At night, Tanyang City appears brightly lit, but in reality, the only truly bustling areas are the districts with wine shops, gambling dens, brothels, and entertainment venues.
The lights in the other neighborhoods had already been turned off, and most people had gone to sleep.
The only place to find information about Basali's residence within Tanyang City is the Black Ten Sect stronghold— the Saint Luofa Church.
The Black Ten Sect is a sect with a rather complex composition. Unlike the Orthodox Cross cult overseas, they do not believe in God, but in a so-called true god called the Ten Karma Heavens.
The Ten Karma Heavens represent ten kinds of sins that people will inevitably face in life.
According to the doctrines of the Black Ten Sect, only by believing in the Ten Karma Heavens can one find a way to atone for one's sins.
Therefore, many members of the Black Ten Sect have a history of criminal activity.
Many of them were even repeat offenders.
The Saint Luofa Church that Zhang Rongfang approached was the true headquarters of the Black Ten Sect in Tanyang City.
Nighttime.
The white, I-shaped St. Lophia Church reflects a faint glow under the moonlight.
The towering cross at the top, plated with genuine silver, now gleamed with Silver Light.
First Squad of burly, Big Beard guards patrolled the perimeter of the church.
These Big Beard were dressed in black, wearing black headscarves, some carrying thick, long sticks, others empty-handed wearing hard leather gloves inlaid with metal.
From a distance inside the church, one can faintly hear the chanting of sutras.
Zhang Rongfang was like a giant python in the darkness, silently slithering through the shadows.
Ignoring the patrolmen on the perimeter, he inserted his five fingers into the wall and, using his Eagle Claw Skill, dug a hole in the smooth, hard surface to gain leverage.
Whoosh! He lightly leaped over the wall and jumped to the inside.
Upon landing, several guard dogs immediately smelled something and barked wildly in their direction.
But before they could chirp a few times, Zhang Rongfang had already taken a few quick steps and, in the blind spot of the patrol personnel, pressed himself against the shadows of the corner of the church's side wall.
Before long, he slipped one hand through the crack in the door and used his powerful Eagle Claw Skill technique to dig a hole in the lock.
The door clicked open, and Zhang Rongfang stepped inside in a flash.
He closed the door behind him and glanced at the wall where a row of hooded black robes worn by believers hung.
Zhang Rongfang took off a garment, draped it over his shoulders, removed his face mask, and walked inside with his head down.
If Basali remains in the city, this is the most likely place he will stay.
At least Zhang Rongfang didn't think that old man, at his age, would still be interested in staying at Music Tower.
Even if they're not here, we might find someone here who knows Basali's whereabouts.
Upon entering, there is a gray and white corridor with brown patterned carpets and oil paintings hanging on the walls on both sides.
Zhang Rongfang walked further in, he soon encountered a waiter carrying a silver tray.
The waiter's skin was dark, lighter than a black person, but darker than a person of Asian descent.
Upon seeing him approaching, the man was taken aback. Then, as if he had noticed something, he opened his mouth to shout.
Before he could even utter a sound, his vision suddenly blurred.
The waiter felt a chill in his throat, and blood gushed out of his trachea.
He collapsed to the ground in utter fear and helplessness, the plate and food in his hands not even touching the ground before Zhang Rongfang took them from him.
Picking up a piece of milk pastry and putting it in his mouth, Zhang Rongfang gently placed the plate on the ground to the side, shook the blood off his short sword, and calmly walked inside.
Actually, he didn't intend to kill the other person unless they started yelling right away.
But there aren't that many "what ifs" in this world.
Walking through the corridor, a room on the right was slightly ajar, and faint voices could be heard coming from inside.
However, the language was completely different from what Zhang Rongfang understand; it was a different internal language of the Black Ten Sect.
The Great Ling Territory is vast, and it has continuously conquered and assimilated numerous ethnic groups and nations. The languages of these various ethnic groups are mostly unique, making them extremely difficult to integrate.
Zhang Rongfang frowned; he hadn't considered this before coming.
But since we're already here, if we look carefully, we should be able to find some people who speak Great Ling.
He stood in front of the door and listened carefully, then paused. He confirmed that there were only two people inside.
With a hiss.
In an instant, he pushed open the door, leaped forward, and like a ghost, disappeared behind the curtains in the room.
Two burly men with Big Beard were sitting cross-legged on the carpet in the room.
The two looked over in surprise.
There was no one at the door.
One of them immediately stood up, muttered a few words, and was about to close the door.
Suddenly he heard a faint hissing sound behind him and turned around in confusion.
Unfortunately, he could no longer see anything.
A cold hand covered his eyes.
At the same time, his other hand gently stroked his throat and neck.
"Can you speak Great Ling?" Zhang Rongfang asked in a suppressed voice.
"Yes... yes! Please spare my life, sir!" The Big Beard trembled all over, not daring to move an inch.
"Very good." Zhang Rongfang sighed softly.
Behind him, another Big Beard sitting on the carpet had his neck broken in half and was lying on the ground, bleeding profusely.
The man had just tried to resist, but he was forced to kill him instantly.
There's no way around it, this guy is quite skilled, his speed is at least Fourth Grade.
Zhang Rongfang had no choice but to resort to ruthless killing to avoid being exposed.
In a split second, he realized just how skilled he was.
If we only consider the number of times Breaking Limits, he is now considered a Seventh Grade expert.
Although it only has one Superior Martial Arts, namely the Returning Spring Purifying Time Talisman Classic of the Great Dao Sect.
However, the boost from Breaking Limits seven times is ultimately far more powerful than that from the Fourth Grade.
In the realistic martial arts world where it takes at least three years to reach the First Grade, the Seventh Grade represents at least ten plus eighteen years of hard work.
A person who can diligently cultivate martial arts for twenty-eight years and reach the Seventh Grade would be an absolute high-ranking member in any faction.
Even if the increase in rank becomes weaker in the future, its actual combat ability is still far beyond what ordinary people can achieve.
"Now, answer my question," Zhang Rongfang said calmly, leaning close to the other person's ear.
"Elder Basali, where do you live?"
"Elder Basari Basari lives at number ten Silver Sand House! Right here... right here in this church!" The bearded man answered quickly, trembling all over.
"Looks like I'm lucky. Do you know what he came to the city for?" Zhang Rongfang of surprise.
If all goes well, this will be a one-time solution, and we can get rid of this old man once and for all.
"I don't know, but I heard it's to gather intelligence on Sea Dragon and the Lin Family! As you know, our Black Ten Sect is best at intelligence gathering," the Big Beard quickly said.
"Take me there." Zhang Rongfang released the other person's eyes.
"Okay." Click.
With a sudden, sharp crack, the Big Beard's neck snapped, turning 360 degrees.
He froze, then immediately knelt down and fell silent.
Zhang Rongfang wiped the short sword on his clothes and left the room.
The man had tried to shout, but unfortunately, the muscles in his throat betrayed his intention.
To avoid being exposed, Zhang Rongfang had no choice but to resort to ruthless methods.
Leaving the room, he continued inside and soon encountered two maids again.
This time, I was lucky.
After crushing one maid to death, he stroked the neck of another and she agreed to take him there.
*** Basali sat quietly at his desk, adjusted his glasses, and carefully read a doctrinal text he had just acquired.
The author of this scripture was from overseas, and the language he used was not the common Great Ling script, nor the other two languages he was proficient in.
Therefore, he could only translate and read at the same time using a dictionary.
After watching for about ten minutes, he looked up.
"Xiao Mo, give me a cup of finely ground milk tea, hot."
"Yes, Elder, would you like some sugar?" came the reply from outside the door.
"No, I want it with salt." Basali let out a long sigh.
"Yes." Xiao Mo's footsteps quickly faded away on the carpet.
After giving the instructions, he lowered his head again, adjusted his glasses, and prepared to read.
Ding ding ding ding!! Suddenly, a series of rapid gong sounds came from outside the window.
Someone was shouting something rapidly in the Hu Xi People language.
The sound of footsteps passing by outside continued, as if they were searching for something.
Basali's heart tightened. He listened carefully for a while, and his long-cultivated vigilance immediately came into play.
He stood up, put on his coat, picked up some important documents and money, and turned to walk towards the left wall of the room.
He walked to the wall and reached out to touch a whale-shaped oil lamp on it.
Buzz.
Suddenly, an arched passageway slowly opened up on the wall.
This is a hidden escape route leading outside.
Without hesitation, he quickly stepped into the passageway.
With a hum, the wall slowly returned to its original state.
Bang!
The door was flung open, Zhang Rongfang suddenly entered, looking at the slowly closing wall.
In an instant, his eyes met those of Basali.
Their eyes, one black and one yellow, both stopped at the same time.
With a distance of three meters, the crack in the wall was less than a hand's width away; it was too late.
"You're dead!!" Basali's eyes turned icy cold in shock.
He never expected that Zhang Ying would dare to come to him in person.
Although it's unknown how this person got here, he can now easily send out an alarm from the Secret Passage, which will attract hundreds of people from the surrounding area to come and surround him.
The group of highly skilled individuals stationed at the church will also arrive one after another.
At that time, even if Zhang Ying had wings, he wouldn't be able to escape! Just then...
Zhang Rongfang took a step forward, stomping his foot heavily on the ground.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang! Three steps in a row.
His right leg was swollen and engorged with blood.
"Shrink Step."
His pupils contracted, and Zhang Rongfang's muscles seemed to flow like water as they converged on his right leg.
"Heavy Mountain!!!"
Suddenly, his right leg exploded with a sharp whistling sound, tearing through the air and slamming into the wall like a cannonball.
Boom!!!
The entire room shook and trembled.
The section of the wall that was about to close was kicked open, creating a huge dent.
The entire wall was smashed and tilted like a seesaw, unable to stop, stuck in place, constantly making the clicking sound of gears.
Basali, his face pale, stared in disbelief at the scene from the passageway behind the wall.
Large Stone Rain rained down on his face, neck, and hands, leaving streaks of blood.
With a loud crash, the wall finally tilted and collapsed to the ground.
At this point, the entrance to the passage was wide open.
Zhang Rongfang entered the passage, and with a lightning strike to Basali's neck, he grabbed the unconscious old man and rushed into the Secret Passage, quickly disappearing from sight.