“So, you weren’t actually clear on the specific details regarding the evil cultivators within Great Chu from the start?”
After exiting the City Lord’s Mansion, Hua Yan asked directly.
“In that case, why were the three of you sent here as a team of experts?”
“Ahem… Actually, Daoist Friend Yun was originally supposed to lead the team alone with two ordinary disciples. Daoist Friend Lin and I volunteered to be assigned here.”
Qu Linglong cleared her throat and gave a breezy laugh.
“As for me, it’s because the market in Great Chu hasn’t been very good for the past few hundred years. I thought I’d take the opportunity of this mission to conduct some market research. As for Daoist Friend Lin…”
She looked at Lin Qianqian with a playful glint in her eyes.
“I—I’m here because Xiao Li is in this area… I thought that since the sect was sending people on a mission, I might… might be able to meet her…”
The green-haired Fairy’s cheeks flushed slightly. She twiddled with her braids and explained in a weak, embarrassed voice.
“By the way, ‘Xiao Li’ is her current partner. She’s a rogue cultivator who acts very mysteriously. She seems quite busy and doesn’t have much time to meet with Daoist Friend Lin.”
Qu Linglong shook her head.
“If you ask me, you’ve probably encountered another one of those bad women who just wants to trick you out of your Spirit Stones… and it wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Xiao Li isn’t that kind of person!”
Lin Qianqian immediately argued back, her voice rising several octaves.
“She’s just genuinely a bit busy! She treats me very well every time we meet, and we usually keep in touch with Voice Transmission Talismans!”
“Right, right. As long as you’re happy, Daoist Friend Lin,” Qu Linglong said dismissively.
Hua Yan watched the bickering pair with a complicated expression.
‘So they joined Yun Xuechang’s team for those reasons? Because of them, I can’t directly target Yun Xuechang and have to waste time traveling all over Great Chu with them?’
It was no wonder that she hadn’t heard much about evil cultivators causing trouble when she was gathering information at the Heavenly Clothing Pavilion…
“Should we leave Fulong City now and head to the incident site mentioned by the City Lord to investigate?”
Yun Xuechang, who had been standing silently to the side, suddenly spoke in a soft voice.
“No rush,” Qu Linglong replied, turning around.
“We’ll go to the Xingluo Temple first. We’ll make a decision after combining their information with what we already have.”
……
Inside a private room that night, the group sat around a circular table.
In front of each person sat a plate of steaming Frost-Ridge Beef Dumplings, the local specialty of Fulong City, emitting thin wisps of white vapor.
“As it turns out, even the Xingluo Temple didn’t have any more information?” Hua Yan frowned.
The Xingluo Temple was famous for having eyes and ears all over Shenzhou, claiming there was no secret in the world they couldn’t uncover.
In truth, aside from sects like the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion that focused on commerce, most immortal sects didn’t pay much attention to mundane worldly affairs.
When disciples descended from the mountains, information from the Xingluo Temple was usually vital.
However, when they went to the Fulong City branch of the Xingluo Temple earlier that day, the information they purchased was largely the same as what the City Lord had said and what Hua Yan had learned at the Heavenly Clothing Pavilion.
Could it be that there really weren’t many evil cultivators causing trouble in Great Chu?
Did that mean… she could take Yun Xuechang back to The Valley very soon?
Hua Yan’s mind immediately became active.
“Then we shall set out tomorrow to eliminate the evil!” she declared, her spirits lifting as she spoke loudly.
“We can’t leave yet, Mother. The City Lord of Fulong City is lying to you.”
Beside her, Hua Xiangrong kept her small head down. She swallowed a large dumpling in one go and mumbled incoherently.
“?”
“Sweetie, what do you mean by that?”
Hua Yan froze and turned to look at her daughter, not understanding the implication.
“I’m saying the Fulong City Lord is a bad man. He’s lying to you.”
The pink-haired girl lifted her head, her clear eyes blinking as she looked over.
“I saw it all. He’s going to pack his things and run away before dawn tomorrow. If you want to catch the bad guy, Mother, you have to go tonight. If you wait, it will be too late.”
…..
‘Damn it! Why is the one who came Yun Xuechang! And that Qu Linglong and Lin Qianqian! We definitely didn’t leak much information!’
In the middle of the night, the City Lord’s Mansion was still brightly lit, but it lacked the liveliness of the daytime.
Inside the massive estate, only a round, stout figure dressed in brocade robes was frantically rummaging through chests and cupboards.
‘Did they betray us and hand us over?’
‘No, they definitely don’t want to be exposed right now. There’s no reason to do that…’
He shook his head violently to suppress his chaotic thoughts, and his hands moved even faster.
‘The priority is to get rid of all the evidence. I can’t leave any loose ends! I need to leave the city immediately and report back!’
He used Spiritual Power to crush some of the objects he found, while others were hastily stuffed into a storage bag.
Zhang Lide’s body surged with power as he prepared to dash out of the room—
‘Wait, something feels wrong…’
He had clearly passed through the vermilion-painted door, yet the floor beneath his feet and the furnishings around him were exactly the same as the room he had just been in.
‘Not good!’
He suddenly smashed through a window and landed on a corridor.
However, this wooden corridor, which was usually narrow, had somehow become incredibly wide and long.
The walkways wound around, crisscrossing and connecting with one another, and the space around him felt inexplicably eerie—
He was trapped inside an octagonal wooden box made of corridors.
‘What kind of method is this? Mechanism Art? Is it the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion?!’
Zhang Lide flipped his hand to draw an ancient, heavy saber with a silver-wrapped hilt and swung it in a fierce slash.
The surging Spiritual Power of a Mid-Nascent Soul expert, carrying a chilling blast of icy frost, instantly sent wood chips flying from the corridor’s pillars.
“Daoist Qu! I am a commissioned official of the Great Chu Imperial Court! Is your Heavenly Mystery Pavilion declaring war on the Great Chu Imperial Court by trespassing in the City Lord’s Mansion for no reason!”
“We simply received word that City Lord Zhang was involved with the evil cultivators, so we came for a night visit. We meant no offense.”
Qu Linglong’s voice drifted in from all directions, making it impossible to pinpoint her location.
“As long as the City Lord is willing to cooperate with the investigation, we naturally won’t make things difficult.”
Before the words finished echoing, the corridors Zhang Lide had hacked apart repaired themselves in an instant.
They began to slowly press toward his position.
“You trapped me with Mechanism Art the moment you arrived, yet you dare say you aren’t trying to fight!”
Zhang Lide snorted heavily. His slightly chubby body rose into the air as the heavy saber in his hand whirled, sending out several flashes of cold light that struck the floor beneath his feet!
Boom!
The frost-laden saber energy exploded, carving a dark hole into the floor. Without hesitation, he leaped inside—
Yet the bottom of the hole was still a corridor. They were layered, one after another, seemingly endless.
“We didn’t want to strike the City Lord directly, but unfortunately, you were the only one in the mansion during our visit tonight, and your behavior was so suspicious.”
Qu Linglong’s voice followed him like a shadow, sounding somewhat relaxed.
“In that case, we’ll have to ask the City Lord to stay behind while we settle this.”
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As soon as she finished speaking, the corridors began to move like living things, crashing toward him with the sound of whistling wind.
“Qu Linglong! Don’t push me too far!”
Zhang Lide swung his saber to parry. His round face turned beet red, and the veins on his temples bulged.
“So what if I push you?”
The attacks did not stop for a single second.
‘Damn it! What kind of ghost technique is this Mechanism Art! Why can’t I break it!’
No matter if he slashed upward or lunged downward, the intersecting corridors seemed to have no end. He simply couldn’t break out.
‘The others haven’t even shown themselves yet… I can’t let this shorty from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion wear me down first!’
‘I have to risk it!’
“Roar—!”
Zhang Lide tilted his head back and let out a thunderous roar. His eyes instantly became as blood-red as rubies.
At the same time, his body swelled significantly.
His already plump frame became as massive as a mountain of flesh, and a strange red glow pulsed beneath his skin, emitting a thick, bloody stench.
“Break!”
The blade in his hand turned from snow-white to an eerie crimson.
With a roar, a dark red, crescent-shaped slash burst forth with a power far exceeding his previous attacks. The momentum was terrifying.
This saber wave didn’t just send wood chips flying like before. Instead, it carried a sizzling corrosive sound.
Everywhere it passed, the stacked corridors were corroded into charred blackness, disintegrating inch by inch.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Countless streaks of azure sword light appeared out of nowhere, falling as thick as a rainstorm.
They completely neutralized the dark red saber wave.
“What?!”
Zhang Lide’s pupils shrank.
Almost simultaneously, the space around him tightened violently.
The corridors from all directions closed in, leaving only a single narrow passage in front of him that was only wide enough for one person.
Immediately after, a white streak of sword light shot through the air like a falling star, piercing straight toward his face!
‘No! I can’t dodge it!’
Slash.
With a soft sound, blood sprayed. Zhang Lide’s head rolled onto the ground, his eyes wide with a look of disbelief and horror frozen on his face.