Nameless District: Chapter Sixty-Five — Annihilation of the Entire Clan

Three months into Zhou Xuanhong’s study of finger techniques and secret arts, the Yin Corpse Sect’s minor world trial came to an end. The outcome was unsurprising: two mysterious rogue cultivators emerged, invincible within the trial realm, gaining notoriety for exclusively hunting disciples of the Yin Corpse Sect.

Apart from these two, a few prodigies also made their mark in the minor world, though none could match the prowess of the mysterious pair. Among these standouts, sword cultivators were particularly prominent, earning the recognition of many for their formidable strength.

Disciples of the Xingyan Sect played the role of bystanders throughout the trial, with none displaying any remarkable feats; they focused on avoiding conflict and minimizing casualties. After a month, more than twenty disciples remained, thwarting the Yin Corpse Sect’s attempt to weaken the Xingyan Sect.

The disciples of the Yin Corpse Sect and the remnants of the Fierce Ghost Sect, after over four months of collaboration, began to reveal their troublesome capabilities and shone brightly in the minor world. If not for the targeted efforts of the sword cultivators and the two mysterious rogues, they might have swept through all other factions and become the greatest beneficiaries of the trial.

Once the mysterious pair left the minor world, they anticipated that the Yin Corpse Sect would not let them go and would attempt to kill them. Thus, they escaped the sect’s territory ahead of time.

The Yin Corpse Sect’s powerful cultivators could not openly kill them, so they covertly dispatched a Golden Core expert to intercept the pair. To everyone’s astonishment, the two cultivators, only at the fourth stage of Foundation Establishment, combined their strength and managed to slay the Golden Core expert. Though the expert made a critical mistake out of carelessness, the duo’s ability to kill a Golden Core cultivator was a testament to their terrifying talent.

Judging by the high grade of treasures on the two, far beyond what the nameless regions should possess, the Yin Corpse Sect guessed they were peerless prodigies sent out by some great power for experience. Thus, they abandoned any thoughts of revenge and let the matter drop.

Although the Yin Corpse Sect suffered heavy losses—of the ninety who entered, only forty-odd emerged—being the hosts with control over the minor world, they retrieved the corpses of their fallen and handed them to their disciples for refinement, thus strengthening their sect overall.

With over a month passing since the end of the trial, the commotion gradually faded, and the two mysterious rogues vanished from sight, further convincing others that they were prodigies sent from other regions for training.

In truth, the pair had simply returned to the Xingyan Sect to focus on cultivation. The substantial resources they had acquired were not kept for themselves but handed over to the sect, repaying the sect’s nurturing and, in a sense, distancing themselves deliberately.

The sect was reluctant to accept their offering, thinking that if the two owed them a favor, perhaps a future mighty backer might protect the Xingyan Sect. However, Kong Xiaori and his sister were resolute, and the resources they contributed were indeed vast—vital for recruiting and training new disciples. Thus, the sect accepted the gift.

Because of their lackluster performance in the minor world trial, the Xingyan Sect was widely seen as weak, making its disciples’ interactions with outsiders increasingly awkward.

This situation was alleviated when Luo Tuan and Li Li both broke through to the Golden Core stage. With two more powerful cultivators, the sect’s disciples regained confidence, sweeping away the previous gloom.

Moreover, rumors spread that the Grand Elder was on the verge of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, which would once again make the Xingyan Sect the dominant power in the surrounding cultivation world, outshining the Yin Corpse Sect and washing away past humiliations.

But fate is fickle. The Grand Elder’s entire extended family outside the sect was massacred overnight, not a single survivor left—nearly a thousand souls, all those below Golden Core perished instantly under a bloodline extermination curse.

While attempting his breakthrough, Liu Xiang sensed the calamity and sent his son Liu Su to investigate. On the way, Liu Su was ambushed by two mysterious powerhouses, one being the infamous Black Ghost Daoist, the other his equal. These two late-stage Golden Core experts joined forces, and Liu Su died with bitter resentment, falling on the spot.

News of this halted Liu Xiang’s secluded cultivation. Upon seeing the corpses of all his kin, this Golden Core grandmaster of nearly a thousand years instantly seemed to age decades, his vigor and spirit gone, as if at death’s door. His blood surged in reverse, and he spat a mouthful of blood. With his mind wounded, he could no longer hope to ascend.

The Xingyan Sect was once again thrust into the eye of public scrutiny and became the subject of much malicious gossip—few wished to see the sect regain its former strength, and many took pleasure in its misfortune.

Most importantly, due to the threat posed by the Carefree Daoist, the sect’s two Nascent Soul elders dared not move against Black Ghost Daoist.

As for the other mysterious attacker, despite a month of investigation, the Xingyan Sect found no trace—this figure seemed to have appeared from thin air, his origins inscrutable. Their intentions, however, were clear: to prevent Liu Xiang from breaking through and to keep the sect’s fortunes from turning.

Six months into Zhou Xuanhong’s meditations in the library pavilion, he finally absorbed the last of the glowing sphere, forging a Divine Derivation Seal deep within his sea of consciousness—a mark that radiated an aura capable of captivating the soul.

Yet this was only the outward sign; his true goal was already achieved. Now, having grasped the basics of the World-Ending Finger, even this mere surface understanding was enough to unleash astonishing power.

Over the past month, he had compared the elder’s demonstration of the Grand Derivation Art with the version from the glowing sphere, discerning their differences and thus gaining entry into the true art.

As for the Divine Derivation Seal in his mind, he could not yet remove it. Once his mother-worm advanced to the Golden Core stage, he would be able to dissolve it—so long as Xu Yuqi had no intention of devouring him in the short term.

There was another way: mastering the true Grand Derivation Art, which would allow him to fundamentally erase the false seal and convert it into his own spiritual power.

Staring at the stone stele, Zhou Xuanhong pondered how to claim it as his own. It seemed the stele was not merely a record of a certain event, but was itself a peerless artifact.

“It’s time to leave.”

He activated a talisman nearby, signaling to Xuan Qizi to come retrieve him.

He glanced at the jade slip beside the stele, wondering if it contained the original Xingyan Formula.

Soon, Xuan Qizi entered the fourth floor, sensing the potent aura of the Divine Derivation Seal on Zhou Xuanhong and nodding with satisfaction. Although Zhou’s cultivation had not advanced much over the past six months, the seal was now firmly rooted in his consciousness; there was no need to worry about mishaps during the ancestral soul’s future possession.

“Xuanhong, let’s go. You’ve worked hard staying here for half a year—go and relax your mind!”

Zhou Xuanhong stood, his joints crackling after half a year without moving. He had spent more time here than since joining the sect itself.

He sighed, “In immortal cultivation, time passes unnoticed—a blink, and half a year is gone. I wonder what has happened outside in all this time?”

Xuan Qizi smiled, “The road of cultivation will only grow longer from here. Don’t dwell on the past—look ahead. That is where your future lies.”

“Thank you for your guidance, Master!”

Xuan Qizi led Zhou Xuanhong out of the library and flew back to the sect leader’s peak. With the Divine Derivation Seal in place, there was no more need to concern himself with Zhou’s affairs.

At the entrance of the library, Old Mountain Gibbon lounged on a rocking chair in the dusk, gazing at the sunset, lost in thought. He paid no heed to Zhou Xuanhong, who had emerged after half a year.

But Zhou’s eyes flashed with golden light; his spirit sense left his body and instantly entered Old Mountain Gibbon’s sea of consciousness. An invisible stream flowed swiftly between their minds, establishing a connection.

Startled, Old Mountain Gibbon cried, “What are you doing, boy?!”

Zhou Xuanhong chuckled, “It’s only fair; you struck at me before, so now I return the favor. Elder, take this!”

With that, his eyes shone brilliantly, and a golden ray shot from his mind, following the stream into Old Mountain Gibbon’s consciousness.

The old beast snorted, “You’re still too green, boy! I’m not so easily bullied!”

His eyes widened, bursting with multicolored energy that met the golden ray head-on. The two forces cancelled each other, but the colored energy proved superior, surging upstream to strike back at Zhou Xuanhong’s mind.

Zhou quickly severed the derivation flow and dodged the energy, bowing in apology. “I overestimated myself, Elder. Your skills far surpass my own. I take my leave!”

With every word, he retreated further, then turned and fled on his flying sword from the library.

Old Mountain Gibbon’s eyes drooped again. “What formidable insight this boy has—to have grasped the Divine Derivation Seal to this extent. Yet he’s still fallen into the trap… alas, fate is unkind.”

After a while, Old Mountain Gibbon felt something amiss, as if he were being watched.

Having left the library, Zhou Xuanhong flew to his old haunt, meanwhile digesting the images obtained from Old Mountain Gibbon’s mind through the derivation flow.

“As I thought, this old beast’s sea of consciousness also bears the Divine Derivation Seal. That means Xuan Qizi’s must as well—a method used by Xu Yuqi to control others. They would never guess I’ve learned the true Grand Derivation Art. It turns out that, in addition to launching attacks, the derivation flow can, in the instant it is established, capture an image from the other’s mind. Even a single image is enough to deduce many things.”