Seeing the woman's reaction, Jiang Liu immediately knew that she must have been severely abused by the room's owner. He quickly concealed his aura.
The woman slowly recovered. Her body stopped trembling, she lowered her hands, and stood up again.
Jiang Liu continued softly, "Do you know when the owner of this room will return?"
The woman shook her head and said, "I don't know. He comes back at irregular times. But he was just here a moment ago. He must have gone out to guard. We were wondering why he came back so soon after he left."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Liu immediately realized, "Could it be such a coincidence? Did they go out to guard? There are more than twenty rooms here. If we exclude the nine protectors and three guild leaders, there are more than ten rooms left, which should be for Seventh Rank Martial Practitioner. Could the Seventh Rank Martial Practitioner we killed earlier be the owner of this room?"
Jiang Liu ignored him and simply dispersed his consciousness to prevent anyone from suddenly entering.
He continued, "Did you know that this room might have a secret room or a hidden compartment?"
The woman shook her head and said, "The only place he wouldn't let us in was the Cultivation Chamber. We don't know the details inside. As for the other places, I've been here for so long and I've never seen any hidden compartments or anything like that!"
Jiang Liu sighed inwardly, thinking that the treatment at this Deity Summoning Society wasn't necessarily that good!
"Do you know where the warehouse is?" Jiang Liu continued to ask.
"I overheard the sisters distributing supplies saying that it seemed to be behind the president's house."
"Oh! Is that so? Then you can stay here! You know how ruthless they are. As long as you don't tell anyone, your lives are safe." With that, Jiang Liu got up to leave.
"Sir, wait a moment," the woman said hurriedly.
Jiang Liu turned to look at her, and the woman said earnestly, "Please, sir, save my brother? I will do anything to repay you."
"I'll think about it. Is there anything else?"
"That's all. I'll tell the other sisters not to tell anyone. Wishing you peace, sir!"
Jiang Liu nodded noncommittally, casually picked up a cloak belonging to the room's owner, and put it on. Then he turned around, slowly opened the door, and vanished silently from the room.
Seeing that the people of the Deity Summoning Society around the altar were still kneeling and worshipping, Jiang Liu moved and, like a gust of wind, darted behind the statue.
Near the statue, a Seventh Grade martial artist looked up in confusion. Why did the wind seem so much stronger today? Was the person in charge of guarding it neglecting their duty? He'd have to go check on it later.
After Jiang Liu stopped, he looked at the three courtyards behind the statue. Judging from the decorations on the facades, he could tell that the one in the middle belonged to the chairman.
These three separate courtyards seem to be too trusting of the guards, as there's no one standing guard at the entrance.
Jiang Liu quickly leaped across the central courtyard and arrived at the back, where no light shone through except for the faint candlelight coming from the storeroom in front.
Jiang Liu stood in the shadows, looking at the warehouse-like building in front of him. Eight people stood at the entrance, and lanterns hung on the door. He released his mental pressure and unleashed his Annihilation by Thought. Instantly, the eight martial artists guarding the warehouse collapsed to the ground.
"Who?" The warehouse door opened, and a figure flashed out. Upon seeing the person lying on the ground, he immediately shouted, "Enemy attack!" He then drew his broadsword, infused with Water Attribute energy, and slashed at Jiang Liu.
Jiang Liu knew something was wrong the moment he spoke. Sure enough, not long after, a group of Fire Dragon rushed towards them. Instead of retreating, Jiang Liu advanced and quickly used his Wind Walk to attack the person who was attacking with a sword.
This must be one of the guardians responsible for protecting the warehouse. Jiang Liu drew his broadsword with his right hand and met the attacking broadsword head-on, while his left hand had already condensed Ice Blade, ready to be swung at any moment.
Clang! A burst of sparks flashed as the two blades clashed. Jiang Liu flicked his left hand, sending the Ice Blade piercing the Eighth Rank Martial Practitioner's abdomen.
A short while later, the Eighth Rank Martial Practitioner's dantian exploded, and he fell to the ground in a gruesome manner. Jiang Liu only had time to pick up his broadsword.
The Fire Dragon had already quickly moved to the back of the courtyard. Seeing that things were hopeless, Jiang Liu quickly used the Wind Walk, his figure flashed, and he went to meet the Fire Dragon. With his right hand, he used the Demon Suppression Blade Technique to attack the Deity Summoning Society in front of him.
After killing several members of the Deity Summoning Society with a single strike, Jiang Liu quickly used his Wind Walk to leap over their heads and fly towards the statue.
As soon as Jiang Liu arrived at the statue, a gust of energy swept over him from behind.
Jiang Liu quickly turned around in mid-air and used his energy to exchange a palm strike with his opponent.
With a "bang," the two streams of energy collided in mid-air and then disappeared into the air.
"Huh!" the newcomer exclaimed in surprise. He then unleashed another palm strike towards Jiang Liu.
Jiang Liu knew from the palm strike that it was the ninth-rank vice president who had made the move.
Without time to take a closer look, he quickly dodged and used his flying technique to fly over the statue and head towards the entrance of the passage.
The vice president dared not fly over the statue's head, so he could only go around the statue before chasing it.
But when he arrived at the altar, Jiang Liu was nowhere to be found.
He couldn't help but mutter resentfully, "They got away quickly!" Then he thought to himself, "But this guy is a bit strange! He exchanged a palm strike with me with an eighth-rank strength and didn't lose. When did such a master appear around here, and how did he know our location?"
The vice president immediately began counting the number of people and found that one eighth-rank protector and two Seventh Grade believers had died. Six sixth-rank believers had died. The eighth-rank believers died from severed meridians, while the specific cause of death for the other eight was unknown.
Moreover, those guarding the passage now seem to be in grave danger. The losses tonight have been quite significant, and the vice-president felt a headache coming on at the thought of being reprimanded by the guild leader.
Jiang Liu entered the passage, darted through it, opened the entrance, and slipped out. He dispersed his consciousness and found no one had followed. He slowed down, intending to crouch and see if anyone was alone.
A large crowd, at least a couple hundred, had just gathered around. Almost everyone at the main altar of the Deity Summoning Society had arrived. Jiang Liu didn't want to be surrounded.
Luckily, I reacted quickly and escaped. Once outside, it'll be much harder for them to surround and attack me, Jiang Liu thought.
Jiang Liu knew his advantages were speed, high mental strength, and the ability to launch surprise attacks with his Ice Blade. He should be able to contend with the opponent's Rank 9 Martial Practitioner, so he couldn't afford to be surrounded.
For now, I should focus on developing safely. I can't do anything so dangerous again. Once I advance to the ninth rank, I should be able to kill him with a single strike.
After waiting for half an hour, no one came out; they must be too afraid to come out alone. Jiang Liu had no choice but to turn around and leave helplessly.
Not long after Jiang Liu left, a figure appeared at the entrance of the passage. "Good heavens, they really were lying in wait here. They've got some nerve! When did we mess with such a ruthless person?"
Jiang Liu flew back to the West City Gate, landed, and entered Wind City. He then safely returned to his residence in the South City.
As Jiang Liu passed the corner of the city wall, he casually glanced at the bricks. "Hmm? Wang Jian has drawn symbols on them." "Looks like the White Lotus Sect has come looking for him!"
Jiang Liu glanced at the sky; it was almost midnight! Not too late yet, it seemed he couldn't Soul Refining technique tonight. He then moved swiftly towards the Wang Family's residence.