He had just been reborn when he was imprisoned by his nemesis, the Empress?

Xu Yi nodded in satisfaction after listening and pushed his storage bag over.

"Very good, the information is useful. Here is the agreed-upon mid-grade spirit stone."

The man's eyes lit up, and he quickly grabbed the bag, eagerly opening it for a peek.

But the bag was empty; there wasn't even a single low-grade spirit stone, let alone a mid-grade one.

"Are you kidding me?!"

His face turned ashen. He looked up abruptly, about to unleash a torrent of curses, but found that Xu Yi had vanished without a trace.

Only the man's angry roar remained in the private room.

......

Xu Yi left Zuixianglou quietly and returned to the alley where he had arranged to meet Qingqing.

Qingqing was pacing nervously. When she saw Xu Yi return, she immediately went to greet him.

"My lord, how is it? Have you found out anything about the Dark Cult?"

Bai Li also came over and gently called out to Xu Yi twice, her round eyes full of anticipation.

Xu Yi nodded and briefly relayed the information he had obtained from the man to the two men.

"So, let's go back and get some rest tonight."

He paused, picked up Bai Li, and looked at it as he spoke.

"Bai Li, we might find a clue about your mother tomorrow. Let's wait patiently."

Bai Li nodded as if she understood, rubbed against Xu Yi's palm, and let out a happy whimper.

......

The following night, in Black Wind Valley.

Xu Yi, dressed in a black robe covered with runes, clung tightly to a boulder about ten feet high.

The runes on his black robe shimmered with a faint silver light, completely concealing his aura.

He didn't let Qingqing and Baili come along because he only had one of these black robes.

At this moment, in the open space in the middle of the valley, a bonfire was burning brightly, and dozens of people dressed in black cloaks sat in a circle.

Their cloaks were embroidered with hideous, blood-red skulls on the collar and cuffs, and they held strange magical artifacts in their hands.

He muttered incantations and chanted unpleasant spells.

In the very center of this circle of people, there was an extremely obese woman tied up.

Her figure was extremely bloated, roughly equivalent to three of Xu Yi's.

The fat woman's mouth was stuffed with a white sock, and it looked like a woman's sock.

Because it has lace trim, cough cough cough, that's not the point.

Even though her socks were stuffed inside her, she was still struggling and twisting desperately, making muffled whimpering noises.

Suddenly, a white figure slowly appeared in front of her; judging from the figure, it should be a woman.

Without saying a word, she raised her hand and punched the fat woman, whose struggles instantly weakened.

Immediately afterwards, the woman in the white cloak took off her other shoe, removed her white sock, and roughly stuffed it into the fat woman's mouth.

Under the double blockade, the fat woman cried out softly, but dared not move again.

Xu Yi narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself:

The man in the white cloak must be a high-ranking member of the Black Demon Cult. Judging from this display, they're going to sacrifice the bound man to the heavens.

He carefully scanned the crowd present, and none of them had reached the Star Realm according to his aura.

Since there are no powerful enemies, there is no need to remain in hiding.

Xu Yi's figure flashed out from behind the boulder like a ghost, heading straight for the center of the campfire, so fast that he left only a blur.

In a single exchange, the dozens of men in black cloaks who were sitting around were all thrown into the air, crashing heavily onto the rocks, spitting blood, and losing their fighting ability.

"Who?!"

The woman in the white cloak was shocked and furious, and she turned sharply to look at Xu Yi.

Just as he was about to draw his weapon, Xu Yi kicked him away, sending him crashing heavily into the depths of the valley.

A moment later, she rose from the dust, her white cloak covered in dirt, and raised her hand to unleash some kind of secret technique to counterattack.

Xu Yi teleported in front of her, and before she could cast a spell, he grabbed her by the neck and slammed her against the stone wall.

"Tell me, are you a member of the Black Magic Cult?"

The woman in the white cloak had her neck gripped, making it difficult for her to breathe, but she gritted her teeth and managed to utter a few words with difficulty.

"N-No comment!"

Xu Yi raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on his lips.

"Fine, well, 'no comment' is a fine way of saying that."

"Don't you like stuffing socks into other people's mouths? Well, today I'll let you try mine."

As he spoke, he lifted one foot, making a gesture as if to take off his shoe.

"You...you dare!"

The woman in the white cloak was both surprised and frightened, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes. Before she could finish speaking, Xu Yi forcibly pried open her mouth and stuffed a coarse cloth sock inside.

"Waaaaaah!!!!!"

She struggled desperately, but Xu Yi grabbed her face, rendering her unable to move.

Xu Yi grabbed her and spun her around, then threatened her.

"Are you going to tell me or not? If you don't, I'll stuff another one in your mouth."

"There's an old saying in my hometown: 'A wise man submits to circumstances,' so I urge you to speak up quickly."

The woman in the white cloak had eyes full of humiliation and fear, tears welling up in her eyes. She could no longer hold back and nodded desperately.

Seeing this, Xu Yi released his grip on her neck and said coldly.

"Now you can tell me, where is your Black Demon Cult's headquarters? Have you heard that you captured a Celestial Fox?"

The woman in the white cloak suddenly spat out the sock from her mouth, bent over, and coughed violently, dry heaving uncontrollably.

"Ugh! The headquarters is... ugh! The Black Abyss Palace in the southernmost part of Starfall Pool, and I've never heard of the second one... ugh!"

Xu Yi frowned slightly and pressed for an answer.

"Is there an accurate map or something? How exactly do I navigate the Black Abyss Dungeon?"

"Ugh...!"

The woman in the white cloak dared not hide anything and hurriedly took out a yellowed animal hide map from her storage ring, trembling as she handed it to Xu Yi.

Xu Yi took the map and examined it carefully.

Then I didn't quite understand it.

"Forget it, theoretical discussions are ultimately unreliable."

Xu Yi put away the map and looked at her with icy eyes.

"You should take me there yourself. If you dare to give me wrong directions, you know best what I can do."

Xu Yi then released the fat woman.

What's infuriating is that this woman actually wanted to repay him with her body. Xu Yi suppressed his anger, erased this part of her memory, and kicked her away.

With the woman in the white cloak, Xu Yi flashed back to the donkey cart parked outside the valley.

Looking at the distances marked on the map, Xu Yi couldn't help but sigh.

"This journey will take at least ten days... Looks like we're in for a tough time."

......

In the blink of an eye, three days have passed in the real world.

Xu Yi and Jiang Xuange had a very warm and cozy time together over the past three days. She was so gentle that it made people want to get close to her.

On the other side of the real world, in a space without a single ray of light, all around is pitch black.

Suddenly, a pair of crimson phoenix eyes slowly opened, their pupils long and alluring, with the corners slightly upturned.

"Hmm...it's finally stabilized."

Su Qingluan stretched gently, her graceful figure outlining a stunning curve in the darkness.

"He's been in seclusion for so long, I wonder if he's ever thought about me..."

"Servant."

[Ding! Your servant is here.]

As soon as Su Qingluan finished reciting in her mind, a female mechanical voice immediately sounded.