Clue Severed

A day passed quickly.

Night fell again.

As soon as Zhou Wanqing, who had guarded the first half of the night, came back, Lin Fan fed her a Foundation Replenishing Pill.

This type of pill could effectively restore Zhou Wanqing's depleted essence.

"You're really good to me..."

Zhou Wanqing's eyes reddened, and her heart was deeply moved.

She had been at the Hidden Scripture Pavilion for some time now, and had more or less guessed why many of the Dual Cultivation partners who had been "drained" disappeared.

In the eyes of some cold and heartless old Menial Disciples, their live-in partners were little more than tools to help them climb higher. Once they had been used up, they were left to fend for themselves.

Lin Fan, however, treated her differently. Although there was no affection between them, Zhou Wanqing could feel that Brother Lin cared about her.

Even the slightest trace of care warmed her heart immensely.

"Brother Lin, thank you."

Zhou Wanqing slipped beneath the covers and spoke softly.

"Sleep easy."

Lin Fan replied.

Zhou Wanqing nodded and closed her eyes. Her slightly furrowed brows slowly smoothed as her body relaxed.

After the time it took an incense stick to burn, her breathing became even.

Watching Zhou Wanqing sleep soundly, Lin Fan suddenly took a medicine bottle from his robes. It was the Dream Soothing Powder he had obtained earlier from Wu Hai's cloth bag.

The colorless, odorless gas drifted away and entered Zhou Wanqing's body with her breath.

Zhou Wanqing fell into an even deeper sleep.

"I should go out and take a look tonight as well. What exactly is that strange Bloodthirsty Demonic Insect?"

A sharp glint flashed in Lin Fan's eyes as he muttered to himself.

He then circulated the Blood Gathering Art to draw in his aura. After that, he abruptly opened the door and darted outside like a ghost.

Blood Mist billowed through the air. Blackwood Cliff, usually so lively, was empty at this moment.

Insects the size of palms crawled out of the darkness, scuttling over the ground and walls.

"Those are the Bloodthirsty Demonic Insects?"

Lin Fan was startled. Looking around, he saw the insects packed densely together, covering nearly all of Blackwood Cliff.

Sensing Lin Fan's aura, the blood-red insects around him suddenly surged toward him.

Lin Fan froze, but did not hurry to attack. Instead, he immediately concealed his aura to the utmost.

Previously, he had raised the Blood Gathering Art to the proficient stage, greatly improving his ability to conceal his cultivation and aura. He simply did not know whether it could hide him from these demonic insects' senses.

The next second, the demonic insects surging toward Lin Fan suddenly stopped. Having lost their target, they milled about where they were.

"So the Blood Gathering Art can cut off the demonic insects' perception."

Lin Fan was secretly delighted.

Just then, the sound of a door opening suddenly rang out.

Lin Fan looked toward the sound and saw the door of a nearby dwelling open. A figure dressed in night clothes slipped out.

She warily surveyed her surroundings. After confirming that no one else was present, she took advantage of the Bloodthirsty Demonic Insects' lack of reaction and quickly vanished into the night.

"Who was that?"

Lin Fan stepped out from behind a pillar, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Looks like besides the spies from the Thousand Hands Sect, spies from other sects have infiltrated this place too."

Lin Fan was very curious. Taking advantage of the cover of night, he immediately followed after her in secret.

In the darkness, one prison cart after another traveled along the steep mountain road, heading toward an extremely secret location within the Blood Demon Sect.

A figure quietly hid in a tree, gazing toward the direction the prison carts were traveling in the distance.

"Continuing in this direction will take them out of the Blood Soul Peak's territory."

"It isn't Blood Bone Peak or Blood Fiend Peak either. It seems to be the Forbidden Land in the rear mountains of the Demon Sect."

"Could there be a massive dungeon in the Demon Sect's rear mountains where the Feudal Princes' descendants and family members are being imprisoned?"

Her beautiful eyes flickered as she continued to mutter, "That must be it. The Demon Sect's rear mountains are extremely mysterious. As long as I confirm the dungeon's exact location, I may be able to find that person's trail."

She was secretly thrilled. If she could find clues about that person this time, it would be a great achievement.

Seeing the prison carts travel farther and farther away, she confirmed that there was no danger nearby before continuing to creep after them.

But before she had gone far, her delicate body suddenly shuddered as she felt a bone-chilling sense of terror.

"Friend, you're quite capable. You actually managed to sneak here right under my nose."

A sinister voice abruptly rang out.

"Run!"

The black-clad figure broke into a sweat and immediately turned to flee.

A sharp weapon tore through the air, grazing the black-clad figure's shoulder in an instant and splashing a great spray of blood.

Her brows drew tightly together, but her figure moved even faster. In barely one or two breaths, she vanished into the boundless night.

In the darkness, a Formal Disciple of the Demon Sect dressed in a Dark Robe emerged. Gazing in the direction where the black-clad figure had disappeared, he did not hurry to pursue her. Instead, he muttered, "I'd like to see how many cockroaches I can flush out tonight."

Lin Fan followed the mysterious figure from neither too near nor too far. Soon, they left the area of Blackwood Cliff.

"If I keep following, it'll become dangerous."

Seeing that they were getting farther and farther from Blackwood Cliff, Lin Fan began to think of retreating.

Although he was curious about the other party's identity and purpose, continuing onward would take him into the deepest part of Blood Soul Peak's core region. There were not only Formal Disciples there, but even figures at the level of Demon Sect Elders.

Although he possessed a certain level of cultivation and could conceal his cultivation aura, once he was discovered, he would certainly die without a doubt.

Just as Lin Fan was preparing to give up, the figure ahead suddenly stopped as well.

The sound of something tearing through the air approached from afar.

Before Lin Fan could react, he saw a bloodstained figure burst out from the woods ahead.

The veil on her face was torn, revealing a pale, delicate face. It was the Delicate Girl called "Qiao'er."

"Senior Sister Qiao'er!"

When she saw this figure, the mysterious person hurriedly called out and moved forward to meet her.

"That voice sounds so familiar. It's... Feng Ling."

Lin Fan's heart jolted.

At this moment, he had completely concealed his aura and was hiding behind a rock. As long as he did not deliberately reveal himself, almost no one could detect his presence.

"Junior Sister? Why are you here?"

Qiao'er was startled and asked.

"I was worried about you, so I followed to take a look."

Feng Ling looked at Qiao'er's injuries and hurriedly asked, "Senior Sister, how badly are you hurt?"

"The injuries aren't serious, but I was poisoned."

She shook her head, then said anxiously, "Hurry and leave. I've already been exposed."

"If you're leaving, then we're leaving together."

Feng Ling supported her and spoke firmly.

"Don't be willful. I can't escape. Keep this note safe; it contains the intelligence I gathered tonight."

"I'll have to rely on you from now on."

The Delicate Girl gave a sorrowful smile as she spoke.

She had thought she had been cautious enough, but she had never expected to be discovered by people from the Demon Sect.

In her current condition, she could no longer escape.

If Feng Ling insisted on taking her along, the final result would be the two of them suffering together.

"So there are two cockroaches."

"None of you will be leaving tonight."

A Formal Disciple dressed in a Dark Robe appeared. With a wave of his hand, countless flying needles shot explosively toward the two of them.

"Go!"

The Delicate Girl shoved Feng Ling away, then fearlessly charged forward.

Her seemingly delicate body erupted with astonishing strength, actually blocking most of the sharp weapons.

"Senior Sister..."

Seeing the figure resolutely standing in front of her, Feng Ling's eyes reddened. Gritting her teeth, she turned and dashed away.

At that moment, several sharp weapons broke through the Delicate Girl's defense. Controlled by the Formal Disciple's force, they shot rapidly toward Feng Ling.

They arrived in an instant. Feng Ling crushed a talisman in her hand, releasing a pale-yellow radiance that blocked several of the sharp weapons.

But then another sharp weapon shot toward her, catching Feng Ling off guard and throwing her into panic.

Suddenly, a pebble tore through the air and struck the flying needle aside, saving Feng Ling from the attack she could not block.

Feng Ling's heart jolted, but she had no time to figure out what had happened. As her delicate body stretched, it erupted with astonishing strength, and she soon vanished into the night.

A short while later, the Delicate Girl had been pierced through most of her body by flying needles. She lay on the ground, barely clinging to life.

"One of them actually got away!"

The Formal Disciple in the Dark Robe wore a cold expression. However, looking at the Delicate Girl drenched in blood, he snorted and said, "But it doesn't matter. As long as I search your soul, I'll be able to uncover the identity of that escaped rat."

As he spoke, he grabbed the Delicate Girl with one large hand and immediately cast the Soul Searching Secret Technique.

The Delicate Girl, however, smiled, revealing an expression of relief.

Bang!

The next second, her head suddenly split open, and her body became a headless corpse.

"A restriction was planted in the deepest part of her mind beforehand!"

"The clue is severed."

The Formal Disciple's expression darkened, and he was furious beyond measure.