Rivers of the Night

Andra rushed down the mountain into the elder hall, bursting into a meeting between Grand Elder Macie and the others.

Was she following etiquette? Not even remotely. But she wasn't concerned with any of that right now. Her fury had risen to her head, and all she cared about was catching the bastard rushing through the Sect right this moment.

"Andra!" Grand Elder Macie stood to her feet before anyone could say anything. She knew that if anyone else was allowed to take point here, her disciple might end up being harmed. "What is going on?!"

"The Demon Corp! The Demon Corp killed Little Sadie!"

She was so furious that she hardly controlled the tone or power in her voice. A violent swell of wind pushed the doors behind her until they were wildly flailing on their hinges, the dim lights in the council room flickering along with them.

Grand Elder Macie's eyes opened wide.

"What did you say?" Her voice was almost soft. So soft, and yet so chilling it seeped into the bones and prickled against the skin like the sharp edge of a knife slowly gliding along your flesh, just hard enough for discomfort, and yet shallow enough to not penetrate.

"The Honorable Dark Spirit unearthed Little Sadie's grave. At first, I was furious, but when I looked below, the coffin was destroyed and her—." Andra's voice choked, but she refused to stop even with the tears streaming down. "—body, her body was exposed.

"The Honorable Dark Spirit pulled her out and pointed me to the earth below, and I didn't see anything wrong at first. But when I tested the ground beneath me, I found that it was too brittle. I cracked it all the way through with a flick of my finger."

The elders in the council room immediately frowned when they heard this, understanding the gist of it.

"Could that not be because of the Fog of Death stone?" the Third Elder asked slowly.

Several nodded when they heard this.

The purpose of the coffin was to wick Death Mana away from a corpse and to preserve it. Plus, because Sadie had been the host of the Dark Spirit, she would have expelled more Death Mana, more quickly than most other corpses would.

So, that could cause the earth in the immediate vicinity to become more brittle.

Andra furiously shook her head. "I checked, esteemed Third Elder. It was only the ground directly beneath Little Sadie's coffin that was so brittle. The walls to the side were just as firm and sturdy. The earth beneath, though… it was completely drained of Dark Mana, as though something had pushed it all away or sucked it all dry. Someone must have dug a tunnel."

They were all familiar with Macie's mountain range. In the Nightingale Sect, every powerful elder had a range to themselves where they would accept disciples. They called them Night Peaks, and other than the Patriarch's personal Peak, the Grand Peak was the most powerful.

Not only was the saturation of Dark Mana exceptional there, but over the years, this constant baptism of Mana had made the earth incredibly sturdy.

For it to be brittle, so much so that Andra could destroy it with a flick of a finger… that was impossible.

Theron might have filled in the earth behind him, but he had pumped it full of Water Mana first before drying it out completely. Pumping Water Mana in had pushed all the Dark Mana away, and then draining it had left the earth almost entirely without any Mana to support it at all, leaving it weak and frail.

"And… and…" Andra almost choked on her sobs again. "I… I checked Little Sadie's body after I realized this, and her Core… her Core was gone. It was as though she had never cultivated a day in her life…"

Andra broke down after she finally got the words out.

The elders finally understood why Andra was so sure.

The Demon Corps… they were a blight not just on this galaxy, but the entirety of Existence. Pirates, bandits, sick, twisted bastards that drained their victims of blood and their Cores.

It was said they used these methods to progress their cultivation. However, exactly how they did it… it was a secret they were bound by curses to keep to their final breaths—curses so fearsome even the best of Spirit and Soul Mancers had never successfully been able to undo them.

What was truly fearsome about the Demon Corps was their Mancy Path…

It existed nowhere else, and it was the sort of Mancy Path that could chill the bone and freeze the soul…

The Blood Mancy Path.

Once you ran into a certain level of Demon Corps soldier, it was almost better to hand your head over to them personally. Otherwise… you would likely face a fate worse than death.

But it was also for this reason that the Demon Corps were the personal enemy of every power across Existence. Regardless of Mancy Path. Regardless of Race. Regardless of internal or external conflict.

There was one thing they had all unanimously decided:

Kill on sight.

All of the elders rose to their feet. Suddenly, this matter had become something very different.

But it was Grand Elder Macie who was radiating the most chilling aura of them all, while Patriarch Nightingale… he had yet to move or say a word.

It was obvious to them all why Little Sadie would be targeted. Her Core was very special, especially the Resonance they had gotten for her. Her blood was even more special than that, having been mutated and changed by the Dark Spirit. There was a very good chance that she might become a Primal in the future, an existence the likes of which they could only look up to.

But now, it was in the hands of the Demon Soldier—and a high-class one, judging by the fact they had managed to infiltrate the Sect so far.

"The Resonate Eye Sect. The Bronzed Earth Sect. Establish a line of connection with both," Patriarch Nightingale finally spoke as he slowly rose to his feet, his own aura radiating out. "Place the entire galaxy on high alert. This scourge must be eradicated."