Betraying One's Own Side

Before Song Wen had taken more than a few steps, he received Divine Sense message from Zhu Yin.

"My Extreme Yin, I have a small matter I'd like to ask for your assistance with. Please come to the Shepherd Hall for a chat."

Song Wen sighed softly, turned around, and walked into the main hall.

"Fellow Zhu Yin, what brings you here?"

Only Zhu Yin and Jing Kai inside the hall. Song Wen cut to the chase and asked.

Zhu Yin said, "Just now, Jing Kai received news that the Soul Lamp of Yang Cha Zhu Jiao from the Cold Mountain Kingdom suddenly went out seven days ago. I have to leave the island to prepare for dealing with the Bloodthirsty Bees and have no time to attend to this matter. I would like to ask you, fellow Daoist, to go to the Cold Mountain Kingdom on my behalf and accompany Jing Kai investigate this matter."

The Soul Lamp of Yang Cha was placed on Shepherd Mountain, which is tens of thousands of miles away from Shepherd Mountain Cold Mountain Kingdom.

The Message Jade Slip could not transmit messages over long distances, so Jing Kai did not learn of Zhu Jiao's death until he Jing Kai to Shepherd Mountain.

Song Wen frowned slightly. "Fellow Zhu Yin, please forgive my bluntness. However, the death of a Qi Refinement disciple is more than enough to be investigated by Young Friend Jing, a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator. Why should I intervene?"

Zhu Yin said, "Sheep Island has been established for many years, and there has never been a precedent of a sheep officer dying without cause. Everyone on Sheep Island is a mortal, and the sudden death of a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refinement is somewhat suspicious. In addition, the Bloodthirsty Bees have just appeared in the Cold Mountain Kingdom. I am worried that I might cause some trouble while I am away from the island, so I am asking for your help."

Although Song Wen was unwilling, he could only nod.

"Fellow Zhu Yin, rest assured, I will do my best."

Zhu Yin glanced outside the hall and suddenly transmitted her voice.

"Fellow Daoist, you must be wary of Yuan Qing. The timing of his appearance is far too coincidental. He must have ulterior motives for coming to Sheep Island."

Upon hearing this, Song Wen felt even more irritated.

He had absolutely no desire to get involved in the conflict between Yuan Qing and Zhu Yin.

What was originally a simple demon-slaying mission has become entangled in internal conflicts on Limitless Island.

"Hopefully, Zhu Jiao's death won't lead to anything serious," Song Wen thought to himself.

Song Wen and Jing Kai walked out of the main hall, but unexpectedly Yuan Qing was still there.

"Fellow Daoist, where are you headed?" Yuan Qing asked.

Song Wen knew perfectly well that the other party had asked that question on purpose.

Yuan Qing was positioned right outside the main hall, Yuan Qing heard everything clearly from the conversation inside, except for the telepathic message.

"I have been entrusted by Fellow Zhu Yin to accompany Young Friend Jing on a trip to the Cold Mountain Kingdom."

"The Cold Mountain Kingdom? I happen to be going there too. How about we travel together?" Yuan Qing said.

"It is my greatest honor to be able to travel with Fellow Daoist Yuan Qing," Song Wen said.

As he spoke, Song Wen took out a small spaceship.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan Qing, please board the ship."

Yuan Qing didn't stand on ceremony and was the first to board the spaceship.

Song Wen and Jing Kai also boarded the spaceship one after the other.

"Junior Jing Kai greets Senior Yuan Qing." Jing Kai bowed to Yuan Qing.

Yuan Qing said, "Jing Kai! I know you. I have a good relationship with your master Yu Qi."

Jing Kai immediately looked flattered, "I didn't expect Senior Yuan Qing to recognize me."

Yuan Qing asked, "It's been a while since I've seen your master. How is he doing?"

"Thank you for your concern, senior. Master is doing well."

"That's good. How long have you been working on Sheep Island?"

"I have been a shepherd for three years."

"Then you must be quite familiar with Sheep Island, right? Do you know anything about the situation in the Cold Mountain Kingdom?"

"The territory under my jurisdiction is Cold Mountain Kingdom, and I am extremely familiar with the Cold Mountain Kingdom."

"That's perfect. Tell me about the situation of the Bloodthirsty Bees in the Cold Mountain Kingdom."

"The Bloodthirsty Bees are numerous, and their attacks are so frequent that they raid the cities of the Cold Mountain Kingdom almost once or twice a month. Each attack results in the deaths of at least hundreds of thousands of two-legged sheep..."

Whether it was due to a lack of vigilance on Jing Kai or an attempt to curry favor with Yuan Qing, he revealed almost everything about the Cold Mountain Kingdom and the Bloodthirsty Bees in the course of their question-and-answer session.

Song Wen stood at the bow of the ship, maneuvering the spaceship, and listened quietly to the conversation between the two.

Anyone with eyes can see that Yuan Qing and Zhu Yin don't get along.

Jing Kai over Yuan Qing was somewhat disloyal.

However, this matter had nothing to do with Song Wen, and he had no intention of interjecting.

Song Wen planned to observe the entire trip to the Cold Mountain Kingdom from the sidelines, simply to give Zhu Yin a satisfactory explanation.

After entering the territory of the Cold Mountain Kingdom, Yuan Qing bid farewell and left for the mountains in the southwest.

Song Wen and Jing Kai arrived above Shanfu City.

"Young friend Jing, you will be in charge of investigating Zhu Jiao's cause of death."

Jing Kai was slightly taken aback. "Senior, aren't you going to step in?"

Song Wen shook his head, looking inscrutable.

"Let's split up. You'll be in the open, and I'll be in the shadows; that might have unexpected results."

Jing Kai's expression brightened. "Senior's plan is brilliant!"

After saying that, he stepped out of the spaceship, took off on his sword, and landed on the royal palace below.

Song Wen scanned the entire Shanfu City with his Divine Sense but found nothing unusual. He released four Shadow Gu to guard the surroundings before withdrawing his Divine Sense and no longer paying attention to the city below.

After waiting for about two hours, Jing Kai his sword.

"How's it going? Have you found any clues?" Song Wen asked.

Jing Kai shook his head. "This junior went to the royal palace and the Azure Edge Mountain Palace, questioning everyone who had contact with Zhu Jiao, but found no useful clues. The only thing I know is that seven days ago, Zhu Jiao suddenly left the Azure Edge Mountain Palace and then disappeared without a trace. Has Senior noticed anything unusual?"

Song Wen shook his head. "After you left the palace, I have been using my Divine Sense to observe the people inside, but I haven't noticed anything unusual."

Then, Song Wen countered with a question, "Didn't you perform a soul search?"

Jing Kai looked at Song Wen with a strange expression.

"Senior, are you referring to the Soul Search Technique? This technique is a closely guarded secret of Limitless Island, and only a few core disciples are qualified to cultivate it. My cultivation is still shallow, and I have never practiced it. Senior, have you practiced the Soul Search Technique?"

Song Wen suddenly realized that he knew far too little about the secrets of the Sea of Disorder.

In the Heavenly Origin Continent, the Soul Search Technique is not a particularly remarkable Law Technique; many cultivators have practiced it.

However, in the Sea of Disorder, the Soul Search Technique is a closely guarded secret of Limitless Island.

Song Wen remained expressionless and said...

"I used to be a Rogue Cultivator, and now that I've joined Limitless Island, I've only entered the outer sect. How could I possibly have mastered the Soul Search Technique? I've only heard of its renowned reputation and assumed that, given your status as a disciple of the Devil Master, you must have cultivated this technique. I was simply curious to witness its wonders."

Jing Kai was somewhat disappointed. "I believe you have practiced the Soul Search Technique. If so, the investigation would be much easier."

Song Wen said coldly, "If we don't have the Soul Search Technique, then we'll have to resort to some ruthless methods. Do you think these mortals can withstand the methods of us cultivators?"

Jing Kai, "I have severely tortured almost everyone who had contact with Zhu Jiao on a regular basis. More than a dozen of them couldn't withstand the torture and died. But we didn't get any valuable clues from them."

"Almost everyone was interrogated? Who wasn't interrogated?" Song Wen asked.

"Cui Zaishi is the king, a master at governing the country. I was worried that killing him would cause trouble in the Cold Mountain Kingdom, so I didn't torture him."