This Time, I'll Leave You Without a Burial Place

The black Sha Qi in the cave slowly dispersed.

The Golden-Armored Baleful Corpse had been severed into two halves and lay on the ground. Xu Jin stood beside the corpse, sweeping his gaze across the entire stone cavern, a flicker of black light glinting in his eyes.

Wang Defa had run.

And he had run early—most likely the instant the fighting began outside, that old fox had abandoned the stronghold and fled.

"He ran fast enough." Xu Jin snorted softly, but did not pursue him.

The secret passage twisted through countless turns. Who knew which mountain hollow it led to? Charging in blindly would be nothing but a waste of time.

Still, a monk might flee, but his temple could not run away. He would remember this debt, and the next time they met, he would collect both principal and interest.

He raised a hand to retrieve his flying sword, then strode out of the cave.

Outside the cave, Yan Tao and the other three were still frozen where they stood.

"Th-That's it?" Lin Yue murmured.

"That's too absurd." Yan Tao's Adam's apple bobbed. "We tracked this stronghold for three months. He went in for half an hour and wiped out the whole nest."

Wang Lei stood to one side, unable to suppress the grin tugging at his lips.

He had long known that Xu Jin was strong, but he had never imagined he was this strong. Even baleful corpses that gave official Demon Suppression Agents headaches were like chopping vegetables in his hands.

Meng Yao was the first to recover. "Don't just stand there. We'll talk once Brother Xu comes out. And Wang Defa—that old fox is best at leaving himself escape routes. We can't let him get away."

No sooner had she spoken than Xu Jin emerged. He looked exactly the same as when he had entered, without the slightest trace of a fierce battle.

"Brother Xu!" Yan Tao hurried forward. "How was it inside? Where's Wang Defa?"

"He ran." Xu Jin sounded somewhat regretful. "There was a secret passage in the cave. He slipped away early."

The four exchanged glances, each seeing the expected answer in the others' eyes.

Wang Defa had always been cunning. With the stronghold destroyed and the baleful corpse ruined, there was no way he would fight to the bitter end.

"That old fox escapes through secret passages every time we clean out a nest." Meng Yao gritted her teeth. "Letting a tiger return to the mountains will bring endless trouble."

Xu Jin did not respond.

There would definitely be trouble afterward, but there was nothing to panic over.

That old ghost would sooner or later deliver himself to Xu Jin's door. Rather than search the mountains aimlessly, it was better to wait for him to come crashing into them.

Wang Lei flipped open the mission ledger and quickly took stock. "By my count, Elder Ge was killed in the mountain ravine, the Yin Puppet Master fell in the cave, and we cleared out seven or eight core disciples along the way. The backbone of Profound Yin Hall's western suburban branch has basically been wiped out. It's just a pity we didn't catch Wang Defa, the one in charge."

"This is already a great victory." Yan Tao sighed, then shifted the topic to the spoils. "By the Bureau's unwritten rules, the core spoils are presumed to belong to the first killer. If there's any dispute, ownership must be decided according to the Bureau's dueling rules. The Containment Faction has always valued this sort of evil cultivator research material the most. In the past, it was perfectly normal to fight tooth and nail over remains and crystal cores of this level."

Lin Yue added from the side, "Five of us from the Western Office came out this time. Two others are stationed on the perimeter, blocking escapees. One of them is called Shen Ze. He comes from a family of evil-cultivator refiners in the Containment Faction and has an awfully arrogant temperament. He values merit and evil cultivator materials above all else. Once we regroup, he'll most likely invoke the rule that the Containment Faction gets priority in taking over research materials."

With things said this plainly, they all understood without needing to say more.

Xu Jin had been the main force from start to finish. As a trainee, he had single-handedly killed Elder Ge, crippled the puppet master, and slain the Golden-Armored Baleful Corpse. The official Demon Suppression Agents had practically coasted to victory behind him. None of them had the face to open their mouths and fight over the core items.

And if they truly angered this baleful star, who could withstand that Molten-Gold Sword Aura that specifically countered yin filth?

Yan Tao paused, then added in a low voice, "Brother Xu, if Shen Ze starts arguing about evil cultivator materials based on the rules later, please bear with him. We'll speak up for you as well."

Xu Jin raised an eyebrow, not taking it to heart in the slightest. "Oh? A family background? I'd like to see just how much cultivation one can gain from studying evil cultivators."

He had other plans in mind.

Wang Lei had run around after him throughout this field mission, handling qi detection, records, and containment support without missing a thing. He could not let his partner make this trip for nothing.

Later, he would let Wang Lei use those miscellaneous yin-cultivator materials and baleful corpse remains to exchange for contribution points. That way, Wang Lei would not have risked his life following him for nothing.

Standing nearby, Wang Lei had no idea that Xu Jin was already thinking of him. Looking at the spoils scattered across the ground, he only felt deeply reassured.

Following Xu Jin truly meant never returning empty-handed.

Meanwhile, inside the provincial capital, at Profound Yin Hall's branch helm.

Thud—

Wang Defa, bedraggled and miserable, dropped to his knees in the center of the great hall. His forehead was pressed tightly to the floor, and he did not even dare raise his head.

"Hall Master, this subordinate was incompetent... The western suburban stronghold has been completely destroyed."

On the blackwood chair at the head of the hall sat an old man with fiery red brows standing upright on his face. He was none other than the provincial branch master of Profound Yin Hall, the Red-Browed Old Monster.

He rolled a string of jet-black bone prayer beads between his fingers. When he finished hearing Wang Defa's report, his fingers suddenly clenched.

Crack.

The prayer beads shattered at once, black bone dust spilling through the gaps between his fingers.

"Say that again?" The Red-Browed Old Monster's voice was hoarse and low, and the temperature in the hall instantly dropped several degrees.

Wang Defa trembled from head to toe as he stammered through the course of the western suburban stronghold's collapse.

At the end, he knocked his head heavily against the floor. "It was this subordinate's fault for underestimating them. I never expected that trainee's Yang-Fire Sword Aura to specifically counter yin filth, nor that his combat strength would far surpass that of an ordinary Intent Realm cultivator. This subordinate saw that the baleful corpse could not be preserved and only then fled back through the secret passage. I beg Hall Master to grant this subordinate one more chance to atone for his crimes with merit!"

"A chance?" The Red-Browed Old Monster sneered. He raised his hand and slammed it down on the armrest. The stone table beside him instantly crumbled into powder. "Three Baleful Gathering Crystal Cores were the key bargaining chips I used to trade for the Yin Soldier Manual from the Corpse Tuo Sect beyond the pass! With that manual, we can refine armies of yin soldiers in batches. When the time comes, forget one Demon Suppression Bureau branch—even the entire provincial capital can be turned upside down! And now you tell me they were destroyed?"

He abruptly rose to his feet, his red brows flaring as the pressure of a peak Grandmaster swept down like heaven and earth collapsing. "When punishment from the main hall arrives, neither you nor I will be able to bear it!"

Wang Defa lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to breathe loudly.

The Red-Browed Old Monster took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his rage, a savage gleam flashing through his eyes.

"For your years of service, I'll give you one final chance." He raised his voice in a shout. "Black Wind Three Fiends!"

From the shadows outside the hall, three figures wrapped in black Sha Qi bowed in response, their Sha Qi surging.

"This subordinate is here."

"You will follow Wang Defa and set an ambush on the official road they must take back to the city." The Red-Browed Old Monster's voice was icy, carrying an unquestionable killing intent. "You must seize back the Baleful Gathering Crystal Cores. If they're alive, I want to see them. If they're dead, I want to see their corpses. Under no circumstances can the Demon Suppression Bureau bring those materials back into the city."

"Yes!"

The three black shadows accepted the order in unison, their Sha Qi surging even more fiercely.

Wang Defa hurriedly kowtowed in thanks as well. When he lifted his head, his eyes were filled with venomous hatred.

Xu Jin... you destroyed my stronghold and ruined my great plans.

This time, I'll leave you without a burial place.