Emptied Out

Zhou Cheng searched the two disciples of the Demon Face Left Envoy and found three secret manuals along with some silver banknotes.

Afterward, Qin Meng and the others buried the two corpses.

Once the bodies were disposed of, Zhou Cheng pondered for a moment before instructing Jiang Chen and Yang Yu to go out and contact his master, Xing Yao, to inform him of the Demonic Cult's plans and the existence of their tunnels.

His master had also arrived for this encirclement of the Demonic Cult.

After Jiang Chen and Yang Yu departed, Zhou Cheng, Qin Meng, and Lin Ru continued deeper into the Blackwater Mountain Range.

The Demonic Cult had laid many traps throughout the Blackwater Mountain Range, but Zhou Cheng and his group managed to bypass them one by one.

They encountered several Demonic Cult disciples along the way, all of whom Zhou Cheng and his companions avoided.

Finally, Zhou Cheng arrived at the headquarters of the Demonic Cult.

The headquarters was nestled within a valley; it was so well-hidden that had he not interrogated the Demon Face Left Envoy's disciples, it would have taken a great deal of effort for Zhou Cheng to locate it.

The entrance to the valley was guarded by over a dozen Demonic Cult experts, so Zhou Cheng had Qin Meng and Lin Ru stay behind while he used his invisibility to slip inside alone.

Now that the Demon God Garment was a high-grade spirit artifact with its invisibility function activated, even a peak Xiantian Grandmaster would be unable to detect Zhou Cheng.

This was the convenience of the Demon God Garment.

Upon entering the valley, a flat area the size of a basketball court appeared before Zhou Cheng, and past that lay the entrance to a palace.

Another group of Demonic Cult disciples stood guard at the entrance.

Zhou Cheng also discovered a group of archers hidden in the shadows, numbering over a hundred.

This valley was easy to defend and difficult to attack; even a force three times the size of the Demonic Cult would likely struggle to break in. Coupled with the fact that the cult had already dug tunnels to retreat at any time, it was no wonder they were not in a panic.

Zhou Cheng continued to venture deeper into the valley.

It was only after passing through six checkpoints that he reached the main hall of the Demonic Cult headquarters.

At this moment, the hall was brightly lit, and dozens of people were seated inside—all of them Xiantian experts. Most of the Demonic Cult's top brass seemed to be present.

Sitting on the throne in the center of the hall was a clean-shaven, fair-faced old man with slightly greenish eyes and large fingers; this must be the Prince of Southern Ming.

The Prince of Southern Ming scanned the people in the hall and spoke, "This time, the Great Feng imperial family and the three major sects have dispatched one hundred and sixty Xiantian masters and one thousand six hundred Qi Refining realm cultivators."

"Although we have a clear grasp of their movements, we must still prepare a foolproof plan."

"If both of our major plans fail, everyone is to retreat through the secret tunnels."

The voice of the Prince of Southern Ming was deep and full of vigor.

Zhou Cheng held his breath.

After speaking for about ten minutes, the Prince of Southern Ming suddenly asked a thin, gaunt old man beside him, "How is the investigation into the Demon God Smithy going?"

The thin old man was none other than the Evil Saber Right Envoy, one of the two envoys of the Demonic Cult, who had a strangely shaped large saber hanging at his waist.

"Since the death of Demon Face, the Demon God Smithy has been closed," the Evil Saber replied, shaking his head. "Those shop assistants were only hired temporarily; nothing could be asked of them, and there was no way to investigate further."

"However, judging by the wounds on Demon Face, he was surrounded and killed by four people."

"One used a saber, one a sword, one a spear, and one used arrows."

"Furthermore, the strength of these four is immense; even if they aren't ninth-level Xiantian experts, they are no weaker than ninth-level Xiantian."

The Demon Dragon General frowned, "In the Great Feng Dynasty, besides Zhu Xuan and the masters of the three major sects, who else could command four ninth-level Xiantian experts?"

The Prince of Southern Ming was also unable to fathom it.

A while later, the Prince of Southern Ming dismissed the Demonic Cult experts, leaving only himself and the Evil Saber Right Envoy in the hall.

"The experts from the Mongol Kingdom and the Southern Border Kingdom should arrive tomorrow morning, right?" the Prince of Southern Ming asked.

The Evil Saber Right Envoy nodded, "They should arrive by daybreak tomorrow."

Although the number of experts sent by the Mongol Kingdom and the Southern Border Kingdom this time was not large, every one of them was at least a fourth-level Xiantian.

The Prince of Southern Ming whispered something more to the Evil Saber Right Envoy, who nodded and withdrew.

Zhou Cheng was greatly surprised; he had not expected the Demonic Cult to be in league with not only the Mongol Kingdom but also the Southern Border Kingdom.

The alliance between the Demonic Cult, the Mongol Kingdom, and the Southern Border, combined with the presence of a traitor within the Great Feng imperial family, caused Zhou Cheng's heart to sink.

After the Evil Saber Right Envoy left, the Prince of Southern Ming turned and entered the inner hall.

Zhou Cheng thought for a moment and carefully followed him.

After passing through several corridors, the Prince of Southern Ming arrived before a stone wall, took out a key, and inserted it into a hidden keyhole.

Suddenly, the wall trembled, and a large door slowly opened.

As the door opened, the faint glimmer of jewelry appeared, and at the same time, Zhou Cheng caught the scent of spiritual herbs.

Is this the Demonic Cult's treasury?

Watching the Prince of Southern Ming enter, Zhou Cheng followed closely behind, and as soon as he stepped inside, the door closed.

Inside was a stone chamber of several hundred square meters.

He saw a bookshelf in the chamber filled with books, which were likely martial arts manuals.

In the center of the chamber, boxes upon boxes of jewelry, gold, and silver banknotes were piled high.

The Prince of Southern Ming arrived before a jade box and opened it. Instantly, a captivating fragrance wafted out, revealing a golden spirit lotus resting inside.

This golden spirit lotus was undoubtedly a century-old spirit herb.

The Prince of Southern Ming closed the jade box, picked up another one, and departed with both in hand.

Once the Prince of Southern Ming had left, the stone chamber door sealed shut once more.

Zhou Cheng approached the stone chamber's bookshelf and began to browse the books upon it.

"Iron Arm Technique."

"Eagle Claw Technique."

"Twelve-Route Grappling Hands."

They were all martial arts manuals, and surprisingly, there were even more than what his master Xing Yao had given him—four or five hundred volumes in total. They belonged to various sects of the Great Feng Dynasty, and even included martial arts from sects in the Mongol Kingdom and the Southern Border Kingdom.

However, some of them were duplicates of what his master Xing Yao had already provided.

Without a second thought, Zhou Cheng swept all these martial arts manuals into the Earth Cauldron.

With these manuals, his Demon-Subduing Saber Technique, Roaming Dragon White Tiger Fist, and Wind-Facing Willow Steps would be able to break through to the pinnacle realm.

After collecting the manuals, Zhou Cheng walked over to the medicine cabinet.

This cabinet was crafted entirely from jade.

Zhou Cheng opened the drawers one by one, finding them filled with medicinal ingredients. There were no ordinary herbs here; every single one was of the spirit herb grade.

Zhou Cheng simply moved the entire cabinet into the Earth Cauldron to save the trouble of collecting them one by one.

Now that the Earth Cauldron was a top-grade spirit artifact, its internal space was vast, measuring a full one thousand cubic meters. Thus, Zhou Cheng could easily empty out the entire Demonic Cult treasury.

Having secured the cabinet, Zhou Cheng continued to collect the other treasures.

Before long, the entire Demonic Cult treasury had been picked clean.

When the Prince of Southern Ming returned tomorrow to find an empty vault, he would likely cough up blood, wouldn't he?

Zhou Cheng wasn't worried about the Prince of Southern Ming discovering him; he had the Demon God Garment for invisibility, so he had no fear of being detected.

After emptying the entire Demonic Cult treasury, Zhou Cheng gripped the God-Slaying Saber—which could slice through iron as if it were mud—and arrived at the treasury gate. He drove the blade directly into the door, carved out a large opening, and stepped out.