji Han Zhou arrived. Hearing Ji Han Zhou’s command, they fled without hesitation.
Others, blinded by greed, showed their discontent.
Ji Han Zhou didn’t waste words.
His flying sword struck, ending one life in the blink of an eye.
The rest, now terrified, fled in a panic.
Ji Han Zhou snorted coldly but soon looked despondent.
Yu Zhao patted his shoulder gently, her divine sense spreading out. Her brows furrowed.
The scavengers hadn’t stopped at destroying property—they had even disturbed the bodies of Black Tortoise Hall’s disciples.
Yu Zhao split her spiritual energy into ten threads to gather the remains, then chose a flat area to dig a deep pit.
Ji Han Zhou joined her efforts.
Before long, they had collected over two hundred bodies. Most of the remains were disfigured beyond recognition, their identities discernible only by residual spiritual energy and bone age.
“The bodies of the two Nascent Soul hall masters and the thirty Golden Core cultivators are missing,” Ji Han Zhou noted gravely.
Yu Zhao nodded silently. Indeed, only the remains of Foundation Establishment and Qi Refinement disciples were present. Judging by their wounds, they were killed in a single strike, without any chance to resist.
Whoever attacked Black Tortoise Hall had to be at least a late-stage Golden Core cultivator.
But where were the other bodies?
And who would take them?
“Let’s bury these first,” Yu Zhao said.
“Alright.”
After laying the disciples to rest, the two began searching the area for clues.
Eventually, Yu Zhao found something—a grayish Spirit Stone, faintly smeared with blood.
Ji Han Zhou noticed her studying it intently and came over to look. “Could this blood be…?”
“Judging by the spiritual energy’s density, it likely belongs to one of the two hall masters,” Yu Zhao confirmed.
“But what does it prove?” Ji Han Zhou asked, puzzled.
Yu Zhao’s gaze turned icy. “It proves that a Spirit Vein does exist beneath Black Tortoise Hall.”
Initially, when some bodies were missing, she doubted the connection to the Spirit Vein. But seeing this Spirit Stone, she realized her initial assumption had been wrong. Black Tortoise Hall’s downfall was undoubtedly tied to the Spirit Vein.
Ji Han Zhou inspected the small Spirit Stone, no larger than two fingers. He recognized it as an immature, low-grade Spirit Stone—something typically found within an unmined Spirit Vein.
“Senior Sister Yu, are you saying Black Tortoise Hall was targeted because of their Spirit Vein?”
Yu Zhao nodded, then shook her head, leaving Ji Han Zhou confused.
She explained, “While the Spirit Vein drew attention, those responsible for the slaughter may not be the same as those who stole the vein.”
From Yu Zhao’s past life memories and recent observations, the culprits stealing Spirit Veins weren’t indiscriminate killers. For instance, Lin Shuang’s junior disciples survived, and the Seven Stars Sect’s elder was still alive and hunting her down.
The thieves’ sole goal was the Spirit Vein. Only those who directly opposed them were killed.
Applying the same logic, even if the Black Tortoise Hall masters had discovered the theft, the thieves would have only killed them—not massacred the entire sect.
Yu Zhao suspected two different groups had clashed, resulting in this unprecedented tragedy.
For now, however, her conclusions were speculative, lacking solid evidence. Convincing Ji Han Zhou would be difficult.
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