Jiang Liu emerged from the forest last night and headed towards the rising sun. He was in a good mood today; something good was sure to happen in the east.
Jiang Liu continued walking through the overgrown weeds, looking at the endless expanse of grass with a sense of frustration. "Not even a rabbit? What a strange place. I've been into these weedy areas several times before and always found all sorts of small animals."
I couldn't help but think of Lonely Soul Ridge, which I had encountered before; it was also a strange place like that.
After traveling another ten miles or so, Jiang Liu suddenly sensed something unusual ahead. He quickly dispersed his consciousness and investigated in that direction.
Jiang Liu is no longer afraid of being discovered by the other party when he releases his consciousness to probe. Since practicing Annihilation by Thought last night, he has realized how superficial his previous use of consciousness was.
As if a gentle breeze had passed, a person crawled out from underground, looked around furtively, and then called out to the inside, "Come out! There's no one outside."
Then seven or eight people crawled out of the opened hole. Judging from their attire, they didn't seem to be a group, but their actions suggested they were.
Hey! I didn't expect them to be so cautious. Jiang Liu chuckled to himself, not in a hurry. He just sat in the grass and waited to see what they were up to. They were being so sneaky, they couldn't be up to anything good.
After the seven or eight people came out, they left in twos and threes. The first one to come out closed the cave entrance. Then he hid in the bushes not far away and continued to keep watch.
Jiang Liu waited for about a quarter of an hour, and seeing that no one else came out, he stealthily moved toward the person on guard duty.
Seeing that the distance was about right, he unleashed his power in Annihilation by Thought, and the sentry was crushed, his eyes rolling back and foaming at the mouth as he collapsed to the ground.
Jiang Liu glanced at the Fourth Rank martial artist whose eyes had rolled back, and chuckled inwardly. It was his first time using it; he hadn't quite mastered the technique. "Is he dead?" he thought.
Jiang Liu walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder, but he didn't react for a long time. He just rolled his eyes and stared at the sky.
Looking at his blank expression, Jiang Liu knew that this person's mind had been destroyed.
If Jiang Liu hadn't been afraid that using the Eight Steps of Trampling would release too much energy and cause too much noise, alerting the people in the secret passage, he wouldn't have used the Annihilation by Thought technique. It seems he still needs to use it more often to master its power.
Jiang Liu searched his body and found not much, only a bottle of pills, ordinary Qi Replenishment Pill, a hundred-tael silver note and a few pieces of silver. The last item, an identity token, caught Jiang Liu's attention.
"The Deity Summoning Society, what kind of force is that? I've never heard of it! It must be some small force!" Jiang Liu thought to himself.
If others knew that Deity Summoning Valley's secret base was here, they would be very surprised.
Because this Deity Summoning Society only developed during this period, once it was revealed, it spread across the three prefectures of Fengyuyun.
They've been stirring up trouble in these three prefectures, causing widespread panic. Now, the Martial Prohibition Hall in these three prefectures are searching everywhere for members of the Deity Summoning Society.
Now that no one was there to question him or guide him, Jiang Liu had no choice but to do it himself. He stood up helplessly. Reaching the previously opened cave entrance, he dispersed his consciousness and strained to explore downwards.
As expected, four people were lying in ambush at the entrance below, two of them being fifth-rank officials and two Fourth Rank.
That's quite a large operation! There are only five people guarding the gate. How can they lure out the people lying in ambush without alerting the others inside the cave?
Looking back at the Fourth Rank martial artist who was lying there paralyzed, he had an idea.
Jiang Liu tore off the man's clothes, put them on himself, and then dressed the man in his own clothes. He then threw the man's body into the bushes more than 30 meters away from the cave entrance, where it could be vaguely seen from the cave entrance.
Then Jiang Liu lay in ambush on the other side of the cave entrance, where the Fourth Rank martial artist had been hiding. Finally, he picked up a lump of mud and threw it into the cave entrance.
Sure enough, a voice immediately came from inside the secret passage, "Who's there?"
Then the cave entrance opened, and a head popped out. It was a Fourth Rank martial artist. He looked around and noticed someone lying prone in the distance. He wondered to himself, "Where did Chen Wei go?"
Jiang Liu stretched out his hand and pointed in that direction. The man who came out of the cave looked completely bewildered. "You want me to go check? Isn't it your job to keep watch outside?"
Seeing that there was no response after pointing with his finger, he had no choice but to turn around and knock on the tunnel entrance, then get up and walk towards it. After all, if something really happened, it would be everyone's responsibility. He didn't want to suffer this undeserved disaster.
He had just walked to the body when suddenly a powerful spiritual force enveloped him, rendering him unable to move, and then he fainted.
When he woke up again, he saw a young man smiling at him, just like a big bad wolf seeing a rabbit.
Jiang Liu looked at him and said, "Awake? Tell me what you were doing in there?"
Li Feng immediately knelt down and said, "My lord, please spare me! I didn't know either!"
"I'm asking you a question. Just tell me what you know. Since you know nothing, it means you're useless. Do you want me to show you what happens to your useless companions?" Jiang Liu gestured towards the corpse not far away.
Li Feng glanced at Chen Wei's corpse and saw that Chen Wei was foaming at the mouth and his eyes were rolled back. He knew that Chen Wei had been scared to death. Li Feng was immediately terrified. He did not want to suffer the same fate, so he hurriedly continued to beg for mercy.
"Alright, I'll ask one more time: how many of you are there? Who's the strongest? What are you doing here?"
Upon hearing this, Li Feng gritted his teeth and immediately explained himself. After all, it was better to sacrifice a fellow Daoist than himself. He wasn't a fanatical believer; he had only been forced to join.
He still harbored a slight resentment towards the Deity Summoning Society. If it weren't for them, he would still be a free and unfettered wanderer of the Jianghu, instead of being reduced to guarding someone else's door.