"She manipulated the formation alone and turned the street into a maze!"
The others' expressions darkened.
Soon, the matter was reported upward.
The elders learned of the failed operation and quickly gathered inside the family hall.
"What?"
"The Hayden Family reclaimed the mansion?"
"And there was a mysterious woman involved?"
The reporting Primarch cupped his fists, his expression unsightly.
"She appeared to be only a Level Three Empyrean, but she could manipulate the High-Level Primarch Grade darkness-spatial formation flawlessly. Because of her interference, we suffered considerable injuries."
An elder narrowed his eyes.
"A hidden expert?"
"No." The Primarch shook his head. "Her cultivation was genuinely low, but her status seemed high since she possessed the documents of the mansion. However… there was something strange about her undulations. It suddenly spiked at one moment, and I felt another aura from her, but I couldn't tell what it was due to the effects of the darkness-spatial defensive formation she employed."
The elders exchanged glances.
Finally, they brought the matter before the Miredon Family Patriarch.
The middle-aged man sat atop a dark throne while streams of water flowed quietly beneath the hall.
After hearing the report, his expression sank slightly.
"The Hayden Family…"
His fingers tapped against the armrest, "Damn them. I just received a report stating that they have somehow won the favor of the Saint."
"What!?"
The Elders were stunned.
That lowly Hayden Family finally managed to get a backer? No wonder they dared to roam around and even battle them.
"Continue investigating the masked woman's background and her identity. As for the matter of that property, we'll reclaim it another day. Heh, since they will more or less enter the alliance belonging to the Saint in a few days with this unknown move of theirs, they should drink up the cup of defeat and listen to their seniors." The Patriarch sneered.
After the Hayden Family entered the alliance, all they would have to do was force them to hand over the property. Then they could establish their superiority.
"Yes, Patriarch."
After being dismissed, the injured cultivators and the elders gradually returned to their residences to recover and spend time with their families.
Some sat with their wives or mistresses while consuming healing medicine.
Others allowed their family kinsmen or even children to help clean their wounds while boasting angrily about the battle.
A few entered secluded cultivation chambers to circulate their energy and expel the lingering darkness-spatial remnant energy from their bodies. There was also poison that they incurred from the Hayden Family.
None of them noticed anything unusual.
However, deep within their souls, an invisible, black hex quietly spread like a drop of ink diffusing through clear water. It quietly seeped into their bodies, waiting for something.
It carried no obvious malice, no immediate pain or detectable poison.
It merely spread like a vine creeping around, extending at a rapid rate.
The few Level Nine Autarchs who had directly fallen under Evelynn's third-eye ability became the origin points.
Within minutes, the hex silently propagated through bloodlines, soul resonance and prolonged proximity.
Spouses unknowingly became infected, children inherited traces of it, servants, guards, and branch family members all became linked through contact.
Within hours, the Miredon Family estate unknowingly became covered by an invisible curse.
The physicians discovered nothing, and even the Elders at the Primarch Stage sensed nothing.
Even the Patriarch remained completely unaware while continuing discussions with the clan elders late into the afternoon.
Only several hours later did an old secluded ancestor within the Miredon Family suddenly frown during cultivation. He had been here ever since the time their Miredon Family arrived here in the Eighth Bastion City, never setting foot out, but suddenly, he felt something strange.
His eyes slowly opened as he spoke out softly.
"… Strange."
He stared at his palm as faint black-red strands briefly surfaced beneath his skin before disappearing once more.
His expression changed slightly as he immediately focused his senses inward.
The next moment, his pupils constricted violently.
"There's an insidious hex inside my soul!? How!?"
His horrified voice echoed through the underground cultivation chamber.