After being led on a winding path for quite some distance, Li Yunxian finally arrived at Boxbone’s stronghold.
Or rather, the stronghold Boxbone outwardly presented to others.
In Li Yunxian’s perception, the true base of this Nascent Soul named Boxbone was actually located in an underground cavern about three hundred meters from this apparent stronghold.
That was the real lair.
Buried some fifty meters deep, it was a prime example of how a demonic cultivator feared death.
Even Li Yunxian felt a headache coming on at the thought of how to dig this mole out.
But now was not the time to think about that.
As they neared the Nascent Soul’s true base, Boxbone’s condition improved noticeably. He sat calmly in his high seat and said, “Speak.”
Li Yunxian lowered her brow and respectfully recounted the events she had undertaken, describing them roughly in the third person.
Boxbone tapped the armrest with a heavy sound.
“According to your account, the Special Management Bureau has mastered the ability to pass through storage artifacts and check for the presence of soul fragments?”
Li Yunxian showed a sly smile befitting the path of the demonic arts.
“Ginkgo only believes that this is very likely. So when she narrates, she unconsciously leans in that direction. Meaning, if the judgment is wrong, don’t blame her.”
Boxbone was well aware of what kind of people the Hunters were. Hearing this, he sneered coldly but did not comment on Li Yunxian’s words.
The ghostly flames on the black box flickered like a phantom, then dimmed slightly.
Li Yunxian lowered her brow, pretending not to notice. But within her divine sense, Boxbone’s avatar had silently slipped out and appeared next to one of the Hunters.
“Hand over all the artifacts,” that avatar ordered, tossing a medium-grade spirit stone to the Hunter. “You, enter the city and stay there for two days before coming out.”
The Hunter was clearly one of Boxbone’s subordinates. Seeing the spirit stone in his hand, he was elated.
As a foreign species controlled by a Nascent Soul, his life depended entirely on the will of that Nascent Soul.
Being sent into Qincheng was practically like getting a holiday.
The Hunter promptly handed over the soul fragments and agreed without a word.
Li Yunxian memorized the Hunter’s appearance and traits through her perception, planning to send the information to Yu Anle when she had the chance.
Her real intention wasn’t to make the aliens truly believe their soul fragments were Soul Bound.
Rather, it was to ensure that every alien sent into the city had a one-way ticket, to keep those outside the city in a state of panic.
And then… unite them.
It was a bit difficult to kill several separate Nascent Souls all at once.
Boxbone retracted his avatar, and Li Yunxian’s question echoed: “Old Ancestor, when I was in Jincheng, I heard something big happened in the city about half a year ago.”
“Did the Old Ancestor benefit from it?”
“If it’s useful for young children, would the Old Ancestor be willing to negotiate a deal with my family’s Old Ancestor, Xun Yue?”
“My family’s Old Ancestor is about to break through to Nascent Soul. Many things that a Nascent Soul values are no longer indispensable to her.”
Boxbone had been thinking earlier how bold this so-called Ginkgo was, daring to probe him for information.
But upon hearing the latter part, he realized her real purpose.
On one hand, she was painting a grand picture, showcasing her personal value that could benefit him.
On the other, she was waving a big banner for herself, practically daring, “My backing is about to reach Nascent Soul, try touching me.”
Boxbone’s expression turned to one of boredom.
“I never trade. Boxbone’s voice held no concealment of malice. “What I want, I can take by force.”
Li Yunxian felt his gaze sweep over her body, obviously searching for her storage artifacts.
Just like when Boxbone robbed Qingsong.
But Boxbone found nothing.
Li Yunxian’s magical concealment disguised not only her cultivation but also the storage artifacts she carried.
This was not like the Xuanwen Secret Realm where she could casually hide them somewhere.
There were too many proving objects belonging to the Four Greats inside.
If any leaked out, and one of the Four Greats entered the city outskirts, it would cause a huge stir.
She was the only new face outside the city and would be immediately suspected.
As for whether such a thing would happen… Li Yunxian never trusted her own luck.
Boxbone was unsurprised that Ginkgo was not carrying storage artifacts.
She came specifically to see him; of course, she made preparations beforehand.
What surprised Boxbone was the weapon strapped to Li Yunxian’s right forearm.
“You use a sword?” Boxbone asked in surprise.
“Yes.”
Li Yunxian answered.
“That’s rare.” Boxbone suddenly showed some interest in Li Yunxian.
Swords were common on the righteous path, but not many in the demonic path wielded them.
Because swordsmanship required a calm mind and diligent practice, with few shortcuts.
This was at odds with the nature of the Hunters.
Those who chose the Hunter path were either selfish or looking for an easy shortcut.
The sword could be called the weapon of the righteous path.
Li Yunxian remained unfazed by Boxbone’s words and calmly said, “No choice. The righteous path has too many methods of sword cultivation, including both artifact and sword techniques, which are relatively easy to acquire.”
***
In the Xuanwen Secret Realm, Li Yunxian had trapped many Hunters, quite a few of whom used swords.
While disguised as Ginkgo, she often heard their boasts, most using the same excuse.
Boxbone was not particularly interested in her explanation and ordered, “Show me your sword technique.”
Li Yunxian looked up at Boxbone.
From his ghostly form, she saw a trace of enthusiasm.
Suddenly, a thought came to her mind—she might as well use the offhanded words Qingsong had once made up:
—The Old Ancestor Boxbone’s true body was said to be a sword box.
That might not be entirely fabricated.
Li Yunxian already knew Boxbone’s true body was human. The black box before her was square and solid, not exactly a sword box. But this Nascent Soul likely had some preference for swords.
Bit by bit, she gathered information. Without evasion, Li Yunxian directly drew her longsword.
Of course, it wasn’t the Xiayun Sword.
Nor was it the sword Duan Qiu gave her—that sword was too low-grade to match a Foundation Establishment Perfected.
This sword was one of the spare swords Li Tianying had given her.
Unnamed, high-grade yellow rank.
She performed a set of fairly ordinary sword techniques from the cultivation world.
But Li Yunxian’s own understanding of the sword made this otherwise unimpressive swordplay shine in Boxbone’s eyes.
“Good swordsmanship.” Boxbone complimented with honest critique, “But the sword technique is lacking.”
After speaking, Boxbone floated up and pointed out several variations for Li Yunxian. “The swordplay should flow continuously like this, to be more fluid.”
Li Yunxian was momentarily stunned by his words.
She wasn’t stunned because his pointers were some transcendent level, but because…
These variations were entirely of the academic style.
Or rather, they resembled the sword styles taught in the Four Great Academies, at least the ones she had seen at the Tiantong and Wenwu academies.
Boxbone’s ability to instruct meant he had a deep understanding of the sword techniques of the Four Great Academies.
Most likely, he had systematically studied them.
A former student of the Four Greats?
Li Yunxian lowered her gaze and thought this over.
Rather than pretend any longer, she decided to rest in the place he arranged.
Though called resting, it was little different from house arrest.
Seeing the two Foundation Establishment stage demonic beasts guarding her door, Li Yunxian had no reaction and entered the room.
With a slight cover, she took out her phone. Ignoring the barrage of notifications, she sent the information to Yu Anle and calmly stored her phone back into her storage artifact.
Turning, Li Yunxian took out a wooden staff and began drawing on the floor.
Outside the door, the two Foundation Establishment demonic beasts looked at each other in confusion.
They couldn’t understand what Li Yunxian was doing.
This behavior looked like the legendary concubine driven mad in the cold palace.
But Li Yunxian was certainly not mad.
She was working.
Currently at Qi Refinement stage six, after a series of spirit replenishment pills and circles with Director Wu, her acupoint had broken through to the edge of Qi Refinement stage seven.
This would happen within a day or two.
Back when she was Qi Refinement stage four, Li Yunxian could already single-handedly slay a Foundation Establishment Perfected.
Now approaching Qi Refinement seven, she was confident she could kill a Nascent Soul early stage.
That was a fact.
Boxbone was late-stage Nascent Soul.
And Li Yunxian planned to take out all four Nascent Souls outside the city.
So there was no way she could do it alone.
Fortunately, her beloved teacher had left her many tools.
All fear came from insufficient firepower.
If she couldn’t do it alone, she’d just add more firepower.
Enough to rival the fragmentation whip from the Xuanwen Secret Realm.
This time, Li Yunxian chose to set up a killing array.
Seeing Boxbone’s avatar form, Li Yunxian suspected he had a deep understanding of artifacts as well, so she abandoned directly using artifacts.
Combining her perception and the layout of Boxbone’s lair, her mind raced, thinking about how to arrange the Array Base on site.
It wasn’t until the second day’s bright dawn that Li Yunxian finished the layout.
In her perception, Boxbone’s avatar had already been reabsorbed by his true body and was temporarily not in the outward stronghold.
With the Nascent Soul absent, her disguised Foundation Establishment Perfected acting as leader was reasonable.
Li Yunxian buried the first item for the Array Base underground and then boldly pushed open the door.
“Good morning. I’ve rested well. Take me for a walk around here.”
Li Yunxian ordered.
The two demonic beasts guarding the door were constantly watching inside and clearly wondered if Li Yunxian’s all-night craziness and ‘rest’ had anything to do with each other.
A troubled expression appeared on the beasts’ faces. “The Old Ancestor instructed…”
Before the demonic beasts could finish, Li Yunxian’s longsword slid across their necks the next second.
“Hmm, the Old Ancestor showed me some sword moves yesterday. I haven’t practiced them today yet. How about I practice on you now?” Li Yunxian said with a half-smile.
Feeling the cold spirit sword at their necks and the instant death sensation, the two demonic beasts smoothly passed the reading comprehension test.
The Old Ancestor had told them to keep an eye on Ginkgo.
Taking Ginkgo out for a walk was part of that.
No problem.
“All right, no problem.” The two demons responded quickly.
Deep underground, Boxbone slowly opened his eyes, sensing the commotion at his outward stronghold.
Curious about Ginkgo’s intentions, he listened briefly, then closed his eyes again.
She was just using the pretense of walking around to gather information from those two Foundation Establishment demonic beasts.
About him and the other three Nascent Souls.
Boxbone roughly understood the direction of Li Yunxian’s questions and information gathering.
She wanted to know how to quickly resolve the problem in Jincheng.
Apparently… the mission arranged by her Xun Yue Old Ancestor had a time limit.
She was a bit anxious.
Li Yunxian was collecting information on Boxbone, and Boxbone was collecting information from what Li Yunxian inadvertently revealed.
Who let people enter his turf and walk away unscathed, without paying any price?
The two sides plotted quietly as time passed unknowingly.
***
That afternoon, on the offering platform in Boxbone’s lair, a row of lamps flickered.
Suddenly, one lamp abruptly went out.
Boxbone opened his eyes again.
The black box avatar appeared abruptly, floating on the high seat in the hall.
“The Hunter I assigned to enter the city… is dead.”
Boxbone stared coldly at Li Yunxian.