Chapter 108: Chapter 13: Arrival from the Profound Carp Association

Yang Jing held the Blood Purification Pearl in his hand and channeled his Celestial True Yang.

His Celestial True Yang was formed by combining his own vital essence with Celestial Yang Qi through the secret technique of the True Yang Body, making it essentially a special type of lifeblood. To his surprise, the Blood Purification Pearl actually had an effect on it.

Yang Jing could feel his Celestial True Yang becoming purer by an almost imperceptible degree as it flowed through the Blood Purification Pearl.

He wouldn’t have even been able to notice such a minute change before he had consumed the Thousand Years of Cyan, which made the effect all the more astonishing. Wearing it for a week would surely yield significant results.

He gave the pearl to Iron Head first.

“We’ll take turns wearing this. Iron Head, you’ll be first. Yinjiao, you’re next. Chi Yu and I will be last.”

In truth, the Blood Purification Pearl would be most effective for Yinjiao. Since he cultivated the True Yang Body, the Celestial True Yang he refined was drawn to him by Iron Head and Yang Jing. During this process, he would inevitably refine other types of Yang Qi, which required him to expend a great deal of energy to purify his True Yang.

The Blood Purification Pearl would greatly accelerate the purification of his True Yang.

However, Iron Head had been the one to discover and refine the pearl, and Yang Jing wanted to be fair.

Iron Head naturally realized his junior brother, Yinjiao, needed the pearl more and tried to give it to him first. Only after Yinjiao’s firm refusal did Iron Head beam, happily placing the Blood Purification Pearl into a small pouch sewn from Demon Beast hide and hanging it around his neck.

—————–

Inside a cave, scorched clean by Red Fire.

Two figures appeared in silence. One wore a veiled hat and held a Void Mirror. The other was cloaked in a black robe and accompanied by a Mingyi Dog that stood as tall as a man. They were meticulously examining the cave for any trace of what had happened.

Half an hour later, they stopped their search.

“The killer is highly experienced. They used a massive number of Red Fire Talismans to wipe away all traces. According to the Void Mirror, these talismans came from at least thirty-seven different individuals, so they couldn’t have all been bought at the same marketplace. The killer was meticulous—they didn’t even leave behind a single bone shard. An attack powerful enough to shatter the bones of a Foundation Establishment Great Demon during magical combat must have been delivered with full force. The traces of magical power left on the bone shards of a Tier Two Great Demon can’t be erased, not even by Red Fire Talismans, yet we haven’t found a single one at the scene,” the cultivator holding the Void Mirror said.

“This is the classic signature of a Tribulation Cultivator. Veteran Tribulation Cultivators, those who have been at it for years, always keep a supply of Red Fire Talismans to destroy any traces of their magical power at a crime scene. It’s to prevent the Law Enforcement Team from tracing the crime back to them.”

“So you’re saying it was a Tribulation Cultivator,” the other man, the one in the black robe, spoke in a somewhat hoarse voice.

“If the Six Great Sects were behind this, they would have no reason to use Red Fire Talismans to destroy the evidence. They would’ve set an ambush for us here instead,” said the cultivator with the Void Mirror.

“It’s a detail only a veteran Tribulation Cultivator with a century of experience would know. This Yuan Tieyi you people sent was far too reckless, daring to cooperate with Tribulation Cultivators. There was probably more than one Foundation Establishment Tribulation Cultivator in the Ghost Ruins Market back then. They likely deduced that Yuan Tieyi was after something significant and decided to double-cross him.”

The man in the black robe let his Mingyi Dog continue sniffing around the cave for any potential clues as he voiced his own doubts:

“Based on the statements from the Tribulation Cultivators we’ve questioned over the past two days, Yuan Tieyi was definitely searching for some kind of secret treasure. But it doesn’t add up. The Foundation Establishment Tribulation Cultivator, Xin Guijin, was tempted, yes, but he ended up being killed by Yuan Tieyi and his two companions. If the killers had planned this all along, why would Xin Guijin have been so impatient to make a move that it got him killed?”

“Who knows? According to the Tribulation Cultivators’ statements, the three demons with Yuan Tieyi were supposedly afflicted by some strange poison, causing their Demon Power to wane. Xin Guijin was likely just overcome with greed and misjudged the disparity in their strength. After all, a demon’s power relies on more than just its Demon Power,” the cultivator said.

“In any case, we’ve investigated this much and found far too few clues left by the killer. To this day, I still don’t know the fate of those twenty-odd White Apes. They all had cultivation and were battle-hardened from fighting alongside Yuan Tieyi. They weren’t weaklings with hollow cultivation. They scattered in their escape, yet they vanished as completely as dew in the morning sun.”

As far as he knew, only a group of Foundation Establishment Cultivators, or perhaps a single Golden Core Cultivator, could have accomplished such a feat so silently.

The man in the black robe fell silent. The cultivator was right. As a soldier in the Demon Court’s Yao Nian Army for many years, having clashed with the Taixu Sword Sect’s Demon Slaying Hall for decades, he too had rarely encountered a case with so few leads.

“We’ve investigated this far. You should be able to tell me why those three demons who snuck in here would suddenly attack and kill Si Yuan, an important member of my Profound Carp Association. He had clearly hinted to Yuan Tieyi that he was one of us,” the cultivator turned and asked.

“This matter concerns a secret treasure of my Demon Country. Si Yuan got himself involved, so he more than deserved to die,” the demon in the black robe said, his tone cold and hard.

Iron Armor General used to compile his findings at regular intervals and send the reports back to the Demon Country, so they weren’t entirely in the dark about the situation within the Chen Kingdom.

A murderous aura began to brew within the cave.

“Of course, Tieyi and his group did act recklessly this time. The Demon Country is willing to concede ten percent of the profits from our trade for the next five years.”

The frigid, murderous aura instantly dissipated, replaced by the warmth of a spring breeze.

“In that case, I’m sure our friend Si Yuan can finally rest in peace.”

—————–

The entire Huangyuan Marketplace was on edge. The Law Enforcement Team was rounding up Innate Martial Artists everywhere, using the Void Mirror to verify their identities. Even the high-and-mighty Foundation Establishment Clans were on high alert; after all, this was the first time one of their own had been completely wiped out.

The location of the Ghost Ruins Market, which had operated outside Huangyuan Marketplace for years, was suddenly exposed. The marketplace’s Law Enforcement Team mustered the elites from the various Foundation Establishment Clans, raided the market, and dismantled it, capturing or killing a large number of Tribulation Cultivators in the process.

The uproar this time was far greater than when Qiu Feihua had been killed.

Yang Jing took the opportunity to request a few days off from the Celestial Treasure Tower, allowing him to cultivate in peace at his residence and advance his cultivation. To his disappointment, he found that the Spiritual Divine Sense Restriction on the storage bag he’d taken from Huang Dengtao was impossible to break, so he could only set it aside for now.

He was quite interested in whatever treasures Huang Dengtao had managed to take with him during his escape.

Just as he was absorbing Spiritual Qi in his Quiet Chamber, the Profound Carp Mirror tucked in his robes suddenly vibrated. A short message appeared on its surface.

“Meet in fifteen minutes. Celestial Feather Tea House, seventh tea room.”

Yang Jing glanced at the message, put away the Profound Carp Mirror, and checked his talismans. He tucked them into a hidden pocket in his sleeve where he could activate them at a moment’s notice, then hurried out the door.

The Celestial Feather Tea House was the finest teahouse in Huangyuan Marketplace. Each tea room was separated by restrictions that blocked both sound and Divine Sense, making it a convenient place for important figures to discuss business and make trades.

Yang Jing, his face concealed by a veiled hat, entered the seventh tea room. Inside, another cultivator, also in a veiled hat, was already lounging with an air of nonchalance in the main seat.

A maid served them a pot of Spirit Tea and then tactfully withdrew.

“Hai Tu, you’re a lucky one. So many Foundation Establishment Cultivators died in this whole mess, even Si Yuan, yet here you are, still alive and well.”

Yang Jing’s hand trembled, and the teacup he was holding clattered onto the table. His face went pale with shock.

“Si Yuan is dead? He was the Tribulation Cultivator, Xin Guijin!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep