A month earlier.
In the southeastern border area between the leading matriarchal nation Geranium Kingdom and the leading patriarchal nation Celosia State.
Deep within a shadowy gorge.
A hidden yet lavish courtyard lay nestled in the densest shadows of the forest.
Inside the courtyard, a striking man with long silver-white hair, half of his face covered by a mask, stared impatiently at another masked man in front of him, his blood-red eyes filled with irritation.
"So much time has passed and you still can't find two people. Has your Yellow Springs Hall really become that useless?"
The masked man across from him didn't show any anger. His face was completely hidden behind a mask, and he wore a black hooded robe, concealing every inch of his figure.
The man gave a low laugh, his voice raspy like something scraping across a hard surface.
"Blood Lord, it's not Yellow Springs Hall that's the problem. It's that the two so-called 'Faceless Wanderers' you're looking for simply don't exist under that name in the martial world, whether in the righteous or unrighteous paths."
"At present, Yellow Springs Hall can only confirm that the 'Faceless Wanderers' came from one of the lower third-class or at most second-class nations in the southwestern corner of the continent, and they were also part of the group that invaded your branch, but really now, who would have thought a second-class power like Bloodclad Pavilion could be thrown into chaos by two people from such a remote backwater? It's a joke that people will laugh about for years."
The Bloodclad Pavilion's Geranium Kingdom branch was targeted after the 'Faceless Wanderers' exposed a secret assassination list during the Hundred Nations Banquet.
Following that, the Geranium Kingdom branch was invaded and cleared out, not only resulting in the loss of several top fugitives being held there, but even several of the Pavilion's top ten assassins perished.
Enraged, the Blood Lord focused entirely on tracking down the 'Faceless Wanderers,' vowing to bring them back to atone for the massive loss his Bloodclad Pavilion suffered. Otherwise, he would never write his name the same way again.
Over the months, while being targeted by multiple factions, the Blood Lord had to suppress his fury and focus on regathering the Pavilion's strength. At the same time, he pressured Yellow Springs Hall to use all kinds of divine techniques and blessings to locate the 'Faceless Wanderers.'
But to everyone's surprise, the two individuals from that remote southwestern corner of the continent possessed divine artifacts that concealed their karmic connections.
From low-grade artifacts to mid-high-grade ones, nothing revealed even a trace of the 'Faceless Wanderers.'
Only today, after a Yellow Springs Hall elder carrying a top-grade karmic artifact barely escaped from the Sacred Attendant Palace's pursuit, they finally managed to gather a faint clue related to the 'Faceless Wanderers.'
"So, doesn't that just prove your Yellow Springs Hall is even more pathetic? Two nobodies from some weak backwater, and you still can't find them after all this time. Aren't you more laughable than us?"
The Blood Lord sneered coldly, then without waiting for a response, snatched the sheepskin scroll from the masked man and examined it carefully.
"So we still don't have any direct information on the 'Faceless Wanderers,' only that they have close ties to Gladiolus Kingdom in the southeastern part of the southwestern region?" The Blood Lord's eyes darkened as he stared at the words 'Gladiolus' on the parchment.
The masked man nodded and reached out to press down on the scroll. "Yes, but don't rush. The Karmic Casket not only pointed to a link with Gladiolus Kingdom, but also released another message earlier this morning."
The Blood Lord flung away the man's hand, his red eyes locking onto him. "What message?"
The masked man glanced toward the courtyard entrance. "That message should be arriving soon... ah, it's already here."
Just as his raspy voice fell, the courtyard door creaked open and the voices of cautious servants could be heard.
"Holy Lady, this way please."
Soon, a stunning woman clad in gold and silver, exuding noble elegance, swept in wearing an ornate ceremonial robe.
"So it's the Holy Lady of the Petunia Kingdom. You've also had dealings with the 'Faceless Wanderers'?" The Blood Lord's eyes showed faint disinterest as he sneered.
"'Faceless Wanderers'?" The woman walked directly to the seat of honor, ignoring the Blood Lord, her eyes narrowing as they landed on the sheepskin scroll in his hands, then moved to the masked man.
"The Karmic Casket of Yellow Springs Hall, huh? A powerful artifact no doubt, but be careful what you glimpse with it. If you accidentally see something forbidden, you might get killed or lead the Sacred Attendant Palace right to your doorstep. The elder just escaped that fate. I doubt he wants a second round."
Her mocking tone was unfiltered. The masked man said nothing, but the Blood Lord let out a cold chuckle. "Ever since the Holy Lady married the rebel prince of Petunia Kingdom, your influence has soared. Seems Yellow Springs Hall is no longer even worth your notice."
The woman's cold gaze shot toward the Blood Lord, ready to retort, but the masked man raised his hand between them. His voice, as always, grated like scraping stone, devoid of emotion.
"Both of you, hold off for now. Let's focus on the matter at hand."
After both parties withdrew their glares, the masked man looked at the woman and got straight to the point.
"Holy Lady, did you ever send personal guards to the southwestern corner of the continent? One of them must have been a close blood relative, correct?"
The woman's already dark expression turned even grimmer after hearing this.
"What of it?"
Before she could get a full answer, the Blood Lord suddenly let out a loud laugh, clearly recalling something.
"The Holy Lady still has close kin? I thought you sacrificed all of them to climb the ladder of power. Ah, now that I think about it, didn't you once massacre your own bloodline? If I recall, it was because your own kin set you up to be married off as a concubine to a patriarchal kingdom, despite being from a matriarchal one. You even had a child by them. Ha!"
"So, the person you sent to the southwestern border was that very child born of your disgraceful past?"
The Blood Lord laughed wildly and without restraint.
In this world, patriarchal and matriarchal nations often held deep mutual contempt.
In the matriarchal nation, women are seen as supreme, and it's the role of men to support their wives and raise children. The higher a woman's status, the more insignificant men seem to her, like mere clothing.
In this society, women are always superior to men in both status and power.
Even favored men might enjoy some respect, but they can never come close to matching women.
So, the higher a woman's status, the more she cannot bear to submit to a man. To her, that would be an unbearable humiliation, worse than death.
This woman, now the Holy Maiden and head of the Lianhuang Sect, was once a royal of a second-tier matriarchal nation in the eastern continent. She was born with great status, enjoying endless wealth and a life where she could choose any man she wanted.
But all of this ended when she turned sixteen.
A political defeat caused her to lose both parents overnight. Her remaining relatives even sold her off to a patriarchal nation, where she spent three years in unbearable shame, and was forced to give birth to a child with an unknown father.
Falling from heaven to hell, how could she not be filled with hate?
To remember that humiliation, she kept the child. She didn't kill the boy, who represented her shame, but instead took revenge on him by repeating the cruelty men once inflicted on her.
Under her deliberate "training," that boy truly grew into a monster, ha.
To control the monster and prevent him from turning against her, she began feeding him the fiercest poisons from a young age. She coldly watched as he writhed in pain, slowly adapting, his body twisted further by the toxins until he became something neither human nor ghost.
Five years ago, he reached adulthood. He was finally her finished product, the most obedient and violent ghost under her command.
She sent him on countless dangerous missions, and no matter how deadly the place, he would always return easily and without fear. No surprise, he was her monster after all.
When she learned that an important secret tied to divine bloodlines was hidden in the southwestern part of the continent, she immediately sent him there too.
But this time was different. The monster did not complete his task!
This was the first time it had ever happened!
Worse yet, he not only failed the mission, but in the end, he turned on and killed the people she sent with him!
He actually betrayed her!
How dare he?!
"Shut up!" Her hand gripped the armrest so tightly it nearly cracked, her face twisted in fury.
At her level, everyone who knew her name as the Holy Maiden of the Lianhuang Sect also knew her past. It was a forbidden topic no one dared mention.
It was a shame carved into her bones, a hatred that wouldn't fade even in death.
Though she had already killed every man who had once defiled her, wiping out their entire families...
The festering wound in her heart never stopped bleeding! It always oozed poison again and again!
Just as another confrontation seemed about to explode, the masked man stepped in again, pressing down with some internal energy. He finally eased the tension enough to make things appear calm on the surface.
The masked man looked at her. "If the person you sent to the southwestern continent is really your blood relative, then in a way, your goals this time might actually align."