Chapter 58: The Outpost's Position

Ten minutes later, Qin Yuanhao and the tall, thin man left the brothel expressionlessly, completely devoid of the excitement they had shown before entering.

Lu Yang scratched his temple, surprised at how quickly they emerged.

At the entrance, the madam handed Qin Yuanhao and the tall, thin man each a slip of paper. They opened and immediately destroyed them.

The tall, thin man informed Qin Yuanhao that the branch leader required his presence at the sub-branch and he had to leave. Qin Yuanhao responded that the branch leader also had tasks for him and they should part ways there, adding a request for the tall, thin man to spread the news of his brothel visit. The tall, thin man readily agreed.

The two men parted ways in front of the brothel. Lu Yang's heart stirred, and he decided to follow the tall, thin man.

The tall, thin man, whose cultivation was comparable to Qin Yuanhao's, did not detect Lu Yang beneath the ground.

The surrounding pedestrians and houses gradually became sparse. Further on, the area transformed into desolate wilderness, completely uninhabited.

The tall, thin man seemed very familiar with the area, navigating the winding mountain path with ease. After about fifteen minutes, he stopped in front of a stone wall.

This location was at the border between Yanjiang Commandery and another commandery. Theoretically, it belonged to Yanjiang Commandery, but historically, both sides had reasons to claim jurisdiction.

Because both had reasons, neither bothered to exercise control.

After all, there was nothing valuable here, so there was no need to dispute control.

He tapped the wall – three long taps and one short – and muttered an incantation. The wall then became fluid, like water.

The tall, thin man stepped into the wall and vanished.

Lu Yang heard the incantation, which spoke of an immortal's resurrection, dispelling darkness, and eternal existence.

Lu Yang's eyes narrowed in surprise, realizing it must be a grotto-heaven.

A grotto-heaven is a space created by a powerful cultivator proficient in spatial magic. The higher the cultivator's cultivation level, the more complete the created space.

Generally, cultivators at the Soul Transformation stage can create their own spaces.

Some cultivators use grotto-heavens as residences for solitary living, while others use them as burial grounds, also for solitary living.

There have been countless Soul Transformation stage cultivators throughout history, not to mention the even higher stages of Void Refinement, Body Integration, and Tribulation Transcendence.

When cultivators passed away, their grotto-heavens remained. This resulted in numerous relic grotto-heavens across the Central Continent. Most cultivators did not disclose the location or activation method of their grotto-heavens before death, forcing people to rely on luck to find these spaces left by their predecessors.

No one knew how many grotto-heavens remained unopened.

His senior sister had said that with the arrival of a great era, more and more grotto-heavens would be discovered, offering many opportunities for people to rise rapidly.

The grotto-heaven before him was likely one left by a predecessor, discovered by the Demonic Cult, and now repurposed for their use.

Lu Yang did not follow rashly. He chose to remain hidden in the earth, waiting for the tall, thin man to re-emerge.

Lu Yang felt this was unsafe. After all, this was the Yanjiang Sub-branch, a stronghold of the Demonic Cult, and who knew how many masters were inside? Hiding merely in the earth did not offer sufficient concealment.

Considering this, Lu Yang retreated to a distance where he could just see the stronghold's entrance. He used the Body-Shrinking technique to reduce his size and the Barbarian Tribe Concealment Art provided by Man Gu to hide himself.

About an hour later, a masked man emerged from the stone wall, followed by the tall, thin man.

It appeared the masked man held a higher position than the tall, thin man.

The masked man sensed something amiss. He released his divine sense, thoroughly scanning the surroundings, even beneath the ground. He calmly declared that he had discovered someone and ordered them to come out, promising to spare their life if they complied. Receiving no response, he warned that he was not lenient and would count to three, giving a final chance. He then counted down: three, two, one, before finally shouting for the hidden person to die.

The branch leader condensed a surge of power in his palm and struck in a certain direction, producing a thunderous roar.

The tall, thin man respectfully asked the branch leader what was wrong.

The branch leader shook his head, saying he felt as though someone was watching him. He noted that his bluff hadn't yielded a response, suggesting it might have been a delusion.

Cold sweat broke out on Lu Yang's forehead. He had just briefly entertained the thought of leaping out of the earth to confront the branch leader, believing it was his only chance for survival.

Fortunately, his strong willpower allowed him to suppress the urge. He trusted that the Barbarian Tribe Concealment Art would prevent his exposure.

Lu Yang felt the branch leader's divine sense scan over him, but he believed the branch leader had simply mistaken him for a rock and paid him no mind.

If the branch leader had truly discovered him, he wouldn't have bothered with a countdown; a direct attack would have been the logical course of action.

Lu Yang mused inwardly that the Barbarian Tribe Concealment Art was indeed masterful; as long as he remained motionless, he wouldn't be discovered. He estimated that this branch leader possessed a Golden Core stage cultivation.

The branch leader asked about the preparations for the selection process scheduled in ten days. The tall, thin man reported that everything was ready, and they were just waiting for their brethren to arrive in ten days to pass the selection and join them. The branch leader expressed satisfaction, hoping to recruit more demonic cultivation geniuses this time, as it would lead to the headquarters paying more attention to the Yanjiang Sub-branch.

The two conversed as they walked, quickly vanishing from Lu Yang's line of sight. Lu Yang remained motionless, fearing he might expose himself.

He noted that Golden Core cultivators were indeed formidable.

Lu Yang waited for another half an hour, concerned that the branch leader might be overly suspicious and suddenly return.

After half an hour, the branch leader did not reappear.

He realized they had left.

Lu Yang then left by burrowing underground.

This time, he had gained a significant amount of information, not only learning the location of the Yanjiang Sub-branch but also confirming that the selection site was right here.

***

Captain Wei, with his legs crossed, addressed Ghost's Despair, inquiring about his hair loss and whether it was true that he plucked a hair for each person he killed. The thieves sat nervously in a row opposite him. Ghost's Despair nervously denied the claim, attributing his hair loss to the stress of being a difficult leader, managing a challenging team, and his subordinates constantly causing trouble.

Captain Wei then turned to Desperate Erlang, asking if it was true he had exchanged blows with a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, blinding the cultivator in both eyes while losing one of his own. Desperate Erlang quickly denied his eye was damaged, stating he wore the eye patch for intimidation and that one needed a notable feat to make a name for oneself in the martial world.

Next, Captain Wei questioned Grass-on-the-Wind, mentioning rumors of him attempting to steal from the Imperial Palace, which would warrant a life sentence at best, or even death by a thousand cuts in severe cases. The third thief vehemently claimed it was a misunderstanding, explaining that he had defaulted on a debt and had his leg broken by the creditor, which then cleared his debt.

Captain Wei yawned. He had expected them to be involved in major cases, but this was all they had?

One of the thieves eagerly offered to confess everything, starting with having stolen from sixteen households. Captain Wei waved him off, stating that such details weren't urgent. He wanted to know why all of them had suddenly flocked to Yanjiang Commandery.

The leader of the thieves hesitated, weighing the pros and cons of speaking.

Captain Wei pointed to the interrogation room behind them. He warned them that if they refused to speak, the torture instruments would make them talk.

Black bloodstains on the instruments made them look particularly gruesome. The thieves swallowed hard and scrambled to confess.

Just as the thieves began to speak, they abruptly stopped. Had anyone been behind them, they would have seen hair-thin needles embedded in their necks, each tipped with potent venom.

Captain Wei immediately reacted, realizing there was an assassin. As the most experienced constable, he rushed out of the room to search for the perpetrator.

But there was no one outside.

Inside the interrogation room, shadows moved as if alive, seeming to chuckle softly before vanishing.