The night was cool as water, only a few dying stars flickering above the abandoned docks on the western edge of Donghai City. I crouched behind a stack of rust-pocked shipping containers, my fingertips unconsciously tracing the hilt of the Wavebreaker Blade at my hip — that weapon, reforged from the fusion of the original Wavecleaver and a meteorite-iron anvil, was now faintly warm to the touch, as though it had sensed the evil radiating from the blood-reeking building ahead.

The Baizhen Pavilion branch headquarters sat tucked in this corner the city had long forgotten. On the surface it was an abandoned seafood processing plant, red-brick walls smothered in ink-green moss, but inside it was a world unto itself. My certainty that critical evidence lay hidden here was not without foundation. Days earlier, while tracking one of Baizhen Pavilion's small-time lackeys, I had used Soul Extraction and uncovered the seemingly trivial "business dealings" between Baizhen Pavilion and the White Tiger Hall — along with a code phrase: "On the night of the blood moon, report to the factory." Lance Liu was nothing more than a pawn displayed in the open. The real prize lurked in far deeper waters.

"Rookie, stop dragging your feet. The midnight hour is almost here — the Reeking-Scale Scatter Barrier is at its thinnest at zi-hour." The old man's voice rang out inside my mind.

I drew a slow breath. Since successfully reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, my spiritual-energy perception had sharpened several times over; now I could clearly see the twisted, dark-crimson halo encircling the Blood-Scale Manor — the "Bloody Malice Barrier" Baizhen Pavilion had laid using the vital blood of countless living creatures mixed with reeking-scale scatter. It not only blocked spiritual sense but also corroded the spiritual energy of anyone who trespassed.

"Understood." I murmured in reply, and at the same time drew the Sea-Suppressing Jade Pendant from inside my robe. The warm, lustrous jade flickered blue against my palm, resonating with the tidal spiritual energy flowing within me. According to the records in the Atlas of Ancient Formation Diagrams, barriers driven by sinister, malicious power were most vulnerable to pure, unblemished water-element spiritual energy.

I stilled my breathing and pressed the pendant against my chest, sinking my intent down into my elixir field. My Foundation Establishment spiritual energy surged like a vast ocean, roaring ceaselessly through my meridians.

"Sea Veil —"

I exhaled the words in a low growl, drawing upon the moisture within a hundred metres in every direction. The seawater near the docks, the humidity suspended in the air, even the dew beaded on the surface of the containers — all of it condensed in an instant into a translucent curtain of water that silently enveloped my body.

This was the "Sea Veil Concealment" I had evolved from the Tidal Formula — able to mask my silhouette and, at the same time, neutralise the sinister energy permeating the barrier. The moment I crossed into the Blood-Scale Manor's perimeter, the water veil touched the dark-crimson halo and let out a sizzling hiss of corrosion, like drops of hot oil hitting a pot of water. Yet thanks to the purifying power of the Sea-Suppressing Jade Pendant, the veil did not immediately dissipate; instead it held like a protective membrane, sealing the malicious energy outside.

"Not bad," the old man offered a rare word of praise. "Keep it up. The barrier has three layers — the deeper you go, the harder it gets."

I crept forward in a low crouch, moving like a wildcat dissolving into shadow, hugging the base of the wall. The interior of the manor was deathly quiet; only the faint sound of dripping water reached me from somewhere distant, like the heartbeat of some creature. The first layer — "Blood-Shadow Labyrinth" — operated primarily through illusions, but anyone ensnared would be gnawed apart by blood-malice worms lurking unseen. I had come prepared: I circulated the sword-intent of the Bane-Breaking Sword Formula, and a thread of golden light bloomed at the centre of my brow like a lit candle, instantly slashing through the warped scene before me. The phantoms that had taken the forms of vengeful ghosts scattered and dissolved under the sword-intent.

First layer cleared. Ahead, two stone guardian figures appeared, each gripping a massive axe, their eyes flickering with an eerie crimson glow — the second layer, "Blood-Corpse Gate Wardens." These were no illusions; they were genuine puppets refined from vital blood. Any cultivator below Foundation Establishment who let their guard slip would have their spiritual energy drained dry. I stopped hiding. The Wavebreaker Blade sang a clear, ringing note in my grip, the rippling water patterns along its blade interplaying brilliantly with the dark-gold talismanic script of the meteorite-iron core.

"Dawn's First Light!"

A concentrated bolt of golden sword-radiance left my hand — aimed not at the stone figures themselves, but at the blood-coloured talisman script etched beneath their feet, striking straight at the root of the formation. Where the sword-light fell, the runes shattered in an instant; the two stone guardians lost their source of power and crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom, crumbling into scattered rubble.

"Nice!" The old man cheered.

I had no time to savour it. The third and final layer ahead was the true test — "Blood River Soul-Refining." A crimson river roughly three zhang across lay athwart the central passage, its surface roiling and churning, and within its depths one could faintly make out countless wronged souls writhing and wailing. This water not only corroded spiritual energy but struck directly at the soul; the slightest carelessness and one's three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls would be refined away to nothing.

The Atlas of Ancient Formation Diagrams recorded that this formation must be broken with the "essence-spirit of water." I drew a deep breath, pressed the Sea-Suppressing Jade Pendant's power to its absolute limit, and simultaneously drew upon every last trace of tidal spiritual energy inside my body.

"Tide Saint Body Art!"

The water-element spiritual energy within tens of metres condensed into a great blue dragon, which let out a thunderous roar and hurled itself into the crimson river. Dragon and blood-river collided with a world-shaking blast; the entire processing plant shuddered. The scarlet river water was steadily purified by the blue spiritual energy, the fierce red slowly fading, until the stone-slab riverbed beneath lay bare and exposed.

I seized the moment and crossed on foot over the retreating water. The instant I planted my feet on solid ground, the stone door ahead ground open with a long creak, revealing a dim and narrow passage. At the far end of the passage, a faint bleed of crimson light pulsed through.

"The hidden chamber should be just ahead," the old man warned. "Be careful — there may be stronger guardians inside."

I tightened my grip on the Wavebreaker Blade and stepped into the passage one measured stride at a time. The air grew thicker with every step, the stench of blood nearly suffocating. The walls were carved all over with contorted talisman script, each stroke like a scar seeping dark-red fluid. After roughly a hundred paces or so, the passage opened abruptly before me, and a circular secret chamber came into view.

End of Chapter 55: Night Raid on the Blood-Scale Manor