Holy Maiden, wait a minute. Why are you asking me to cultivate again?

Following the location indicated in the forged letter, Song Zhao arrived at an extremely remote location.

This place used to be the dojo of an elder of the Tianwu Sect, but the elder practiced evil arts and died many years ago, so it was abandoned and no one lives here now.

"The trees stretch endlessly, and the weeds grow wildly; it's truly a perfect place to kill someone."

Song Zhao even saw some skeletons of people who had died there.

Unfortunately, the Heavenly Demon Pearl only absorbs fresh flesh and souls; it does not consume those who have been dead for a long time.

"You actually came?"

"I thought Shi Hao was an idiot, but I didn't expect you to be an idiot too."

The sixth man emerged from the woods, carrying a strong smell of blood.

He strode over, making no attempt to conceal the aura of a sixth-level Qi Refining cultivator.

"I don't think it's possible that those three idiots would forge letters to lure you to your death."

"But it's just as I thought. All three of them have valuables on them, and I've been hiding my cultivation level. Even if the three of them joined forces, they wouldn't be a match for me."

"I just didn't expect you to actually come? Didn't you have any doubts?"

The sixth man emerged from the shadows, his face gaunt with sunken eyes, looking like a skinny monkey.

In his right hand was a rudimentary sword-shaped spiritual weapon, a white jade pendant hung from his left waist, and he carried three storage bags, as if showing off his achievements.

"You killed them?" Song Zhao asked, slightly surprised.

This wasn't the first time he'd encountered a situation where someone wanted to kill him.

This is the first time I've ever seen something like this, where someone double-crosses another.

The person in front of me killed the three people who were originally partners.

"Hahaha, what do you mean by killing? That's such an unpleasant thing to say."

The sixth brother laughed heartily, declaring in a carefree manner, "They've merely become nourishment for my cultivation path!"

"Soon, you will too!"

"After you disappeared, Lin Shuangwan could only guide me through the missions, and I will become an outer disciple."

"But I'm still curious about something: you stayed in her yard for so long, what did you do?"

Song Zhao chuckled and used the Yin and Yang energies within his body to activate the Golden Core Dharma Eye.

"You don't need to know."

Swish!

Two beams of golden light shone from his eyes, striking the sixth brother with dazzling brilliance.

"What kind of magic is this?"

The sixth brother looked panicked and looked at Song Zhao, feeling as if he were facing a legendary god. It was the fear and submission of a lower being to a higher being.

"Impossible! I'm already at the sixth level of Qi Refining, which is outstanding even among outer disciples!"

"Just because I'm ugly and come from a bad family, I've worked in the menial chores department for a full twenty years!"

"I refuse to accept this! I can't possibly be no match for you!"

The sixth brother exerted his cultivation to the utmost, and a faint spiritual light emanated from his body surface. This was a phenomenon of spiritual energy being released outwards, which usually only occurs in the late stage of Qi Refining.

Unfortunately, under Song Zhao's discerning eyes, that radiant light on the body was nothing more than a firefly compared to the bright moon, not worth mentioning.

"You wanted to kill me, and that is your crime."

Song Zhao no longer suppressed his aura, and his cultivation at the seventh level of Qi Refining erupted, overshadowing the sixth brother's aura!

"this...!"

When the aura of the seventh level of Qi Refining emerged, the sixth brother was completely dumbfounded.

But at the same time, he felt relieved.

No wonder he was pre-selected, no wonder he dared to take the risk to come, and no wonder he wasn't afraid even after seeing my hidden cultivation level...

He had far more confidence than I did.

"Senior Song, please don't kill me!"

"What value do you still have? Or do you know any secrets?" Song Zhao asked tentatively.

The sixth brother shook his head: "I don't know the secret, but I can serve you faithfully, senior..."

"die!"

Song Zhao was too lazy to waste words; those who had no value should just die.

This is the way of the Demonic Sect: prioritizing righteousness over personal gain.

He pointed a finger into the air, and a wisp of yin and yang energy swirled, drilling a clear, bloody hole in Lao Liu's forehead.

Then, with a flick of his sleeve, he refined the sixth brother's corpse and soul into the Heavenly Demon Pearl.

"The prototype of the spiritual weapon, the white-veined jade, and the Azure Spirit Pill are all here. That's good."

After collecting the spoils of war, Song Zhao found the bodies of Shi Hao, Tie Erniu, and Wen Wujiu.

The three bodies had not been dead for long, meeting the criteria for being refined into the Heavenly Demon Pearl.

When the sixth brother was refined, a line had already appeared on the Heavenly Demon Pearl.

The three people behind were refined into the Heavenly Demon Pearl, and the stripe became even more crimson, but it was still just one stripe.

"That doesn't make sense. Three people can't even form a single pattern? Before, killing three people could create a single pattern."

Song Zhao muttered to himself as he put the Heavenly Demon Pearl back into his storage bag.

He picked up the four people's storage bags, opened them, and inspected them.

This storage bag is different from Du Lingfeng's storage ring; it cannot be set with any restrictions.

Apart from a bunch of IOUs, there was nothing else inside.

They probably sold off all their valuables in preparation for gifts.

"I'll make the sacrifice when the Heavenly Demon Pearl shows two lines."

Suppressing his thoughts of offering sacrifices, Song Zhao hurriedly returned to the servants' hut.

Rabbits run and crows fly.

Three days passed quickly.

For the next three days, Song Zhao stayed in seclusion in the servants' hut, consolidating his cultivation while allowing his body to better integrate with his Dharma Eye and Thunder Tongue.

On the one hand, the Holy Maiden has not been in the cave for the past few days, so he doesn't need to clean it.

On the other hand, there was no news about the wolf demon mission from Lin Shuangwan's side.

There was no good news, but a lot of bad news.

Song Zhao heard rumors that a new demonic force, called the Blood Demon Cult, had appeared near the Tianwu Sect.

Several menial disciples and outer disciples have already died at their hands.

Song Zhao suspected that Ma Xiaoxian, who had not yet returned, might have died at the hands of the Blood Demon Sect.

Ma Xiaoxian was the only close friend of Song Zhao in the entire Tianwu Sect, a friend he had shared life and death with. Song Zhao was heartbroken that Ma Xiaoxian had died while searching for a doctor for him.

In addition, Du Lingfeng's disappearance quickly caused a stir in the Tianwu Sect.

The Du family elder stationed within the sect, who was also Du Lingfeng's protector, was furious and demanded that the law enforcement elders conduct a thorough investigation, preferring to kill the innocent rather than let the guilty go free.

The law enforcement elder did not agree, but only said that he would definitely investigate the case thoroughly.

Song Zhao was also on the list of suspects, but because of his low cultivation level, the suspicion against him quickly disappeared.

Now the biggest suspect has become Su Fangyue, but neither the Du family's elders nor the law enforcement elders dare to investigate her.

"These are truly turbulent times."

Song Zhao sighed inwardly, thinking that he wanted to leave Tianwu Sect first and hide away for a while.

Just as he was pondering, a sword light suddenly fell outside the house, and Su Fangyue's voice came from within the sword light.

"I've returned to the palace; hurry up and clean!"

……

Tianwu Peak Palace No. 4

As soon as Su Fangyue returned, she heard the maid talking about Du Lingfeng.

She had long anticipated this situation.

However, she had no mind to deal with those things right now; all she wanted to do was see Song Zhao.

During the few days away from the sect, for some reason, whenever Su Fangyue had free time, Song Zhao's image would automatically appear in her mind.

"I'm completely obsessed!"

Su Fangyue's almond-shaped eyes were filled with anger, hating herself for being so hung up on an old handyman.

"I possess the potential of a Golden Core cultivator, while he is nothing more than an old man whose looks have faded. Why is that?"

"Disciple, where have you been these past few days?"

Outside the palace, before Song Zhao could arrive, Sect Leader Dongfang Huaizhen came first.

"Greetings, Master. Your disciple has been training in the mountains these past few days."

Su Fangyue stepped forward and bowed. She glanced at her master, who was dressed in a blue and white outfit, and knew perfectly well why her master had come.

"Hmm, I've recently sensed the presence of demonic power within the sect, and there's also the matter of Du Lingfeng going missing."

"The demonic forces have reappeared outside; this is truly a turbulent time."