Mist City.

Located near the Eastern Sea, it was a prosperous area in the Eastern Region. Chu Liang and Lin Bei had visited not long ago, but they didn’t enter the city, only staying outside for a night.

This time, on a mission, they had the chance to explore the city.

The Golden Fur Beast, after consuming the Jinling Pill, was in a constant state of drowsiness, so it was left behind this time.

The shadow of the previous assassination attempt by the dual-blade assassin still lingered. Chu Liang wasn’t sure if the assassin had any accomplices. Time had passed, and he hoped the danger had subsided.

After all, one could only be a thief for a thousand days, but one couldn’t guard against thieves for a thousand days. Chu Liang couldn’t stay on the mountain forever just because of a potential assassin. He had the sixth realm war spirit, Lao Fei, in his possession, which gave him some confidence.

So, accompanied by Lin Bei and Shang Ziliang, the three of them arrived at Mist City.

The large city was clearly enveloped in a repressive atmosphere. People on the streets and in the alleys were discussing the recent strange cases. The number of merchants coming and going at the city gate was not what one would expect from a major city in the Eastern Region.

The serial strange cases had indeed had a significant impact on Mist City. A city where a demonic cultivator had committed murder was not a place people would willingly enter.

However, it was strange that a typical demonic cultivator wouldn’t commit crimes in one place. They would usually flee to another place to commit another crime after killing someone, making it harder to be tracked.

But in the case of Mist City, seven people had died in succession, all with their hearts gouged out, and each death not more than three days apart. This inevitably caused panic among the people.

If it were an ordinary murder case, it might not have caused such widespread panic. But this was a case committed by a cultivator. Compared to cultivators, ordinary people were too vulnerable. If they encountered such a situation, they might lose their lives in an instant.

As for this case, there was already a theory that it was committed by a peak third realm demonic cultivator from the Soul Slaughter Sect.

The Soul Slaughter Sect…

It was one of the oldest traditions in the demonic sect. Whenever there was chaos in the world, this sect would rise, and when peace returned, it would quickly fade.

This was because the sect’s main characteristic was to use killing as a substitute for resources.

Cultivation required a lot of resources, which was a common understanding. Even demonic cultivators, like the Earth Fiend they had encountered from the Underworld Sect, had to worry about obtaining heavenly treasures.

But the Soul Slaughter Sect was different.

When a Soul Slaughter Sect cultivator formed their core, the main ingredient they needed was nine living human hearts.

It could be said that the founder of the sect was indeed innovative. Initially, he might have just been looking for an alternative to cultivation resources, and he did succeed… otherwise, he wouldn’t have died so miserably.

There was nothing to say, such cultivators should be killed on sight.

After Chu Liang and the others entered the city, they went straight to the city supervisor’s office, as it was Supervisor Du Ce who had summoned them.

In a city, the court cultivators were usually military officers and city supervisors. The military generally wouldn’t get involved in investigating strange cases within the city. The city supervisor’s office was short-staffed, and when a major case occurred, they would request assistance from Yudu City. When Yudu City was short of manpower, they would ask for help from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, which was not unusual.

Du Ce had a good relationship with the Shu Mountain Sect, so he invited the disciples of the Shu Mountain Sect to the Eastern Region to help with the case.

Of course, he didn’t just invite the disciples of the Shu Mountain Sect.

…

“Hero Chu, Hero Lin, we meet again. Haha, and Young Master Shang.” Du Ce, still dressed as a scholar, warmly greeted the three of them.

Shang Ziliang’s arrival was timely, as Du Ce was his father’s classmate and junior brother. They had interacted a few times over the years and were familiar with each other.

“Supervisor Du.” Chu Liang greeted.

“Uncle Du!” Shang Ziliang also shouted loudly.

Lin Bei glanced at him, immediately saluted, and said, “Brother Du.”

Shang Ziliang pushed him away.

Chu Liang laughed, “My fellow disciples are just joking around, Supervisor Du, please don’t mind.”

“No harm done, they’re young.” Du Ce was good-natured and didn’t mind at all.

With such warm greetings, they walked into the main hall of the office.

Inside, there was a young man sitting.

This young man, about eighteen or nineteen years old, had a handsome face and a divine light in his eyes. He was clearly extraordinary. He was dressed in a light blue and white brocade robe, with a white tiger pendant hanging around his neck and a pearl in his hair. He exuded an air of nobility.

Seeing Chu Liang and the others enter, he just glanced at them indifferently, without getting up to greet them or showing any intention of making small talk. He just sat there lazily.

The three of them didn’t pay him any attention either.

Du Ce led the three disciples of the Shu Mountain Sect to sit down in the hall, and he himself returned to his seat. Then he introduced them to each other, “These are the three young heroes from the Shu Mountain Sect, who are here to help catch the demonic cultivator. This is Young Master Yang Yuhu from the Penglai Upper Sect.”

Chu Liang couldn’t help but take a closer look at the man across from him.

Yang Yuhu was a name that often appeared in the Seven Star Mansion’s reports.

Although there was no strict ranking among the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, the Penglai Upper Sect in the Eastern Sea was generally recognized as the top immortal sect. With a profound heritage and numerous strong cultivators, it had been leading the righteous path for hundreds of years.

The most famous young disciples of this generation of the Penglai Upper Sect were a pair of brothers, Yang Shenlong and Yang Yuhu.

They were known as the Twin Stars of Penglai.

Especially the elder brother, Yang Shenlong, who had been regarded as a prodigy since his birth. His cultivation path had always been brave and diligent, and he had never met an opponent. He had repeatedly killed enemies beyond his realm, and his name had shaken the world. Almost no one compared him with people of the same realm. There were many geniuses in every generation of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, but if one had to choose the number one of this generation, his name would definitely be mentioned the most.

Although Yang Yuhu was also a genius, his brother’s fame was too great, and he was somewhat overshadowed, often appearing as a foil to his elder brother.Upon meeting him today, this man truly lived up to his reputation as a disciple of the Penglai Sect, exuding an air of arrogance unique to his sect.

Upon hearing Du Ce’s introduction, Yang Yuhu merely nodded slightly at the three from Shu Mountain, a gesture of greeting.

Chu Liang responded with a small smile, remaining silent.

When dealing with other immortal sects outside, if they were cold, he naturally couldn’t be overly enthusiastic. Courtesy was one thing, but it would be a loss of face for Shu Mountain if he was overly eager to please.

“Young Master Yang is a disciple of Elder Huanglong from the Penglai Sect, and has made a name for himself at a young age. I’m sure you all are not unfamiliar with his name.” Du Ce, noticing the somewhat stiff atmosphere, chuckled and introduced them to each other, “This is Young Master Shang, the son of my classmate, undoubtedly a genius. This is Young Master Lin, a disciple of the head of Shu Mountain, no need for further introduction. And this is Hero Chu, the renowned disciple of Di Nvfeng. I hope you all can cooperate on this trip to Yanbo City…”

He meant well, seeing that the two parties were not conversing, he wanted to help them deepen their impressions of each other and get acquainted quickly.

Before he could finish speaking, Yang Yuhu furrowed his brows and looked at Chu Liang, “You’re Di Nvfeng’s disciple?”

“Indeed.” Chu Liang nodded in response.

Yang Yuhu fell silent for a moment, then said, “You handle your part of this strange case, and I’ll handle mine. If your cultivation is not up to par, don’t get in my way!”

Upon hearing this, Chu Liang also frowned.

Such blatant hostility.

Wait…

Yang Yuhu was initially just a bit arrogant, but his sudden harsh words seemed to start when he heard the name Di Nvfeng.

Chu Liang quickly understood the connection.

The Penglai Sect has always been located in the East Sea, and the coastal area is within their sphere of influence. It’s only natural for them to handle the incident in Yanbo City. On the other hand, the Shu Mountain Sect was invited by Du Ce out of personal connections, which seemed a bit abrupt. Yang Yuhu’s indifference was understandable.

But his sudden change in attitude was probably because he heard that Chu Liang was Di Nvfeng’s disciple.

The last time his master came to the East Sea to hunt for treasures, she was driven away by the people of the Penglai Sect. She said she understood the situation and didn’t argue much, but the actual process must not have been so peaceful. There must have been some unpleasantness.

Sigh.

Supervisor Du should have known better. Chu Liang never dared to mention his master’s name when he was outside, but Supervisor Du blurted it out.

He should remind his master again when he returns… not to mention his name when she gets into trouble outside.

But facing Yang Yuhu’s attitude, Chu Liang couldn’t possibly apologize on behalf of his master first.

He simply shrugged, not even looking at Yang Yuhu, and smiled at Du Ce, “We are here to capture the demonic cultivator, whether we cooperate or not makes no difference.”

Du Ce gave a bitter smile, probably not knowing why Yang Yuhu suddenly turned hostile, and said, “Then you can each do your own thing.”

He called out, and immediately a clerk brought two case files and presented them to both parties.

“This is the case file for this strange case. You should read it carefully and see if you can find any clues. The culprit still needs two human hearts to refine his external elixir. We predict he will strike again within three days, so we need to patrol the entire city at night. At that time, our city supervision office will be short-staffed, and we will need your help to monitor the city’s movements. You are free to act, I won’t command you.”

“Understood!” Everyone responded in unison.

…

In the evening.

Du Ce lifted his head from the case files, closed his eyes for a moment to regain his clarity, and then opened them again.

Dealing with mundane affairs was indeed draining, even for a fifth-stage cultivator like him. With the recent strange cases occurring frequently within the Yu Dynasty, the workload of the city supervision offices had increased, and his pressure was greater than ever.

Ever since the rumors of the return of the demon god, and the frequent strange cases happening everywhere, it seemed as if a storm was brewing.

A storm is coming.

As the city’s chief supervisor, he couldn’t help but worry.

But the most important thing right now was to catch the local demonic cultivator.

He opened the door and called over the clerk waiting outside, asking, “Have the cultivators from Shu Mountain and Penglai set off?”

Cultivators from all over the world were used to their freedom and generally didn’t like to be commanded by the court. So he didn’t assign any specific tasks to the young men, just let them do their own thing. However, it was necessary to keep track of their movements to prevent anyone from slacking off.

In the past, some young cultivators were sent by their sects to help with tasks, but as soon as they entered the city, they sneaked off to the brothels, completely disregarding their duties, which was extremely disgraceful.

The clerk replied, “Young Master Yang from the Penglai Sect left early to visit the locations where the bodies were found, presumably to investigate the residual aura.”

“What about Shu Mountain?” Du Ce asked again.

“Um…” The clerk hesitated for a moment, “Hero Chu left not long ago. Before he left, he asked me where the best brothels in the city were. He might have his own plans…”

Du Ce: “?”

(End of Chapter)