By the time he joined the Order, they had already been eliminated, but something in him disliked organizations like theirs.

Those that treated lives so callously to the point that they'd make a hungry, bloodthirsty, and deranged spirit beast seem like a saint compared to their actions. Those whose path was tainted in so much blood that the earth would wail with their steps.

Yang Qing wasn't sure if it was because of his Yin Yang jade bones, but he was usually too sensitive when it came to matters surrounding ruthless bloodthirsty organizations like the Dark helminth ghost sect and the Scarlet blood ghost hands.

The Dark helminth ghost sect was a dark sect that was renowned eight hundred years ago.

Originally it was not a sect but a royal unit that handled matters for the Emperor of a certain rank 3 empire. It was known as the emperor's 'dark hand'. They handled all matters the Emperor wanted to be handled, from within the shadows with extreme efficiency.

They were a source of nightmares to that Emperor's enemies.

However, while that unit was the reason the Emperor had a firm hold of power, it also became the reason that emperor died. That unit had done so many things at the Emperor's behest and some at their own volition as a show of fealty to their Emperor including snatching some gold-grade cultivation art for their emperor.

They were successful in their attempt but their Emperor got killed through a soul attack by an unknown organization as a result of it.

The unit went unhinged in a revenge spree as it slaughtered any and all who may have had ties to the Emperor's assassination. Even the emperor's own children were not spared in that spree.They slaughtered a quarter of the empire before they moved on to the empire's enemies. They created an ocean-sized trail of carnage in their wake and soon they were not killing to avenge their master, but killing to feed the cultivation art they had stolen, the trigger of everything.

The art fed on the lives of the living and the dead. It swallowed both the blood qi and corpse qi and fed it to the user of the art.

That unit had found another master in the cultivation art they found. They lived for it now and they slaughtered to feed it. The unit later reformed into the Dark helminth ghost sect. Their numbers were few but their power was undeniable.

Despite the bloodthirsty nature of the art, it didn't eat away at the rationality of the user. Weird as it was, it could be considered a well-balanced art that addressed the yin and Yang nature through blood and corpse qi refinement. However, the only caveat was, one could only make progress with it through slaughter and desecration of corpses. This was exactly what the sect did, and faithfully at that.

At the height of their power, the Order had only been officially active for 200 years. In those 200 years, they had not made any waves, only handling a few cases here and there nothing noteworthy, building their reputation a little at a time.

The Dark helminth ghost sect became the first real case and test for the Order to really reveal its fangs to the Southern continent.

The Order's reaction had been thunderous and swift at the time. The Dark helminth ghost sect's founder had just reached the soul formation realm when he got eviscerated by a blinding sword streak that destroyed him along with half his base, with the rest of the survivors being taken care of by four people from the Order.

To date, to both outsiders and even those within the Order, not many know who those four people were or the owner of the sword streak that decimated half the base of a rank 1 sect. All that is known, is they were from the Order and the Dark helminth ghost sect was the mirror that revealed the Order's edge.

The Dark helminth ghost sect is one of two rank 1 organizations that have been recorded to have fallen beneath the Order's blade. Though the Dark helminth ghost sect was attacked with the intent to destroy completely, the other organization was left with a path of survival. But in terms of shaking the continent with its news, the destruction of the Dark helminth ghost sect paled in comparison to the attack on the other organization.

This was because in terms of strength and reputation, the Dark helminth ghost sect and that organization, were miles apart even though they were both rank 1 organizations.

Even though the Dark helminth ghost sect had a notorious reputation and had spread fear in its wake, its impact was subjective. Excluding the holy lands at the time, other rank 1 organizations never considered the sect a threat, even some rank 2 organizations with serious depth were undeterred by them. They tolerated the sect as a form of entertainment or pawn they could use for their own objectives.

The targets the Dark helminth ghost sect chose over the years was also proof that they too, were cognizant of this fact. There were areas they dared not step into. Their overall fear factor in the Southern continent paled in comparison to the Crimson wave which exceeded them in quantity and quality.

The Dark helminth ghost sect had a single soul formation expert and about a dozen domain experts. They rarely recruited new members so their numbers were always few. Its recruitment policy was more like a clan's than a sect's. Only relatives or people with deep personal relationships with the royal unit were considered for recruitment into their ranks.

However, even if their numbers were few, they had a few things going on for them that were absent with the Crimson wave. They were meticulous in their dealings, were loyal to each other, and knew how to cover their tracks and improve their odds of survival.

It is why, despite the decimation of their base and their founder, remnants of their organization still exist to date.

Some of the attacks suffered by Order employees are tied to survivors of the Dark helminth ghost sect. Based on the report the Order has on them, a domain expert had survived the attack on their base. That domain expert along with a few members were considered fail-safe plans instituted by the sect to ensure the survival of the embers of their sect.

That domain expert along with a few of the members were absent during the attack on the sect's base. The Order's investigation surmised the absenteeism was a measured action and not some sheer luck and maybe there may be others spread about around the continent who may be activated the moment the current domain expert dies.

The sect has only been shown to be active when an Order employee is targeted. Even though their numbers are few, they can still be considered a thorn in the Order's eyes due to how they operate.

Their attacks are carefully planned and swift in terms of execution. If the execution fails, there are measures to either ensure a safe exit or clues tying to other members are virtually non-existent.

Yang Qing had doubts if Su Liwei would have attacked if he had known he was a palace realm expert.

...

Yang Qing took out a few paper talismans, a small grey candle, and a peach wood which he placed next to the candle.