Kill him and bring back his head!

In the urban district of Shangjing City lay a villa complex.

It was called Shangjing Garden.

Everyone who came and went from this villa complex was either rich or powerful!

In its southeastern corner stood a special cluster of villas, partitioned off from the rest!

To ordinary outsiders, including wealthy people who knew nothing of the cultivation world, this place was shrouded in mystery.

Not only was this special cluster of villas isolated, but it was also heavily guarded!

What they did not know was that this was actually the headquarters of the Ghost Infant Sect, a cultivation faction in Shangjing City.

At that moment, in the very center of this cluster of villas...

Inside an unusually tall, magnificent building... in an underground chamber.

The master of the Ghost Infant Sect.

Du Xingze, a Heaven Tier expert, was toying with a piece of black jade in his hand.

Shimmering colors flashed across the black jade's surface, while its immense aura spread outward in waves like thick, heavy clouds!

This black jade was one of the Mortal Shedding Treasures!

A supreme-grade Mortal Shedding Treasure!

And... it was also the most important treasure Du Xingze possessed!

Had Yang Yu been there, he would probably have recognized it at a glance.

It was actually identical to the Psychic Jade in his possession!

There were only a few tiny differences. For instance, the pale blue light that occasionally flowed across this black jade's surface was absent from Yang Yu's Psychic Jade.

Yang Yu's Psychic Jade was more subdued.

The glow of the power within it was dark red.

Du Xingze turned the black jade over and over in his hand, cherishing it above all else! Blue radiance shone from the jade, casting his face in a sinister, demonic light in the dim chamber!

"Psychic Jade."

"You were born as a male-and-female pair. Why did someone have to separate you?" Greed filled Du Xingze's face as he looked down at the black jade glowing blue in his hand.

"Where exactly is your other half?"

"When will I finally be able to activate the treasure map inside you and open the tomb of Tu Baili, the demonic-path innate expert from a thousand years ago?" Du Xingze had obtained this piece of Psychic Jade in his early years. In the dangerous place where he had unearthed it, he had also learned of its origins.

This jade-shaped Mortal Shedding Treasure actually served as both a treasure map and the key to an enormous tomb complex!

The key to the tomb of the innate expert Tu Baili!

Tu Baili had been a towering figure of the demonic path a thousand years ago!

Over his lifetime, he had slaughtered countless people and plundered untold wealth and treasures!

He had lived for five hundred years!

By the time he died, the wealth and treasures he had amassed were beyond imagining... yet he had buried every last one of them, taking them into his tomb!

Finding his tomb meant finding a staggering fortune!

Over the years, Du Xingze had painstakingly searched for the other piece of Psychic Jade. Unfortunately... all his efforts had come to nothing.

By now, the matter had become an inner demon.

It had even hindered the advancement of his cultivation.

It had become an obsession!

He was determined to obtain the other piece of Psychic Jade!

To that end, he would pay any price!

"Sect Master!"

As Du Xingze pondered in the chamber, a low voice reached him.

"Hmm?" Du Xingze raised his head and saw his trusted aide, Ahai, kneeling on one knee outside the chamber door, looking at him.

"Ahai, what is it?"

Ahai hurriedly replied, "Sect Master, Steward Ning of the outer sect reported... three days ago, four outer disciples were killed."

"Outer disciples?" Du Xingze frowned. "A few pieces of trash died, that's all. Must you report such trivial matters to me?"

"Forgive me, Sect Master." Ahai lowered his head.

"Enough." Du Xingze waved a hand and said, "Who was it? Who dared kill disciples of my Ghost Infant Sect? A cultivator at the Postnatal Lifeform level?"

"Apparently, he is an acquired human rank cultivator," Ahai answered honestly. "But he seems different from ordinary acquired human rank cultivators. According to the information our people gathered, this fellow may have a few tricks up his sleeve."

"Also... while investigating the deaths of the four disciples, Steward Ning happened to discover an abandoned Immortal Spirit Ghost Market. It had clearly been looted, most likely by the same person who killed our Ghost Infant Sect disciples."

"An abandoned Immortal Spirit Ghost Market?" Du Xingze's interest stirred.

"Understood... he is merely an acquired human rank cultivator. Send some men, with Elder Xu leading them. Bring back the head of that fellow who had the gall to do this."

"Yes!" Ahai accepted the order.

Then he prepared to leave.

"Wait." Du Xingze stopped Ahai and instructed him, "Bring back the treasures that fellow obtained from the Immortal Spirit Ghost Market as well. I want to inspect them personally."

An abandoned Immortal Spirit Ghost Market must have been there for quite some time.

There might be an unexpected discovery.

There was even a chance of finding the other piece of Psychic Jade... when the two pieces were close to each other, they would resonate. Du Xingze had established the Ghost Infant Sect's headquarters in Shangjing Garden precisely because the piece in his possession had been giving off faint pulses of resonance.

That resonance could not pinpoint the other piece of Psychic Jade's location.

But it at least told Du Xingze that the other piece of Psychic Jade was also in Shangjing City... and somewhere near their headquarters.

The four Ghost Infant Sect disciples had died at Shangjing City's Bird-and-Flower Antique Market, and the abandoned Immortal Spirit Ghost Market was nearby as well.

The Ghost Infant Sect's headquarters was not far from Shangjing City's Bird-and-Flower Antique Market.

An ordinary abandoned Immortal Spirit Ghost Market might have nothing to do with the Psychic Jade.

But with it so close, Du Xingze could not help taking notice.

Though the odds were slim, he still wanted to inspect it carefully.

And not just the treasures Yang Yu had obtained.

Du Xingze had even decided to visit the abandoned Immortal Spirit Ghost Market himself... to ensure nothing slipped through the cracks.

Within the Ghost Infant Sect, men were mobilized.

That very day, Elder Xu, a postnatal earth rank expert, led seven acquired human rank experts and a full fifty disciples at the pinnacle of mortal strength... the entire force headed straight for Yang Yu's Suburban Residence.

The Ghost Infant Sect had already investigated Yang Yu's background.

Naturally, they knew exactly where he lived.

As the group set out, Yang Yu was at home...

By then, two days had passed since Yang Yu left the Ten Thousand Layers Tower.

Over those two days, Yang Yu had sorted all the natural treasures into categories.

He had also carefully identified the treasures needed to unseal the pages of the Insect Codex and finished preparing them using special methods.

He could begin unsealing the Insect Codex at any time.

As for the Yama Battle Blade and the Shapeshifting Armor, he had finished repairing both Mortal Shedding Treasures with large quantities of natural treasures and special incantations.

Just as Yang Yu had expected.

After consuming so many natural treasures, the two Mortal Shedding Treasures had indeed improved!

The Yama Battle Blade had risen straight from high grade to supreme grade!

Its power had increased at least fivefold!

The Shapeshifting Armor had also risen from ordinary grade to high grade!

Its defensive power had grown greatly as well!

It had even gained a special ability to release mind-bewildering power!

The emergence of this special ability had greatly increased its value. The Shapeshifting Armor now qualified as half a Soul-Disrupting Treasure!

Besides that.

Zhao Zixuan's transformation and evolution had finally reached their most critical stage.

At that moment, Yang Yu was in his study, anxiously watching the enormous Insect Cocoon that Zhao Zixuan had become!

As the Insect Cocoon contracted and expanded, a vast surge of power spread outward.

It had reached the moment just before hatching was complete!

Once it hatched, Zhao Zixuan would emerge into the world as the Blade Queen!

Because of Zhao Zixuan's situation, Yang Yu had even slowed his efforts to unseal the Insect Codex... he was now waiting for Zhao Zixuan's evolution and transformation to succeed!

He would begin unsealing the Insect Codex after this was over.

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