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Half an hour ago.

In a hidden location within Yuanshan City.

Rakshasa's expression was grim.

The Underworld cultivators around him were as silent as cicadas in winter, afraid of incurring Rakshasa's displeasure.

Cry Soul True Person, who carried the Heavenly Mystery Mirror Fragment, had yet to return, and they were already harboring a bad feeling.

"All personnel withdraw from Yuanshan City. Abandon all arrangements made in Yuanshan City," Rakshasa suddenly stood up and commanded.

The hearts of the Underworld cultivators present sank to the bottom.

—Cry Soul True Person was carrying the Heavenly Mystery Mirror Fragment. They couldn't possibly withdraw without him, unless...

Rakshasa's face was as dark as water.

Because, just moments ago, he had sensed that the Heart Demon Gu on Cry Soul True Person was dead.

Years of planning, not hesitating to reveal his long-established identity as the City Lord of Yuanshan City, deploying War Beasts, and even Void Demon Child taking a risk to act once.

The result was nothing gained.

A crushing defeat!

He could already imagine how the other Underworld members would view their Yuanshan City branch after this battle.

Everything had been going according to plan.

Yet, this was the final outcome.

It seemed like things had started to go wrong after Blood Corpse True Person was captured.

Could it be that Zhishou Tower had truly extracted some information from Blood Corpse?

Rakshasa found it hard to believe.

But he couldn't afford to consider these matters any longer.

The urgent priority was to cut their losses. He needed to withdraw all remaining Underworld members from Yuanshan City.

—This operation was too large, and the traces left behind were difficult to conceal. Not withdrawing would be waiting for death.

Under Rakshasa's command, some Underworld cultivators quickly sent out spiritual messages, notifying the other Underworld members.

One Underworld cultivator took out a circular disc of black and gold.

This was a formation disc, used to activate formations.

The Underworld cultivator placed Spirit Stones into the formation disc.

Soon, patterns lit up on the ground where they stood, extending and weaving into a hexagram formation.

[Small Teleportation Formation].

"Let's go!" The Underworld cultivators and Rakshasa stepped into the hexagram formation.

Soon, the light intensified.

After the light faded, everyone within the formation had vanished.

Zhenjiang City.

In a secluded residence.

The teleportation formation flared with light.

The Underworld cultivators who had been in Yuanshan City moments ago appeared within the formation.

Through the teleportation formation, Rakshasa and his group instantly traveled from Yuanshan City to Zhenjiang City, a thousand miles away.

"Dismantle the teleportation formation," Rakshasa ordered.

Soon, an Underworld cultivator acknowledged the command and stepped forward to dismantle the teleportation formation.

This way, even if Yuanshan Tower investigated the teleportation formation in Yuanshan City, they would have no way of knowing its destination.

In Yuanshan Tower.

Jiang Rong, looking at Tantai Qingrun, who had been frosty-faced since returning from Lu Qingshan, found it extremely amusing. "Could it be that that brat Lu Qingshan offended our Tower Master Tantai?"

Tantai Qingrun shot Jiang Rong a glare and said irritably, "Uncle Rong seems quite idle, having the leisure to tease me?"

Jiang Rong calmly replied, "I am indeed very idle right now. After this battle, the Underworld's influence in Yuanshan City has been reduced by more than eighty percent. This is the greatest victory Yuanshan Tower has ever achieved. If the Underworld isn't foolish, they would have already fully withdrawn from Yuanshan City by now. Given this situation, not only am I idle now, but I'll likely have nothing to do for a long time to come."

Tantai Qingrun felt helpless at Jiang Rong's words and no longer concealed her thoughts. She revealed, "You still call him brat Lu Qingshan? In my opinion, calling him an old monster would be an understatement. Lu Qingshan was still a cultivator at the second layer of Qi Refining two days ago. Do you know what his realm is today when I met him?"

Tantai Qingrun paused, her tone rising slightly. "The eighth layer of Qi Refining. In two days, his cultivation has increased so drastically. I dare to assert that this Lu Qingshan must be someone who has undergone body seizure; otherwise, how could such an absurd thing happen in this world?"

Jiang Rong was also taken aback by this. He mused, "We had this suspicion before. It seems to be confirmed now."

Tantai Qingrun's tone was indignant. "But when I questioned him, he kept making excuses, insisting that he was Lu Qingshan of the Lu family."

Tantai Qingrun scoffed, "Who knows how old a monster he really is, yet he's still so shameless."

"Perhaps there's another reason?" Jiang Rong pondered for a moment, his words carrying a deeper meaning.

"There's another hidden reason?"

Jiang Rong nodded and explained, "Think about it, after body seizure, everything has to start from scratch. Even with previous experience, it's not an easy task to cultivate back to your previous realm. Unless they're truly desperate, what cultivator would easily choose body seizure?"

Although body seizure appears to have many benefits, it actually has quite a few restrictions.

There are two ironclad rules that must be followed for body seizure.

First, cultivation restriction. Only cultivators who have reached the Nascent Soul realm or higher can perform body seizure. Furthermore, regardless of cultivation level, a cultivator can only perform body seizure once in their lifetime. This is decreed by the Heavenly Dao.

If there were no such restriction, wouldn't high-level cultivators be able to escape the limitations of lifespan and repeatedly cultivate anew through body seizure? This world would descend into chaos.

Second, body seizure can only be successful if a cultivator with higher cultivation seizes the body of someone with lower cultivation. The greater the cultivation gap, the safer it is.

Yes, body seizure is not a hundred percent successful, and the probability of failure is quite high.

To achieve a successful body seizure, cultivators generally need to prepare corresponding auxiliary formations and elixirs to increase the chances of success.

Because once body seizure fails, it means utter annihilation of both body and spirit, scattering their souls to the winds, never to enter the Yellow Springs.

Therefore, in many cases, cultivators would rather choose to die than gamble on the so-called method of body seizure, opting instead for a chance at reincarnation.

Tantai Qingrun quickly understood this as well: "You mean Lu Qingshan was forced into body seizure and reincarnation by an opposing cultivator. The reason he's been unwilling to admit to the body seizure is that he fears exposing his identity and his enemies finding him."

Jiang Rong nodded: "Moreover, his enemies are very likely Demon Cultivators from the Underworld!"

"Firstly, he knows so much Underworld intelligence that even we at Zhishou Tower don't.

Secondly, you and I have both seen his animosity towards Underworld cultivators. For such crucial intelligence regarding the Underworld's scheme against Qi Jian, he only asked for Blood Corpse True Person and then proposed no further conditions. Isn't that as good as giving it away for free?

If he didn't have a deep-seated hatred for the Underworld, why would he be so generous?"

Tantai Qingrun agreed: "You've spoken wisely. Although we don't know the true identity of this 'Lu Qingshan,' the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

In that case, we can try our best to befriend 'Lu Qingshan.' Regardless of anything else, befriending a Nascent Soul cultivator, even if he has lost all his cultivation, is definitely not a loss for us!"

Jiang Rong chuckled: "Tower Master Tantai, what you should be most concerned about now is what reward Zhishou Tower will bestow upon you.

With this near-complete eradication of the Underworld's arrangements in Yuanshan City, such a monumental achievement means your time in Yuanshan City might not be long."

Zhishou Tower has never been a decadent organization that promotes based on seniority.

Within Zhishou Tower, promotions are determined entirely by ability.

Although Tantai Qingrun was only appointed as the Tower Master of Yuanshan Tower three years ago, with such a brilliant outcome this time, it's likely that her next promotion is not far off.