Chapter 718 - 218: 5 Deceitful Objects (Part 2)

Gazing at the scroll floating in the sky, the old man shook his head and spoke in a grim tone.

"I thought I could use the influence of Lingyun Dao’s Xinhua Academy to pass through safely. I never imagined the academy would be completely wiped out. Now, getting past Lingyun Dao is nearly impossible. What am I supposed to do now?"

His name was Qiu Ze, an old fossil who had survived since the Era of Ten Thousand Cities.

After barely scraping by during the Era of Ten Thousand Cities, he joined the Celestial Pride Salvation Society.

Although he wasn’t a high-ranking member of the Celestial Pride Salvation Society now, he had managed to do quite well for himself.

But only Qiu Ze knew he had another identity: he was a subordinate of one of the masterminds from that bygone era.

His purpose was to lie low within the Celestial Pride Salvation Society and play his part when the time came.

For a long time, his superiors had not given him any missions. He knew in his heart that there were certainly many other sleeper agents like him hidden within the Celestial Pride Salvation Society, but he didn’t know a single one.

Therefore, he lived every day with extreme caution.

But not long ago, his superiors finally sent him a message, ordering him to steal the Ten Thousand Strange Map from the Celestial Pride Salvation Society.

Although Qiu Ze didn’t know why, since his superiors had issued the mission, he had no choice but to do whatever it took to steal the Ten Thousand Strange Map.

After getting his hands on it, he fled, evading pursuit from members of the Celestial Pride Salvation Society several times.

His power wasn’t great. Despite his long life of Cultivation, he had only managed to reach the Celestial Spirit Realm Peak.

This was because he wasn’t skilled in combat or Cultivation; he had reached his current level purely by grinding it out over time.

So when facing pursuit, if it weren’t for his quick wits, he probably would have been captured long ago.

The reason he had appeared in Anle County today was that he needed the fresh blood of the living to nourish the Ten Thousand Strange Map.

Back when the Ten Thousand Strange Map was with the Celestial Pride Salvation Society, if the strange entities within it were not nourished with fresh blood, they would go out of control.

The high-ranking members of the Celestial Pride Salvation Society nourished the Ten Thousand Strange Map with their own blood daily.

But now that the Ten Thousand Strange Map was in Qiu Ze’s hands, he lacked their ability and could only use the lives of common people to manage it.

It couldn’t be helped. After all, if the strange entities inside were to lose control, he would be the first to die.

’Of all times for it to be on the verge of losing control.’

’This is Lingyun Dao. If Shen Bai finds out, I’ll definitely die a horrible death,’ Qiu Ze thought.

He had heard of Shen Bai’s reputation.

In fact, Shen Bai had already attracted the attention of many high-ranking members within the Celestial Pride Salvation Society.

Faced with such a person, Qiu Ze knew he had to proceed with caution.

That was why he had already come up with a plan while slaughtering the county’s inhabitants.

Qiu Ze raised his left hand, and a Jade Token materialized in his palm.

Immediately after, every trace of him throughout the county disappeared.

It was precisely because of this Jade Token that he had been able to escape the scrying of those old fossils in the Celestial Pride Salvation Society.

With this Jade Token, he could avoid a great deal of danger.

After doing all this, Qiu Ze left Anle County.

He had to find a way to break through the blockade of Lingyun Dao and head to the destination his organization had mentioned.

Not long after, silence fell over Anle County. Nothing remained but a city-wide aura of death.

...

「Time passed in a flash.」

At this moment, Shen Bai, Wang Teng, and Ma Yuan were sitting in a room inside the Observatory’s five-story building.

A strange, oppressive atmosphere filled the air around them.

In Shen Bai’s hand, a written report was crushed into ash.

"Divisions A, B, C, and D! Immediately investigate all suspicious individuals around Lingyun Dao. Mobilize every State-level City under our jurisdiction and conduct a full-scale sweep. Find this person. Dead or alive."

Shen Bai’s tone was impossibly cold.

In just a few days, three counties had been slaughtered. All of their residents had died horribly where they stood.

Shen Bai didn’t even need to look to know who was responsible. It was undoubtedly the work of a traitor from the Celestial Pride Salvation Society.

Under his governance, all of Lingyun Dao had become as secure as an iron fortress, yet now something like this had happened.

To make matters worse, the culprit had a way to hide their presence, making them impossible to track even with the Infinite Divination Skill.

Shen Bai could only resort to the simplest, most brutish method: a full-scale sweep.

Upon hearing this, the leaders of the four divisions cupped their fists and said, "We obey."

A look of shame appeared on their faces.

Ever since Lord Shen arrived in Lingyun Dao, he had eliminated the Three Great Demonic Forces.

And yet, now this had happened. Frankly, this matter had nothing to do with Lord Shen. The fault lay with them; it was a result of their incompetence.

Shen Bai said slowly, "Remember, I said everyone mobilizes. I don’t want to see another incident like this."

The four division leaders wiped the cold sweat from their brows.

"If anything like this happens again in Lingyun Dao, we will willingly accept any punishment."

Only then did Shen Bai wave his hand. He turned to Wang Teng and Ma Yuan and said, "You two will hold down the fort at the Observatory headquarters. I’m going out."

Although Wang Teng and Ma Yuan didn’t know what business Shen Bai had, they raised no objections and respectfully accepted the order.

Shen Bai then let everyone get to work and left the Observatory alone.

After leaving the Observatory, he headed off in a specific direction.

Before long, he arrived at an inn.

The inn’s Shopkeeper saw the clothes Shen Bai was wearing and immediately understood his identity. Not daring to say much, he simply stood respectfully before the counter.

Shen Bai approached and said, "Two people named Qu Yongfeng and Xue Caixiang checked in not long ago. Which room are they in?"