Witch

Lei Chong examined the entire map, identifying each of the dangerous locations.

Then he analyzed them carefully, looking for where the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow might be.

In the end, he ruled out some of the wrong locations, leaving a few possible ones.

"At least you know what's good for you. I'll spare your life today, but I'm taking back the deposit. Consider it the price for making a move against me today. Be less scheming in the future." Lei Chong glanced at the old man.

"Yes, certainly, certainly," the old man said, nodding repeatedly.

"Good. I'll be back in two months. As long as you find out where the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow is, I certainly won't treat you poorly," Lei Chong said with a nod.

"I'll see to it carefully," the old man said bitterly, taking out the deposit.

Stone Kingdom! The imperial capital!

Lei Chong stepped out of the teleportation array and came before the gates of the vast city.

The ancient walls looked as though they had been forged from metal, gleaming with a cold light. The vast, magnificent city seemed to have been left behind by the age of gods, and standing before it, he felt keenly how small he was.

Compared with the broken walls of the Medicine Capital, these walls were exceedingly sturdy.

The gate tower stood higher than a mountain, majestic and imposing, like a primeval vicious beast lying across the ground and looking down on everyone who passed through.

Lei Chong stood beneath the walls, gazing at the great city that had existed since ancient times. He could imagine its splendor when the kingdom was founded, as well as those glorious, eventful years.

Many people passed through the gates. Carriages drawn by all sorts of ferocious beasts raced past; some came from the residences of nobles, while others belonged to wealthy merchants purchasing goods.

The city had too many inhabitants to count how many entered and left each day. Like a stream, they flowed endlessly in and out of the city.

Buzz!

Lei Chong secretly activated his Heavenly Eye, symbols flickering constantly in his eyes.

Strange ripples spread out, enveloping everyone at the city gate. The surroundings instantly fell still, as though time itself had stopped.

All sorts of images flickered continuously through the seas of consciousness of these ordinary people.

Lei Chong swept his gaze over them, extracting their memories in search of what he needed.

Soon, Lei Chong withdrew his ocular technique and stepped into the city.

The city gate returned to normal, as though nothing had happened.

From these people's memories, three days ago, a giant bird had indeed appeared outside the city, blotting out the sky and sun, but it had soon left.

According to the memories, there had been a sun before the giant bird. It had confronted the bird for a long time, causing it to leave in the end.

Perhaps the captain of the Stone Kingdom's guards knew where the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow had gone.

Lei Chong continued inward with the flow of people. As expected of a kingdom's capital, it was more expansive than the Medicine Capital, and the crowds were naturally denser.

As he went deeper, the crowds split off into different streets. The clamor finally lessened somewhat, though the bustle remained undiminished.

"Our establishment has just acquired several fox girls, every one of them beautiful, all first-rate beauties! They're real fox spirits, seductive enough to charm you to death without answering for it. Don't miss out as you pass by!"

A flamboyantly dressed woman was introducing a complex of buildings beside the main street. The buildings were tall, magnificent and palatial.

A large crowd had gathered there, mostly men, all peering into the halls, hoping to glimpse the fox spirits' charms.

Lei Chong's heart stirred, and he came to the front of the halls.

Before the beautiful woman could introduce them, he stepped into the palace.

Gauzy curtains hung inside the palace, with several fox girls hiding behind them. They wore thin, translucent robes, their lustrous white skin faintly visible.

The fox girls were all quite pretty, with bright, limpid eyes and beguiling features. Each had a pair of furry fox ears, giving them a somewhat unusual appearance.

"Oh, young sir, whichever fox spirit catches your eye, I'll have her sent to your residence right away," the beautiful woman outside called.

Lei Chong quickly swept his gaze around, but chose none of them.

"They're all common rouge and powder, hardly worth a glance. Call out the person behind you." Lei Chong stared into the depths of the palace.

"Young sir, if none of these appeal to you, I'll simply bring out another group. I'm the proprietress here. Who else could possibly be behind me?" The proprietress smiled, trying to smooth things over.

Lei Chong, however, remained unmoved, still staring at the halls behind her.

Seeing that Lei Chong made no move, the proprietress leaned forward and opened her bewitching eyes, almost pressing herself against him.

A faint, delicate fragrance wafted over, clouding Lei Chong's mind.

"Young sir, if you don't fancy them, what do you think of me?" the flirtatious proprietress asked, exuding wisps of enchantment.

Lei Chong could clearly feel a faint power encroaching on him.

It was breaking down his will, seemingly intent on making him forget the purpose of his visit.

Buzz!

Patterns appeared on the surface of Lei Chong's body, blocking the proprietress's magic power.

The proprietress's enchantment technique no longer had any effect on him.

"Witch, an old acquaintance has come to visit. Why don't you come out to greet me? Is this how you treat your guests?" Lei Chong called toward the interior of the halls.

Boom!

Seeing that Lei Chong had not fallen under her control, the proprietress stopped pretending. Her presence burst forth and swept toward him.

Hiss!

Lei Chong pointed a finger, shattering the proprietress's attack.

The proprietress had intended to strike again, but suddenly stopped.

Someone had sent her a voice transmission in secret, telling her not to attack for the time being.

The proprietress quickly withdrew her attack, turned and retreated into a hall.

Soon, a young woman in white appeared in a second-floor loft.

She looked to be eighteen or nineteen, born with foxlike charm and a peerless beauty. Even in this imperial capital, few could compare with her.

Eight or nine fox tails grew behind her, translucent and gleaming as they swayed gently.

The Witch stared at Lei Chong through gritted teeth. Instead of greeting him immediately, she stood there grinding her teeth, as though chewing on him.

Buzz!

Before the Witch could say anything, her arm trembled slightly.

A white jade disc on her arm was giving off a faint white glow, looking exceedingly strange.

"What is this?" The Witch's expression changed slightly.

She felt somewhat startled and doubtful, but showed none of it on her face.

"So it's you. It's been almost two months since we parted at sea," the Witch finally said in greeting.

Lei Chong smiled and nodded, making no mention of what had happened at sea.

That day, he had just mastered the Martial Dao Heavenly Eye and had seen right through the Witch's spiritual body.

The Witch had grown angry with him, surely because of that.

Of course, the Witch had gained a great deal that day, obtaining half a Blue Crystal Sea Gall. Although she had brought out a Myriad Law Stone, its value was nowhere near that of the Blue Crystal Sea Gall.

Moreover, the Myriad Law Stone was flawed. A crack ran through its interior, making it practically scrap, and it had long since become impossible to refine into a supreme treasure.

In terms of value, it was worth far less than that half of the Sea Gall.

If the Sea Gall had not already been opened, and if he had not wanted to befriend her, he could not have silently accepted such a loss and exchanged the Blue Crystal Sea Gall with her.

"Fellow Daoist, what brings you here?" the Witch asked, cupping her hands slightly.

"I'm here to attend an auction," Lei Chong replied with a smile.

"An auction? There's one in three days, at the Gu Bone Auction in the east of the city," the Witch said with a slight nod.

"Good. Arrange a room for me. I'll wait here for three days. That shouldn't be a problem, should it?" Lei Chong looked the Witch over.

"Of course not. I can even arrange a few fox girls for you." The Witch smiled brightly, returning to her usual manner.