The heavy rain continued until noon the next day.

Chu Liang, along with the city guards, arrived at a village outside the city.

Groups of villagers were gathered around a thatched hut, blocked by the city officials, and were engaged in heated discussions.

“Who would have thought that Li Si, such an honest man, would turn out to be a demonic cultivator? My God…”

“I remember people saying his wife ran off with another man years ago, I felt sorry for him for a while. Turns out he killed her and buried her in his backyard…”

“And that’s not all, look at the skeletons they dug up. Who knows how many people he’s killed over the years… Those who disappeared in the mountains around the village, I’m afraid they all fell victim to him…”

“How could a good man fall into such evil?”

“It’s terrifying.”

“…”

Chu Liang stood in the crowd, listening to the discussions, and formed a general impression of Li Si.

An honest small-time merchant, usually inconspicuous, pushing his cart into the city to sell goods every evening and returning home at dawn. After his wife’s death, no one paid attention to his whereabouts.

He lived in plain sight, yet unnoticed.

His life trajectory could be clearly traced. He might have stumbled upon some demonic cultivation method and practiced it, but he was definitely not a long-hidden disciple of the demonic sect.

So why did the orthodox sect of the Soul Slaughter Sect, hidden for many years, go to great lengths to abduct him?

Chu Liang stepped forward, Lin Bei was there, shaking his head: “They dug up more than thirty skeletons, and that might not be all the people he killed. A demonic cultivator of the Soul Slaughter Sect needs to kill so many people to reach the third realm, this sect really deserves to die!”

“But do you know, this cultivation method did not originally come from the demonic sect.” Shang Ziliang said.

“Oh?” Chu Liang was genuinely curious.

“It is said that during the time of the demon god’s chaos, when the demon race invaded and the human race was defeated. The land of the nine provinces was in ruins, and the human cultivators were completely unable to resist the power of the demon race. It was then that the founder of the Soul Slaughter Sect stood up and created this cultivation method.” Shang Ziliang narrated, “This method does not require a lot of resources, as long as there are enough lives to fill, it can create cultivators in a short time to join the battle.”

“Is that so?” Chu Liang was quite shocked.

“I read it in the Confucian classics hidden by my father, it should be true.” Shang Ziliang said, “After the great catastrophe passed, those who continued to practice this method were immediately purged. The founder of the Soul Slaughter Sect, who was hailed as a hero, was executed as a demon. The Soul Slaughter Sect then truly became part of the demonic sect.”

“Ah.” Chu Liang sighed.

The search here was almost over, apart from an old book in Li Si’s house, there were no other cultivator’s items, he was as poor as a church mouse among the non-mainstream cultivators.

Chu Liang walked alone to a hillside, took out the Silkworm Baby, and placed it on a leaf of a big tree, wondering if it would eat the leaf.

The Silkworm Baby gradually woke up, suddenly twisted its head, and fell to the ground with a plop.

Then it crawled in one direction.

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

Its speed was not slow, but it had to be said, it was cuter when its legs were not visible.

This was the first time it actively moved in a direction other than downwards, Chu Liang looked at it, did not stop it, but followed it.

The Silkworm Baby’s speed got faster and faster, its body twisting with an impatient emotion.

It was in a hurry!

Where was it trying to go?

…

The path ahead became increasingly rugged, winding downwards, through a mountain valley crevice, suddenly a large downward cave appeared. It should be a landslide caused by the heavy rain, revealing an underground cavity.

There was actually a fast-flowing river here!

The river was extremely cold, exuding a bone-chilling coldness, and seemed a bit eerie.

The entire river flowed underground, only this part was exposed on the surface, the Silkworm Baby went straight down without hesitation, turned a corner and crawled along the river bank.

Chu Liang was initially worried that it would go into the water, but he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it had no intention of swimming.

Ahead, it turned into the cave, thanks to the high ceiling, Chu Liang, although he had no foothold, could barely move forward while floating in the air.

The Silkworm Baby crawled along the wall for a while, the river ahead changed its course, leaving a large empty river beach, it had gone deep underground, who knows how far.

This was…

Chu Liang lit up the path ahead with a strand of Fierce Light Spell in his right hand, only to see a dark stone cave covered in mud and sand. The entrance and plaque were no longer visible, all blocked up.

It seemed to be a water mansion by the river in the past, now exposed. Water must have gotten in, some utensils were washed out, you could see some rotten and broken cups, books, and other items.All of them carried a heavy aura of death.

Could this be the lost cave dwelling of a cultivator, with treasures sensed by Silkworm Baby?

Could this little creature actually treasure hunt?

Chu Liang’s doubts didn’t last long. Silkworm Baby, without any hesitation, burrowed into the mud-sealed door.

Swoosh—

Of course, Chu Liang wouldn’t use his head to burrow. Instead, he swung his Dustless Sword, and the sword aura opened a path.

Just as he stepped through the door, he heard the sound of wind breaking. The mud under his feet concealed a swamp, from which dozens of bone spears suddenly shot out!

Thanks to Chu Liang’s quick reflexes, he held up the Green Leaf umbrella. The umbrella faced downwards, clanging as it blocked the bone spears’ attacks.

It was clear that this formation was hastily set up, and its power had probably diminished over the years, otherwise it wouldn’t be so simple.

After passing the swamp, he walked along a long corridor for a while, experiencing some broken formations along the way, before he saw a wide cave dwelling covered in mud. Everything was half-buried, including a set of incomplete skeletal remains.

The Red Slayer Sword in the White Tower space suddenly moved.

Chu Liang raised his eyebrows.

This was the first time the Red Slayer Sword had shown an impulse towards a corpse.

What kind of heinous crimes had this skeleton committed in its lifetime that even in death, it stirred the Red Slayer Sword’s desire to whip the corpse?

The cultivation level of this skeleton’s owner should not be low, but the remaining spirit in the bones was not complete and was very broken, with only half of the body left… or even less than half.

It seemed that the injuries it suffered in life were unimaginable.

With only this bit of spirit left, it probably couldn’t grow any heavenly treasures, right?

As soon as this thought came out, Chu Liang himself felt terrified.

Now, his first reaction upon seeing the remains of a powerful being was whether it could be used for cultivation…

Behind the corpse, a bookshelf held some books, but most of them were decayed and damaged, with few intact. There didn’t seem to be any visible treasures on the body.

Only on the desk in front of the body, there was a bronze cauldron. It looked divine and concealed, and should be a powerful magical tool.

Chu Liang’s gaze wasn’t as quick as Silkworm Baby’s short legs. Just as he noticed the bronze cauldron, Silkworm Baby’s head popped out from underneath… it had already gnawed a path.

Heavens…

Chu Liang felt a pang of pain.

This was a magical tool of unknown level, and you just ate it?

But after all, it was something the child found on its own, and Chu Liang didn’t fight with it. Compared to a magical tool, Silkworm Baby’s ability to find treasures made him feel even more surprised.

With further training, wouldn’t it be possible to rely on it to make a fortune in the future?

So while Silkworm Baby was eating there, Chu Liang looked around, his gaze sweeping around, and focused on a finger on the corpse.

This finger was noticeably different from the others, its luster was particularly warm and smooth.

Did you also have a golden finger?

Chu Liang smiled and went over to take a closer look. Indeed, it was a finger bone with a strange aura.

Dealing with this evil-doer from his past life, Chu Liang didn’t hold back. With a snap, he broke off the finger bone.

Holding it in his hand, he pondered for a moment, then tried to activate it with his true energy.

Rumble—

The wall behind the corpse suddenly moved!

Could this unusual finger bone actually be a key?

Chu Liang leaned in and saw that it was just a small space, with a golden skull inside, which should be a refined magical tool.

In the skull’s mouth, there was a roll of parchment.

“Huh?” Chu Liang uttered in surprise.

This thing looked familiar…

But he didn’t know what the skull was, so he didn’t dare to reach out and take it rashly.

While he was hesitating, there was a sudden clanging noise outside, followed by shouting.

What’s going on?

Chu Liang grabbed Silkworm Baby, who was happily gnawing, and hid in the small space, turning the finger bone to close the wall. In just a short while, this little creature had grown two sizes larger.

He didn’t know if it was because the cauldron was full of spirit, or if its growth rate was just astonishing.

…

Not long after.

He heard a somewhat familiar voice outside: “It really is the burial ground of the Old Man of Slaughter! I finally found it!”

It was the demonic cultivator from last night!

The Sect Master of Soul Slaughter!

The footsteps were chaotic, and he should have several subordinates behind him.

Chu Liang’s heart thumped, and he held his breath, afraid of being discovered.

Even with the boost from the Red Slayer Sword, he might not be able to defeat such an opponent. It was better to wait and see.

After a pause, he heard the Sect Master of Soul Slaughter laugh again: “It’s exactly the same as in the guide, it really is the Immortal Cooking Cauldron! The first treasure of my Soul Slaughter Sect for thousands of years, later lost here by the Old Man of Slaughter! Today, I have found it again! Only this cauldron can refine the Life Spirit Pill that will help me break through the sixth realm! Hehehehe…”

With the clanging sound, he must have lifted the bronze cauldron.

Then, his laughter abruptly stopped.Following that, a slightly puzzled voice rang out.

“Huh? Why is there only half?”

Good morning.

(End of Chapter)