Infiltration

Clear white clouds drifted across the sky, and bright sunlight shone upon the sea of clouds. Everything in Shu Mountain seemed so peaceful and serene.

Especially for those who had just experienced a life-or-death crisis, everything felt even more precious.

After returning to Shu Mountain, Chu Liang rested briefly and then began to get busy around noon.

He first went to the White Pagoda to check and found the cage empty.

There were two possibilities: one was that killing people did not yield rewards from the White Pagoda, as the previous rewards were given for evil creatures; the second was that although he had used the Soul Transfer Spell, the black-robed man had technically committed suicide, so the mark was not given to him.

As for which one was correct, it would have to be verified later.

Of course, this time was not without gains. He had collected quite a few small items from the black-robed man and needed to examine them one by one.

Although killing did not give rewards, the gains might be even greater, because people were different from evil creatures. Every cultivator was a small treasure trove.

Although the magical artifacts on the demonic cultivator were mostly sinister and vicious items, there were not many he could use. However, the Mount Shu would also give Sword Coin rewards for demonic artifacts handed in by disciples, so they would definitely not be wasted.

He first opened the small porcelain bottles that sealed the ghost creatures.

The most unpredictable things about the Nether King Sect disciples were the ghost creatures they had refined. Chu Liang thought that although he couldn't control these ghost creatures, dispelling them with one sword strike each would not only send them into reincarnation but also allow him to exchange them for rewards in the White Pagoda, which would be a huge profit!

But when he opened those porcelain bottles, he was disappointed.

He figured that when the black-robed man refined the ghost creatures, he must have cast some spell to prevent them from betraying him. When he died, all these ghost creatures dissipated with him.

What a pity.

Chu Liang sighed silently.

This pile of small porcelain bottles was all empty, making his heart suddenly feel empty as well.

There were also some materials for cultivating demonic techniques left. Chu Liang didn't recognize them much, but he generally felt they wouldn't be useful and would have to be handed over to the Sword Transmission Hall later.

Then there was the Netherworld Heavenly Book, a magical treasure that increased cultivation by killing people. It was extremely sinister. Putting his hand on it, he could even hear the wails of those miserable souls... No need to think, it was also useless.

There was also a brocade pouch that the black-robed man had carefully preserved. After opening it, he found three hollow dark copper balls inside, about the size of walnuts. They were extremely cold to the touch, and he could feel a sense of fear.

It should also be some kind of evil magical artifact.

He would ask his master what it was later.

Finally, there was the dark gold token engraved with the words "Soul Harvester," which also seemed to be a magical artifact.

Chu Liang couldn't quite understand the use of this thing, but he figured since the original owner was dead, there shouldn't be much danger. He tried to probe it with a trace of his divine sense to examine it.

Whoosh—

His divine sense sank into the token, and there was actually a gloomy, dark, and blurry space.

There was nothing in this space, only a few lines of golden text floating, as if it were a magical artifact for transmitting information.

[Sha]: "I have broken through to the third layer of the Five Elements Realm. The next stage of cultivation requires Profound Nether True Water or various Nether Sea Demon Creatures... You who are traveling the world must keep an eye out for me."

[Fifty-Nine]: "Congratulations, Honored Sha. We will definitely do our best to search for you."

[Sixty]: "Congratulations, Honored Sha. Your subordinate will definitely do his utmost."

[Sha]: "Hmm? Why hasn't Fifty-Eight sent any news for so long? Could something have gone wrong?"

[Fifty-Nine]: "Another hour has passed. Could something have happened to Fifty-Eight?"

[Sha]: "Fifty-Eight, please respond if you receive this."

Chu Liang looked at these messages and thought of the artifact he had heard about before. It seemed to be a soul domain space, which allowed a small number of people to transmit information remotely through a connection of their divine souls.

However, the Mount Shu did not specialize in soul techniques and did not have the method for this kind of soul domain space, so he had never seen one. It was normal for the Nether King Sect's demonic cultivators, who specialized in soul techniques, to have such an artifact.

This soul domain space seemed to only contain these four people?

That Sha... and Fifty-Eight, Fifty-Nine, and Sixty. Just from the names, it wasn't hard to tell who the group leader was.

And the Fifty-Eight who hadn't appeared should be the previous owner of the Soul Harvester token he held.

What should he do?

Should he reply?

There was no danger anyway, and the other person couldn't come through the soul domain to catch him and beat him up, so he might as well try. So Chu Liang cautiously sent a piece of information with his divine sense.

In an instant, that message appeared in the space.

[Fifty-Eight]: "Congratulations, Esteemed Sha. Your subordinate will definitely search diligently."

The more he said, the more likely he was to make a mistake. When he didn't know what to say, replying by echoing the message above, like adding "plus one," was the safest option.

There was no reply for a while, so Chu Liang put the Soul Harvester token aside and organized the other items first.

After a moment, he felt the Soul Harvester token vibrate slightly.

Oh, it vibrated.

He picked it up and saw that there was indeed a new reply in the soul domain space.

[Sha]: "What were you doing just now? Were you in danger?"

Looking at the group leader's question, Chu Liang pondered. He didn't have much time to think. If he didn't reply for a long time again, it would inevitably arouse suspicion. But saying the wrong thing could also make people notice something was wrong.

He needed a reasonable... reason for being gone for a long time.

But he didn't know this Fifty-Eight, and lying in his identity would inevitably have flaws.

So he thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth.

[Fifty-Eight]: "I just experienced a battle. I captured a Divine Intent Realm Confucian cultivator and brought her into the Netherworld Heavenly Book."

[Sha]: "A Divine Intent Realm Confucian cultivator? Not bad. If refined well, she can travel in broad daylight and will be a great help."

[Fifty-Nine]: "Amazing."

[Fifty-Nine]: "I wish I had that kind of luck too."

[Sha]: "Fifty-Eight has been in the Jianghu for a long time, and his experience far surpasses yours. This is more than just luck. You two should learn more from him."

[Fifty-Nine]: "Ah, yes, yes, yes."

Chu Liang managed to fool them for a bit and then withdrew.

It seemed that the "Sha" had reached the third level of the Five Elements Realm and was considered a master in the Nether King Sect. The remaining Fifty-Nine seemed like a street loafer, always replying when there was something, looking very idle. Sixty rarely showed up, so he didn't know much about him.

After a brief conversation, he still decided to report the matter to his master.

Arriving at the small pavilion, Di Nufeng was unusually sober, reading a recently popular romance novel. It was nothing more than stories of lovesick men and women, and it was hard to imagine that a heroine like her, who could fly and escape, could be so engrossed.

"Master, this disciple has something to report." Chu Liang still greeted her politely.

"What is it?" Di Nufeng put down the picture book casually and asked.

"This is the magical artifact this disciple found on that black-robed person..." He first took out the three dark bronze small balls. "This disciple doesn't recognize this item, I wonder if I can keep it."

"Oh?" Di Nufeng glanced at them and said lazily, "These are Profound Sha Yin Lightning."

"Profound Sha Yin Lightning?"

"It's a small item that can be detonated, and the explosion can cause fear." Di Nufeng said, "A Golden Core Realm actually has three of them. It seems he kept them as life-saving treasures. You can also use these small items, and you should be able to exchange them for some Sword Coins at the Sword Exchange Pavilion. You can decide for yourself."

"So that's how it is..." Chu Liang nodded and then said, "There's another matter."

He then briefly told Di Nufeng about entering the soul domain space just now.

"Oh?" Di Nufeng immediately became interested and sat up.

"The left and right protectors of the Nether King Sect were severely injured by the Nine Doubts Immortal of Mist Hidden Immortal Mountain the day before yesterday. The Silver King was directly killed, and the Purple Gold Marquis escaped with serious injuries. The Purple Gold Marquis has Eight Directions Guide, Twenty-Four Sha, and Seventy-Two Paths Soul Harvester under his command..."

"In the past, he relied on these Soul Harvesters to plunder souls, harm the innocent, and enhance his cultivation. That black-robed person should be one of the Soul Harvesters."

"Each Guide manages three Sha, and each Sha manages three Soul Harvesters. The Purple Gold Marquis's subordinates are all structured like this."

"The soul domain space is formed by each person leaving a trace of soul seed, intertwined to form a formation, so they can contact each other at any time from thousands of miles away. But... if one of the people's souls dissipates, then this Soul Harvester token should no longer be able to enter the soul domain space. In the past, people have also killed Soul Harvesters of the Nether King Sect, but I haven't heard of being able to replace this Soul Harvester token..."

Di Nufeng was a little confused.

Chu Liang thought for a moment and said, "Is it possible that although that Soul Harvester is dead, his soul hasn't actually dissipated... He might have failed in his technique and absorbed himself into the Netherworld Heavenly Book..."

He then took out the Netherworld Heavenly Book and showed it to Di Nufeng.

Thinking about it, it was also understandable that a magical artifact used for secret contact by a demonic sect couldn't be used by just anyone who got it. Normally, if a Soul Harvester died, their Soul Harvester token would immediately become useless.

A situation like fifty-eight's should be extremely rare.

Di Nufeng looked at it, roughly understood the reason, and suddenly smiled.

"Good..."

"Hand over this Netherworld Heavenly Book to the people in the Sword Transmission Hall later. Release and dissipate all the innocent souls within, leaving only the soul of that Soul Harvester."

"You just lie low in that soul domain space and try not to reveal any flaws..."

"Currently, the Purple Gold Marquis is seriously injured and hiding. Not only are the righteous path people looking for him, but the infighting within the demonic path is also extremely severe, so he doesn't dare to return to the Nether King Sect. He must be hiding somewhere secretly healing."

"If you lie low among his direct subordinates, you might have a chance to find out his hiding place..."

"When I directly kill the Purple Gold Marquis alone, it will be a great display of power. What will that old man Wang Xuanling compare with me then?"

Imagining the beautiful future, Di Nufeng's smile became even more rampant.

And Chu Liang felt the heavy responsibility on his shoulders.

Comrade Chu Liang, your mission is to lie low!

"If Master kills the right protector of the Nether King Sect, the sect's reward must also be considerable, right?" he asked tentatively.

"Don't worry, as long as there are benefits, our master and disciple will split it three-seven. You definitely won't miss out on your share..." Di Nufeng smiled tremblingly, her laughter gradually going astray, "Hehehehehehe..."