Dong ZhenKang refused to leave his throne room. The furthest he would go remained his cultivation halls just a few doors down away from the Hu clan girls' home. Other than that, there was no reason he could be dragged out of his seat of power.

He needed the thrum of the ancient tree's Qi lines coursing around him. Strengthening his limbs. Giving him a drunk man's confidence. He feared he would crumble in terror like some vagrant dog otherwise.

That was not a position he would allow himself if he had a choice.

No! Sitting here for the next decade is a better alternative!

Dong ZhenKang jumped in his seat, startled, as another wave of unadulterated cosmic power swept at his Immortal Peak senses. Barely touching his spirit. But it made it tremble and recede into the depths of his body, further than ever before.

He knew why too. It was always the same situation for him lately. The same family. The same person that caused him all these headaches. Said Hu ancestor would remain as the greatest source of fear and unrelenting spiral of his self confidence.

The ancient monster was doing something. What that was, Dong ZhenKang prayed beyond any hope his theories and strong beliefs were wrong. To think someone like that would exist. Happen to enter his village of all places, not the village just a few days over, or maybe a large city.

No. The Hu girls needed to come here of all places. Ruin his plans and days.

Another wave of core crushing power reverberated in his bones. Dong ZhenKang cursed how far he had gone in the cultivation world. Had he been a weak Mortal tier cultivator. Or even a semi decent Spirit Gathering Realm grunt serving some demonic hidden power. Have just enough potential to be a member of some esoteric sect that practiced involuntary solitude.

Even a fucking virgin monk would be better than this!

A third wave made his hands tremble and shake. His Qi rushing back into his core to hide just like his spirit and power did. Not even calling upon his angry and ferocious Dao worked to quell the tremors. The same one that had been begging him to destroy the town was nowhere to be seen. A dog with its tail between its legs.

He's fucking torturing them!

That could be the only answer to the clear threat the ancient thing was sending him as the strongest member of the Silver Mountain Gang. The only one that would see what he truly was. A sadistic monster that was currently torturing the Black Widow assassins for fun and maybe some information.

Dong ZhenKang was convinced that was the truth. Otherwise why would the Hu ancestor do something like this? Send waves of domain and Dao at him, playing with his cultivation like a cat plays with its food.

He could imagine the old man laughing heartily. His long beard and mustache jumping up and down with each shoulder shaking, belly slapping guffaw. Burning the Black Widows' meridians and melting their core from inside of them. Enjoying their screams of terror and abject suffering and agony.

The pressure exuded from the ancient being receded. Dong ZhenKang let out a breath. Relief flooded him. He couldn't help the weak laugh that escaped him. The monster had finished torturing the Black Widows! Finally giving him reprieve.

Just as it ended, Lang Tu pushed the gates to his gathering hall open. Dramatically holding his hands out.

The slimy, fat, bald, filth sauntered in. Looking down his nose at the still messy hall, Dong ZhenKang had not had anyone clean yet. Dong ZhenKang had not wanted anyone to see him like this. Weak or in great fear. He had a persona to care for.

And Lang Tu was threatening it.

Dong ZhenKang felt bile rise to his throat. The anger at how incapable he was against the Hu ancestor boiling over. Lang Tu just so happened to be hateful and hateable enough that he no longer cared if the Spider Cult Valley stormed his town. Better dead on his feet than groveling on his throne against the Hu monster.

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"Dong. Zhen. Kang," Lang Tu kicked a broken leg of a chair out of his way. "Not watching your pretty thing today?"

The urge to puke the bile that rose to his throat was almost overwhelming, but not quite. Dong ZhenKang closed his eyes. Allowing the thrum of his core returning and Dao peeking its head out and urging him to kill a few hundred peasants slowly bring him balance. Equilibrium.

Only then could he reply without instantly killing the thing.

"Lang Tu." He finally said.

The diminutive, rotund man waddled over to the window Dong ZhenKang commonly looked out of, spying on Hu Jun. He held the window sill and leaned over. Giggling to himself.

Dong ZhenKang frowned.

He knows something. Something important and is enjoying holding it over me. What does he know?

"You know," Lang Tu could not contain himself. "They say they aren't even from this province."

Dong ZhenKang's eyes narrowed dangerously.

Lang Tu licked his lips audibly. "They say," he drawled. Tasting the words. "They say. They come from a certain Family. A clan with a bounty on their heads. I wonder what the price on their desecrated corpse would be? Has to be something special to reach us this far out. Right?"

Dong ZhenKang moved. His core surged with wind, Dao shouting in ecstasy. He grabbed Lang Tu by the throat quicker than he could stop himself. Dong ZhenKang started to squeeze. Slowly taking Lang Tu's life from him.

The fat thing scrambled and scratched and fought for its life. To no avail. Not enough heft to his Qi, Lang Tu was still in the gaseous stage. Not close enough in realms. And his Dao was weak and pitiful compared to Dong ZhenKang's own.

He was a dead man.

Dong ZhenKang had survived greater tribulations. For a simple reason. He knew when to bend and when to be firm as Cold Singing Iron. This was the time to be stone, firm and cold. Unwavering in his actions as the mountain would be in a slight breeze.

Escape or defeating the Spider Cult Valley was a possibility. As small as the probability was, it was still in the realm of his accomplishments. Not defeating the Hu ancestor. That was beyond him.

Lang Tu began to turn purple. Hands wrapped around Dong ZhenKang's wrists. Weakening with every passing second. Terror filled his eyes. Mouth miming the same words Dong ZhenKang refused to hear. What good would begging do for a dead man?

He saw the slimy filth gather all its Qi. A last attempt. It surged forward and—

"…Shao Yating!" Lang Tu shouted. Voice echoing throughout the entire empty manor.

Dong ZhenKang dropped him immediately. "W-what?"

Lang Tu smacked the ground hard. His prodigious weight did him no good in this situation. He grabbed his neck, taking long haggard breathes. Struggling to breath after the damage Dong ZhenKang caused him. Lang Tu tried to scramble backwards, but he would not allow him a chance to escape.

"Speak or they will not find enough pieces of you to stitch back together."

Lang Tu sobbed, raising his arms up to shield himself. "Shao Yating! Shao Yating! He's coming to teach you a lesson! Him and his father-in-law!"

Dong ZhenKang paled. He turned away to hide the expression.

"That old bag is going to make his way here! The Dark Gate Palace is coming for you."

Fuck. Fuck! Fuck! What the fuck do I do now?!

Shao Yating was the second son of the Spider Cult Valley's patriarch. A young man of potential so great, an Elder of the hegemony of this entire province took him under their wing. Marrying him to their granddaughter and tying the Spider Cult Valley to the Dark Gate Palace. Fifty nine years old and having already broken into the Immortal Peak realm.

A force as powerful as Spider Cult Valley should not have been capable of lording over so much territory and forces. Throwing their weight without consequences. But no one dared to band together and fight them as a unified force. Take what belonged to them.

If they did, the Dark Gate Palace would wipe them off the planet.

Dong ZhenKang had made it his life purpose to steer clear of such powerful individuals. At least until he was strong enough to protect himself. The righteous foundation of his core would be exposed by the powerful eyes of the Elder.

Everything he had done to hide it. All the political manipulations and wasted resources. Spending years building. Getting stronger. Doing everything and anything he needed to do no matter how evil it was. And now it was all going down the drain because of some backwater brat! On a fucking whim!

Lang Tu shot up to his feet and ran to the door way. He stopped there and turned back towards Dong ZhenKang spitting on the floor. "He'll be here in a month's time. Shao Yating was only passing by but heard the news about the Black Widows and your Hu girls. Harboring righteous sect members?"

Dong ZhenKang turned to him. His wind screaming inside him and attempting to wrestle control from him and kill Lang Tu.

"I hope you rot in hell, Dong ZhenKang." Lang Tu reached into his robes and threw out the message scroll.

It clatter on the ground. Rolling slowly until it reached Dong ZhenKang's feet. He watched it the entire time, unable to break his eyes from it. Inside that message was his death. An execution in all but name and writing.

He reached down and picked it up. Cracking it slightly. Hoping beyond hope that the slimy bastard was lying or over exaggerating.

Written by the Black Dragon of the Valley. Shadow Demon of the Dead.

Written by Shao Yating.

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