Ruined Truth Tower

"Ten sets of treasured armor? A month should be enough. The profit will exceed six hundred thousand."

Gu Jinlai saw Bai Yang and the others off before returning to the courtyard.

Just then, he seemed to sense something and suddenly shouted, "Who's there!"

A Celestial Master's spiritual awareness was not as keen as divine sense, but it was still no easy matter for an ordinary person to sneak into his courtyard without a sound.

After all...

That bright-red karma was swaying right before his eyes.

"Elder Gu, what keen eyes you have."

At that moment, a voice rang out.

A man who looked to be around forty stepped out from the corner of the wall.

Seeing this, Su Nanxing and Gu Chaoyang immediately moved to block his path.

"Someone from the Purgatory Sect?"

"Someone as talented as Elder Gu could not even be retained by the Purgatory Sect. How could I, Scarlet Shadow, take it seriously?"

The middle-aged man spoke with a smile while bowing slightly. "Scarlet Shadow, Silver Sword Envoy of the Ruined Truth Tower, greets Elder Gu."

Afterward, he paused briefly and added, "Or should I say, Celestial Master Jiang?"

Those words revealed that they had a thorough understanding of Gu Jinlai's information.

"The Ruined Truth Tower!"

Gu Jinlai immediately recalled the descriptions he had heard of this organization.

It was one of the Ten Great Demon Sects.

Yet it had always disdained standing alongside the other nine Demon Sects.

In essence, it was both an assassin organization and an intelligence agency.

It recruited members through recommendations.

After completing missions issued by the Ruined Truth Tower, any member could earn Truth Points.

Those points could be exchanged for intelligence or treasures, and could also be used to issue missions and hire people to handle matters. Its nature was similar to the Demon Refining Hall.

"Someone from the Ruined Truth Tower? I haven't had much dealings with the Ruined Truth Tower."

"It's true that you haven't had much direct contact with us, but someone wanted to use our Ruined Truth Tower's channels to deal with Celestial Master Jiang."

Scarlet Shadow smiled as he spoke. "Besides, are you really certain you've never dealt with our Ruined Truth Tower? A month ago, one of our Bronze Sword Envoys fell at Celestial Master Jiang's hands."

Gu Jinlai thought of Scarlet Shadow's ghostlike movements. They were exactly like those of the mysterious assassin in Yun Guantian's courtyard.

Then he recalled that members of the Ruined Truth Tower were recruited through recommendations...

"Looks like Celestial Master Jiang has guessed it. I was the one who recommended Soul Hunter."

"You came to avenge him?"

"Revenge? I'm not that idle. The Ruined Truth Tower only wants elites."

Scarlet Shadow produced a small scarlet-bronze sword. "I came specifically to invite Celestial Master Jiang to join the Ruined Truth Tower and take up the position of Bronze Sword Envoy."

"Join the Ruined Truth Tower?"

Gu Jinlai quickly began to deliberate.

The reason the Ruined Truth Tower had been classified among the Ten Great Demon Sects was that it acted without restraint.

As long as the reward was sufficient, there was nothing it would not dare do.

Not only did it dare investigate the affairs of the Demon Emperor Hall's master and the Three Pure Palace's master, it even dared pry into the affairs of the Great Qian Imperial Preceptor.

An organization hidden in the shadows and possessing such frightening deterrence should, by rights, have been universally hunted down. Yet the members of the Ruined Truth Tower were as elusive as ghosts, and it had survived to this day.

That alone demonstrated the Ruined Truth Tower's capabilities.

Even when Gu Jinlai encountered those two experts from the Ruined Truth Tower, he had been completely unaware of their existence beforehand. Had he not been able to see the radiance of karma, he would certainly have faced a narrow escape from death against their assassinations.

An organization like this...

"By joining the Ruined Truth Tower, I can share in some of its intelligence, and I can choose whether to accept missions when they arise?"

Gu Jinlai asked.

"That's right. However, you must complete at least one mission suited to your level each year."

Scarlet Shadow answered.

Gu Jinlai looked at the man whose karma was as red as blood, but his mind was on something else.

The Ruined Truth Tower specialized in assassination and intelligence.

The people inside...

Could their karma possibly be anything but poor?

Moreover, with the target intelligence provided by the Ruined Truth Tower, he could specifically choose people whose karma was as red as blood to assassinate. He would gain Truth Points from the Ruined Truth Tower to exchange for rare treasures, while also punishing evil, promoting good, and accumulating pure light.

It was killing two birds with one stone.

"Silver Sword Envoy Scarlet Shadow, you should know that I specialize in the Celestial Master path. I've already decided to abandon evil, embrace righteousness, and withdraw from the disputes of the cultivation world."

Gu Jinlai said.

The smile on Scarlet Shadow's face faded slightly. "Abandon evil and embrace righteousness? Withdraw from the disputes? Will Vice Sect Master Lin of the Purgatory Sect accept such an explanation from you, Celestial Master Jiang?"

"From now on, I want to be a good person."

Gu Jinlai added.

"Then what does Celestial Master Jiang mean?"

Scarlet Shadow asked.

"I'll accept the Bronze Sword, but my purpose in accepting it is to punish evil and promote good."

Gu Jinlai replied.

Scarlet Shadow was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter. "I just love this sanctimonious side of Celestial Master Jiang... Ah, no, this is called acting on Heaven's behalf. Aren't those self-proclaimed righteous cultivators always hanging that slogan on their lips?"

Gu Jinlai was speechless.

He was telling the truth. Why did no one believe him?

Had they not seen that he had already switched from Spirit Refining to the Celestial Master path?

Was that not enough to prove his resolve?

A Celestial Master refined qi into spirit. How frail was his body?

"Since Celestial Master Jiang has accepted the sword, we're on the same side now. However, our Ruined Truth Tower only accepts elites. For Celestial Master Jiang to gain the Ruined Truth Tower's formal recognition and hold this Bronze Sword firmly, he still has to prove his abilities."

Scarlet Shadow took out a piece of intelligence. "Through the clues provided by Zhou Yunyi, Yun Guantian already knows that Celestial Master Jiang was the one who committed the massacre at the Demon Refining Hall a month ago. He has dispatched a Gold Seal Squad to capture you. They'll arrive at Starlight City in no more than two days. Only after surviving this calamity will you truly count as a member of the Ruined Truth Tower."

"The Gold Seal Squad."

Gu Jinlai had information obtained from Yun Guantian.

From the details within that intelligence, it could be inferred that the most elite force in the hands of Yun Guantian, master of the Spirit Refining Hall, was the Gold Seal Squad.

It consisted of six Core Forming experts skilled in close combat and four Gang Condensing experts.

They specialized in handling Yun Guantian's dirty work.

This squad...

Had once surrounded and killed a Spirit Refining True Person.

Yun Guantian had been able to sit securely on the throne of master of the Long Commandery Demon Refining Hall for sixteen years precisely because this squad crushed every rebel and dissenter.

"Future Bronze Sword Envoy, good luck."

After informing Gu Jinlai of this intelligence, Scarlet Shadow's figure flashed.

His movement technique was unbelievably fast.

Gu Jinlai estimated that if he faced Scarlet Shadow, he could only passively take a beating.

"Master."

"Forefather."

Su Nanxing and Gu Chaoyang both looked worried.

"The Gold Seal Squad..."

Gu Jinlai felt somewhat envious.

When would he have six Core Forming and four Gang Condensing subordinates of his own to suppress every voice of dissent?

"Forefather, should I summon the forces from the clan?"

Gu Chaoyang asked.

But...

With six Core Forming and four Gang Condensing experts, unless the Gu Clan came out in full force, it might not be able to withstand the Gold Seal Squad's encirclement and slaughter.

"No need."

Gu Jinlai gathered his thoughts. "Have the things in the warehouse been prepared?"

"Saltpeter, sulfur, and the other materials have all been stockpiled in large quantities."

Gu Chaoyang answered.

"Good."

Gu Jinlai nodded.

As everyone knew, when the potassium nitrate in saltpeter decomposed and released oxygen, it would make charcoal and sulfur burn rapidly, instantly generating heat and carbon dioxide. In a confined space, the volume would continue to expand, creating pressure and forming an explosion.

Jiang Xiyu was not the person in charge of the Jiang Clan. Although the Jiang Clan channels he could mobilize were concealed and had bought him ten days to half a month, they were not impossible to investigate completely.

Therefore, from the moment he settled down in Starlight City, Gu Jinlai had prepared himself for the possibility of Lin Xiao's revenge.

He felt that Lin Xiao, who had managed to rise to the position of Vice Sect Master of the Purgatory Sect, understood the principle of striking a snake without killing it and suffering its bite even better than he did.

He rented a warehouse.

Every day, he set aside an hour to visit it, establishing a pattern.

Compared with the courtyard, which held more than twenty people and occasionally had Qi Refining experts show themselves in public, he usually brought only one person with him when he went to the warehouse. It was precisely the ideal ambush site to ensure nothing went wrong.

In fact, it was just as Gu Jinlai had guessed.

The Gold Seal Squad acted even faster than Scarlet Shadow had estimated.

They had always acted with care and caution.

What was more, their target this time was a former elder of the Purgatory Demon Sect.

Once they had ascertained that Gu Jinlai had fled to Starlight City through the Jiang Clan's channels, they had already sent intelligence agents into Starlight City ahead of them to investigate information related to him.

By the time they arrived outside Starlight City, a detailed report was already before the squad leader, Gold Seal.

"This Gu Jinlai is using the alias Jiang Dongqu and has switched to the Celestial Master path?"

Gold Seal looked at the intelligence, his expression somewhat strange.

A Celestial Master.

The mission's difficulty was lowered by one level.

"He has quite a few guards around him, estimated at no fewer than twenty. Among them are Qi Refining and even Core Forming experts. The exact details are unknown."

Gold Seal's brows furrowed as he stared at the words "exact details unknown."

Soon, he spotted another useful piece of information: "He goes to the warehouse once every day."

After a moment of thought, he made his decision.

"Once we reach Starlight City, we'll go straight to the warehouse and lie in ambush. Our superior originally gave us only three days. After wasting so much time, we must capture this demon and deliver him to our superior for judgment!"

(Ah, the Ruined Truth Tower? The master of this tower must be very weak.)