“Kun Tu has been killed! Is it true?” Elder Meng Shan couldn’t wait any longer and eagerly asked.

He had just received a message from the Great Cave Master. Kun Tu had suddenly fallen, and he valued this disciple quite a bit. He was also worried about the whereabouts of the Yin Ghost Flag, so he hurriedly came to inquire about the situation.

Elder Sa Ren also showed a hint of surprise upon hearing this.

“Wu Lu, who was just mentioned, was a witness. He was lucky enough to escape. Along with Kun Tu, Hu Huo and Liu Su were also killed,” the Great Cave Master nodded and said.

“Hu Huo is dead too?” Elder Sa Ren frowned.

Hu Huo was the steward of the Beast Slave Hall under his jurisdiction. Although his aptitude was average, he had been quite capable in managing the Feathered Beast Slaves for many years.

“Just half a day ago, Kun Tu, Hu Huo, and a named disciple Liu Su were all killed outside a village more than two hundred miles northwest of the Biro Cave,” the Great Cave Master said slowly.

“The village more than two hundred miles northwest of our sect? Could it be the Miao Flower Village?” Elder Sa Ren asked.

“Oh, you know about it?” The Great Cave Master was somewhat surprised.

“Yes, I came here to report an important matter to the Great Cave Master…” Elder Sa Ren nodded and paused for a moment before explaining in detail the task of capturing souls that Yuan Ming and the others were executing, including Hu Zha being killed by a group of black-clothed people.

Elder Meng Shan’s face changed multiple times upon hearing this, while the Great Cave Master remained much calmer, with little change in his expression.

“According to Wu Lu, at that time, Kun Tu happened to be nearby with him and Hu Huo. Kun Tu noticed some movement in the Miao Flower Village and rushed over, only to meet those black-clothed people head-on. According to his recollection, the black-clothed people’s attack methods were similar to what you described,” the Great Cave Master pondered for a moment and said.

Upon hearing this, Elder Sa Ren, who had been skeptical of Yuan Ming’s words, dispelled his doubts with Wu Lu’s confirmation.

However, this matter was deeply involved. The deaths of Kun Tu, Hu Huo, and the others were no longer important. The real trouble was the group of black-clothed people.

“What do you think about this matter?” the Great Cave Master asked, looking at the two in front of him.

“Reporting to the Great Cave Master, judging from the way Kun Tu and the others were attacked, as well as the fact that those black-clothed people were able to control corpses and ghosts, it is very similar to the methods of the Black Fire Sect,” Elder Sa Ren said in a deep voice.

“Indeed, among the five major sects in the Southern Region, only the Black Fire Sect has had deep conflicts with our Biro Cave. I just didn’t expect them to make a move at this time,” Elder Meng Shan also said.

“Although what we know is only from the mouths of two Qi Refining stage disciples, it is better to send someone to investigate the Miao Flower Village just to be safe,” the Great Cave Master said.

“I propose sending Zha Lang to investigate. I believe he will bring back results soon,” Elder Sa Ren suggested.

“This inner sect disciple of the Second Cave Master is indeed a suitable candidate,” Elder Meng Shan also agreed.

“Meng Shan, make the arrangements. Sa Ren, inform the others to strengthen the sect’s defenses. As you know, we are currently in a critical period, and the Refining Hall will need your help in a few days. Let’s leave this matter as it is for now and discuss it further when we have more information from the investigation,” the Great Cave Master instructed.

…

At the same time, Yuan Ming left the Beast Slave Hall and went straight back to his residence.

He carefully recalled his conversation with Elder Sa Ren just now and believed that he had not revealed any flaws. If everything went smoothly with Wu Lu, this matter should be able to be kept a secret.

Yuan Ming sat cross-legged and began to hold the incense burner, practicing the Death Moon method.

With the help of the Flesh and Bone Pill, most of his injuries had already healed. With a little rest, he would be fully recovered in a day or two. As for the damage to his spiritual soul, with the incense burner by his side, there shouldn’t be any major problems.

Thinking of this, he felt slightly relieved. However, through this experience, he gradually understood some of the things the Silver Cat had mentioned before.

In battles between soul cultivators using their spiritual souls, they could harm each other invisibly, and even challenge higher-level opponents was not impossible. However, the spiritual soul was fragile, unlike the physical body. A slight carelessness could result in backlash, and excessive consumption could make it difficult to recover.

Fortunately, he had the incense burner by his side, so he didn’t have to worry about this. He could also unleash his soul cultivation techniques more freely. Otherwise, he might not have achieved such a result in the recent ambush.

“This incense burner is truly a treasure for soul cultivators!” Yuan Ming secretly rejoiced and continued to practice the Death Moon method.

Half a day later, he felt that more than half of his spiritual power had recovered, so he began to try to gather his spiritual crow within his sea of consciousness, attempting to condense a waiting spiritual crow.

The spiritual crow was the foundation of his soul cultivation technique, and he felt somewhat uneasy without condensing one.

However, to his surprise, no matter how he stimulated his spiritual power, he couldn’t condense the spiritual crow.

“What’s going on?” Yuan Ming furrowed his brows, recalling the information he obtained when he successfully condensed his spiritual soul.

“Far Travel” and “Soul Feeding” had no time limit, but “Soul Collision” required a seven-day cooldown after sacrificing a spiritual crow.

He originally thought that it was because his spiritual power needed seven days to recover, but now it seemed that it was not the case.

“Forget it, seven days is seven days. There’s no need to rush,” Yuan Ming muttered to himself and continued to cultivate and heal his injuries.

That night, Yuan Ming was sitting cross-legged by the window, quietly cultivating the Death Moon method. A faint white light enveloped him, forming a circle of pale white halo that was almost invisible to the naked eye.

At this moment, a slight sound came from the window.Yuan Ming’s body emitted a faint light, slowly opening his eyes, and then he saw an elegant silver cat with silver fur, squatting on a pine branch outside the window.

He knew that the silver cat had something to discuss with him, otherwise it wouldn’t have made any noise to attract his attention.

“Shall we have a chat inside?” Yuan Ming stood up, took out a jade box and placed it on the desk by the window, then took a few steps back and smiled, inviting.

The silver cat hesitated for a moment, then walked gracefully to the desk by the window with its usual elegant cat steps and sat down.

“How does it feel to be a great hero, upholding justice?” The voice of the silver cat echoed in Yuan Ming’s mind.

Yuan Ming thought that his mission in the Beast Slave Hall would be calm and peaceful, but encountering Tu Ya and her daughter was beyond his expectations.

Yuan Ming pulled a chair and sat down, replying, “I can’t just stand by and watch, can I? Don’t I have you?”

Upon hearing this, the silver cat tilted its head to the left, its beautiful heterochromatic eyes flashing upwards.

“Hmph, if it weren’t for me causing the Yin Ghost Flag to backfire, you would have been buried in your grave next year.” The silver cat snorted coldly, disdainful.

“How did you make the Yin Ghost Flag backfire?” Yuan Ming asked.

“I’m not telling you.” The silver cat replied.

Yuan Ming was already used to her cold and arrogant appearance, and asked, “If you encounter such a situation, would you help?”

“I wouldn’t bother with such boring things. Isn’t it better for them to die early and be reincarnated, considering how miserable they are living here in the Southern Wilderness?” The silver cat retorted.

“Why would the Bi Luo Cave be so cruel to mortals?” Yuan Ming had already witnessed too much cruelty, but he still couldn’t understand it with his current nature.

“There are countless cultivation methods in this world, and there are far more evil cultivation methods than you can imagine. It is likely that these soul fragments were taken to refine something.” The silver cat’s cold voice echoed in Yuan Ming’s sea of consciousness.

Yuan Ming thought of his current situation, staying in the Bi Luo Cave, ashamed to be associated with it, but not knowing where to go if he left. His future cultivation was even more uncertain, and he fell into contemplation.

“Just a reminder, using the Soul Feeding ability forcefully this time will bring you trouble in the future.” At this moment, the voice of the silver cat sounded in his sea of consciousness again.

“What kind of trouble?” Yuan Ming asked in surprise.

“Before you have mastered the ability to purify divine souls, don’t use Soul Feeding casually. Otherwise, your divine soul will be destroyed and unable to reincarnate.” The silver cat warned.

“Then why didn’t you help me earlier?” Yuan Ming said.

“I, Xiying, like to see fools upholding justice, overestimating their abilities, and getting beaten up without knowing what’s going on. Hahaha.” The silver cat burst into laughter, then suddenly exclaimed, feeling that she had said too much, turned her head and was about to leave.

Seeing the silver cat about to leave, Yuan Ming shouted, “Wait, do you have a name? Are you called Xiying?”

“Don’t call me by my name. Did you give me that name?” The silver cat turned her head and glared at Yuan Ming, looking fierce but not intimidating.

“Alright, I won’t call you by your name.” Yuan Ming said, then reached into his waist storage bag and took out something, saying, “Can you help me take a look at what this is?”

A fist-sized white solid, resembling stone or jade, appeared in his palm. He found it in Elder Hu Huo’s storage bag, but didn’t know what it was for.

“White Jade Stone Resin, the main spiritual material used to refine disguising-type magical treasures, but it’s just waste.” The silver cat glanced casually and gave the answer.

Yuan Ming raised an eyebrow at the words, but since Xiying thought it was waste, he continued to ask, “Does the Thousand Mechanism Mask also require this?”

“Yes. In addition to White Jade Stone Resin, it also requires the face skin of the Human-Faced Ghost Spider, the silk of the Black Corpse Silkworm, Jade Skin Powder, and the Flower of Continuation. Why are you asking about this?” The silver cat was a little puzzled.

“I happen to have the skin of the Human-Faced Ghost Spider. Hearing you mention the use of White Jade Stone Resin, I had this question.” Yuan Ming smiled.

“Knowing these spiritual materials is useless. The difficulty of refining the Thousand Mechanism Mask lies not in collecting the materials, but in mastering the transformation runes of the accompanying disguising-type magical treasures. Ordinary people can’t learn it at all. Moreover, it’s not easy to engrave runes on such delicate spider skin, even professional refiners may not be able to do it.” The silver cat said.

“It doesn’t matter, I have some foundation in drawing runes. After learning how to engrave runes and awaken spirits, I can give it a try.” Yuan Ming was quite optimistic.

Even if he failed once, it would only be a loss of some spiritual materials.

“You? Hmph, with your current cultivation, you have no chance to learn how to engrave runes and awaken spirits.” The silver cat openly mocked.

“Is the ability to engrave runes and awaken spirits related to cultivation?” Yuan Ming asked in surprise.

“You, an ignorant person like you, have lived until now without any justice. Only the spiritual power of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator is barely enough to support one infusion. With your current cultivation, it’s simply not enough.” The silver cat continued to pour cold water.

Yuan Ming was used to her mockery and was not disappointed.

“Don’t you care?” The silver cat became a little curious.

“What’s there to care about? It’s just that my cultivation is not enough. It doesn’t mean it won’t be in the future. As long as I diligently cultivate, it won’t be a problem to advance to the Foundation Establishment stage. By then, it will be a different story.” Yuan Ming said.

Upon hearing this, the silver cat didn’t want to talk to Yuan Ming anymore. She had already regretted revealing her name just now, so she turned around lightly and left.”Wait!” Yuan Ming called out to her again.

“What now?” The Silver Cat was impatient.

“Thank you this time, Xiying,” Yuan Ming suddenly said.

“Don’t call me by my name.” With that, she grabbed the jade box on the table, leaped out, her silver fur turning transparent in mid-air. In an instant, she disappeared into the night.

Only then did Yuan Ming understand how Silver Cat Xiying had managed to sever the neck of the Kun map.

(End of Chapter)