Looking for Wu De? What a Joke!

Looking for Wu De? What kind of international joke was that?! The cold voice inside the token stabbed deep into Zhao Hao's soul like a steel needle!

The spiritual power that had just broken through and was surging without end instantly went out of control, like floodwaters bursting through a dike, about to break free of the restraints of his body!

Not good!

Zhao Hao's heart gave a violent leap, but his reaction was unimaginably fast.

In the instant before the aura of the seventh level of Qi Refining was about to be fully exposed, the perfected Mysterious Yin Breath Concealment Art circulated madly with unprecedented force, like an invisible great net that forcibly caught that rampaging spiritual power!

He did not force it down. Instead, he went with the current and deftly combed and guided that violent spiritual power, then carefully let a portion seep out through the "net."

In the end, the aura he revealed was locked firmly at the early fourth level of Qi Refining.

Not only that, this aura also carried the emptiness and instability of power forcibly piled up through pills, perfectly matching every trait of a young genius eager for quick success.

Even a leaking aura could be instantly transformed by him into a new layer of disguise!

Though he did not know whether the other party could sense his aura through the identity token, there was no harm in being careful.

Only after doing all this did Zhao Hao push open the stone door.

His toes tapped lightly against the ground, and the Light Body Art, disguised as "entry level," activated. His whole body turned into a blurred black shadow, speeding silently toward the Ten Thousand Corpse Hall.

When Zhao Hao arrived at the Ten Thousand Corpse Hall, the hall was already packed with inner disciples and steward elders of the Corpse Refining Lineage.

The atmosphere was so heavy it seemed almost able to drip water, so silent a falling needle could be heard.

On the main seat, his master, True Person Corpse Heart, wore no expression on that withered face, but the temperature of the entire hall seemed to have dropped because of it. Even the phosphorous flames burning on the walls seemed to dim somewhat.

At the front of the hall, apart from Third Senior Brother Shi Lei, Fourth Senior Sister Han Shuang, and Sixth Senior Brother Chen Mo, there were also two young men Zhao Hao had never seen before.

The two of them merely stood there quietly, yet they gave Zhao Hao a suffocating feeling as if he were facing towering mountains. Astonishingly, both had cultivation at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage!

Presumably, these were the First Senior Brother and Second Senior Brother who had been away all year round and rarely showed themselves in the sect.

Even Elder Jia Ren, who had tested his spiritual root back then, was now in the hall with his head lowered, not uttering a single word.

Zhao Hao's appearance instantly broke the dead silence in the hall.

"Qi... fourth level of Qi Refining?!"

Eighth Senior Sister Lin Yaoyao's lively big eyes went perfectly round, her cherry lips forming an "O." In a flash, she hopped right in front of Zhao Hao and circled him as if she were looking at a monster.

"Little Junior Brother, you, you, you... how long were you even in seclusion? You're already at the middle stage of Qi Refining?"

With her cry, everyone's gazes focused over.

Beside her, Sixth Senior Brother Chen Mo, who had always been silent and sparing with words, also showed a flicker of emotion on his wooden face.

Even those two senior brothers with deep, heavy auras cast appraising looks at him, obvious astonishment in their eyes.

A disciple who had entered the sect just over two months ago had gone from a mortal to the fourth level of Qi Refining. This speed, even in the Extreme Yin Sect where geniuses gathered like clouds, was enough to be called "shocking to the ear and horrifying to the heart."

On the main seat, True Person Corpse Heart also let those murky eyes fall on him, lingering a full three breaths longer than usual.

Zhao Hao understood perfectly in his heart that this well-timed "performance" of his had already achieved maximum effect.

He hurriedly bowed to True Person Corpse Heart on the main seat, his face showing, right on cue, the kind of expression a ten-year-old boy should have: a bit of small pride, yet also somewhat lacking in confidence.

"This disciple is dull-witted. After a little over a month in seclusion, I luckily broke through to the middle stage of Qi Refining."

"It's just that... I was too eager for quick success for a moment, causing my aura to become somewhat unstable. I have made Master and my senior brothers and sisters laugh at me."

With one sentence, the air in the hall quieted once more.

Dull-witted? Luckily?

That head-on blast of Versailles energy made Lin Yaoyao roll her eyes again and again. She wanted to laugh but did not dare.

True Person Corpse Heart, however, paid no mind to these minor details. He pressed down the astonishment in his heart, and his icy voice cut through the silence.

"I gathered you all today because a major incident has occurred in the sect."

"The granddaughter of a Golden Core elder from the Heavenly Sword Sect, a Nascent Soul sect of the Northern Lands, disappeared three days ago in a market under our Extreme Yin Sect's jurisdiction."

"Now, that woman's Dao Protector, a sword cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, has already blocked our mountain gate and specifically demanded that we give an explanation!"

Heavenly Sword Sect!

A Nascent Soul sect!

The expressions of all the disciples in the hall changed at once, and even their breathing grew heavier.

True Person Corpse Heart's tone suddenly shifted. His gaze, sharp as a blade, swept over everyone in the hall before finally landing on the empty spot belonging to the seventh disciple. The chill in his voice seemed almost about to freeze the air.

"The steward responsible for guarding Donglai Market sent word that someone saw that female disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect speaking with Old Seventh in the market."

Zhao Hao only felt his mind buzz, instantly going completely blank.

Wu De!

It was that damned fatty senior brother Wu De again!

That damned fatty could not have abducted her, could he? Now that three days had passed, with Wu De's usual conduct, she was probably more likely doomed than blessed.

"Hmph, truly my good disciple!" True Person Corpse Heart laughed in extreme anger, but the temperature in the hall dropped to freezing.

"Now, Wu De had gone missing, and he can't be reached through his message-transmitting jade talisman."

"I order all of you, from this moment on, to put aside every task in your hands and devote yourselves fully to finding Wu De's whereabouts! If he's alive, I want to see the man; if he's dead, I want to see the corpse!"

As his words fell, he flicked his finger.

Several streaks of light flew toward the crowd, and before each person hovered a palm-sized Bronze Compass and a blank jade talisman.

"This is a Tracking Compass. It contains a wisp of Wu De's aura. This message-transmitting jade talisman can send messages within ten thousand li."

"Whoever can find Wu De's exact trail, or..."

True Person Corpse Heart's voice carried not the slightest trace of emotion.

"Comes to see me carrying his head, will be rewarded with one second-rank low-grade spiritual artifact!"

A second-rank spiritual artifact!

Even the two Foundation Establishment Late Stage senior brothers, who had always been as unruffled as ancient wells, glanced at each other when they heard those four words and saw that flash of fervor in each other's eyes.

"Form your own groups. Go!"

True Person Corpse Heart waved his hand impatiently.

Everyone bowed and withdrew one after another. Zhao Hao was just about to slip away when Lin Yaoyao grabbed him.

"Little Junior Brother, your cultivation is the lowest, so you're in a group with me. I'll cover you!" Eighth Senior Sister patted her flat chest, looking every bit like a big sister boss.

Zhao Hao smiled bitterly in his heart, but on his face, he could only show a "grateful" expression.

The two accepted the task and left the Ten Thousand Corpse Hall.

On the road, Zhao Hao fell a step behind and, without batting an eye, put the Tracking Compass into his storage bag, his mind sinking into the system.

[Main Item: Tracking Compass (first-rank low-grade) strengthened to (first-rank mid-grade)]

[Materials Consumed: low-grade spirit stones x25]

[Strengthening Success Rate: 100%]

[Ding! Strengthening successful! Tracking Compass (first-rank mid-grade)]

Only after finishing all this did Zhao Hao quicken his pace and catch up with Lin Yaoyao.

Find Wu De? What kind of joke was that?

That damned fatty was a burning-hot yam right now; whoever touched him would be the unlucky one.

He had strengthened the Tracking Compass not to find Wu De faster, but to more precisely—avoid him!