Chapter 62: Location of the Stronghold

Ten minutes later, Qin Yuanhao and the tall, thin man emerged from the brothel with expressionless faces, entirely bereft of the excitement they had possessed before entering.

Lu Yang scratched his temple. Had they really come out so quickly?

At the entrance, the madam handed Qin Yuanhao and the tall, thin man each a slip of paper. The two men opened them, read them, and promptly destroyed them.

"Brother Qin, the sub-branch chief has business for me and wants me to head over. I shall take my leave first."

"Mm, the chief has also given me a task to attend to. Let us part ways here then, and do not forget to help me spread the word about my visit to the brothel."

"No problem."

The two parted ways before the brothel. Lu Yang’s mind stirred, and he chose to shadow the tall, thin man.

The tall, thin man possessed a cultivation level comparable to Qin Yuanhao's and failed to notice Lu Yang traveling beneath the earth.

The surrounding pedestrians and buildings gradually grew sparse until, eventually, they reached a wild and desolate mountain range completely devoid of people.

The tall, thin man seemed intimately familiar with the area, strolling along the mountain paths with easy grace. The trails twisted and turned, and after walking for about fifteen minutes, he stopped before a stone wall.

This place was situated on the border between Yanjiang Prefecture and another prefecture. Theoretically, it belonged to Yanjiang Prefecture, but from a historical standpoint, both sides had reasons to claim jurisdiction.

Precisely because both had their reasons, neither side bothered to govern it.

After all, there was nothing of value here, and thus no need to fight over technicalities.

He tapped on the wall—three long strokes and one short—muttering incantations under his breath. The wall suddenly became fluid, like water.

The tall, thin man stepped directly through the wall and vanished without a trace.

Lu Yang overheard him chanting, "The Immortal is immortal, resurrected from death, parting the clouds to see the sun, existing forevermore."

"Is this a grotto-heaven?" Lu Yang’s eyes narrowed, a look of astonishment surfacing on his face.

A grotto-heaven was a pocket dimension opened up by a supreme cultivator skilled in spatial magic. The higher the cultivation, the more complete the dimension created.

Generally speaking, a cultivator at the Deity Transformation stage could open a space of their own.

Some cultivators liked to use grotto-heavens as residences to live a solitary life, while others preferred to use them as tombs, likewise living a solitary life.

How many Deity Transformation cultivators had there been throughout the ages? Not to mention the three grand realms above them: Void Refining, Body Integration, and Tribulation Transgression.

When a cultivator passed away, the grotto-heaven remained. This resulted in the Central Continent possessing countless ruins and grotto-heavens. Furthermore, most cultivators did not disclose the location or opening method of their grotto-heavens before dying, leaving people to rely purely on luck to find these ancestral legacies.

No one knew how many grotto-heavens remained unopened to this day.

Eldest Senior Sister had said that with the arrival of a great era, more and more grotto-heavens were being discovered, and countless people were obtaining fortunes to soar into the heavens.

The grotto-heaven before him likely belonged to one such legacy left behind by an ancient predecessor, which had been discovered by the demonic sect and claimed for their own use.

Lu Yang did not rashly follow. He chose to remain quietly within the soil, waiting for the tall, thin man to come out.

Yet, Lu Yang felt this was not entirely secure. After all, this was the Yanjiang Sub-branch, a stronghold of the demonic sect, and there was no telling how many experts were inside; simply staying in the soil did not offer enough concealment.

With this thought, Lu Yang hid at a distance where he could just manage to see the stronghold's entrance. Using the inch-shortening technique to shrink his body, he concealed himself with the Barbarian Stealth Technique provided by Man Gu.

About two hours passed before a masked man emerged from the stone wall, with the tall, thin man following behind.

By the looks of it, the masked man's status was superior to that of the tall, thin man.

"Hmm?" The masked man sensed something amiss, releasing his divine sense to scan the surroundings, not even sparing the underground.

"Come out, I have discovered you. Do not think you are well-hidden. Come out now, and your life may yet be spared!" the masked man said evenly.

"Still not coming out? Do not think this sub-branch chief is a merciful sort. I shall count to three. If you still do not emerge, do not blame me for not giving you a chance!"

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Die!"

A burst of energy condensed in the chief's palm, striking out in one direction with a thunderous boom.

"Chief, what is it?" the tall, thin man asked respectfully.

The chief shook his head. "I felt as though someone was watching me, but there was no reaction when I baited them. Perhaps it was an illusion."

Cold sweat broke out on Lu Yang’s forehead. Just moments ago, the thought had sprouted within him to leap out of the soil and clash with the chief, as that might be his only chance to grasp a lifeline.

Fortunately, his willpower was strong, and he forcibly suppressed the urge. He believed the Barbarian Stealth Technique would not expose him.

Lu Yang felt the chief’s divine sense sweep across him, but he believed the chief merely regarded him as a stone and paid no heed.

If the chief had truly discovered him, why would he bother counting down? Striking directly would have been the correct course of action.

"Fortunately, the Barbarian Stealth Technique is profound. As long as I do not move from this spot, I won't be discovered," Lu Yang thought to himself. "This sub-branch chief should possess a Golden Core stage cultivation."

"How are the preparations for the selection in ten days coming along?"

"Everything is ready. We are merely waiting for our fellow Daoists to arrive in ten days, pass the selection, and join us."

"Very good. I hope we can recruit a few more demonic geniuses this time. That way, the headquarters will place more importance on our Yanjiang Sub-branch."

The two conversed as they walked, quickly vanishing beyond the horizon of Lu Yang’s vision. Lu Yang remained motionless, terrified of exposing himself.

"The Golden Core stage is indeed not to be underestimated."

Lu Yang waited for another hour, worried that the chief might be overly suspicious and suddenly double back.

An hour later, the chief did not appear.

"He's gone."

Lu Yang fled through the earth.

This trip could be considered a bountiful harvest. Not only did he discover the location of the Yanjiang Sub-branch, but he also confirmed that the selection venue was right here.

...

"Speak up, Ghost-Grief, what is the matter with your hair? I heard that you pluck out a strand of hair every time you kill a person?" Head Catcher Wei asked, crossing his legs. The thieves sat trembling in a row opposite him.

"No, no such thing. It's just that being the boss is hard, the team is difficult to lead, my subordinates cause trouble everywhere, and the stress caused my hair to fall out."

"What about you, Desperado Erlang? I heard you engaged in a brawl with a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, where you gouged out both of his eyes and he gouged out one of yours?"

"My... my eye is perfectly fine. Wearing an eyepatch just gives me more presence. When you mingle in the martial world, you always need something impressive to talk about."

"And you, Grass-Glider. I heard you went to the imperial palace to steal. By a conservative estimate, you'll be locked up for a lifetime, or worse, executed by a thousand cuts."

The third thief cried out in grievance, "An injustice, milord! I simply failed to repay a debt, and my creditor broke one of my legs to clear the debt."

Head Catcher Wei let out a yawn. He had thought each of them carried major cases on their backs, but who would have thought it was only this?

"Catcher brother, I'll confess, I'll confess everything. I've stolen from sixteen households..."

Head Catcher Wei waved his hand. "No rush for that. First, tell me, why did you lot flock to Yanjiang Prefecture all at once?"

"This..." The thief leader hesitated, weighing the pros and cons of speaking out.

Head Catcher Wei pointed toward the torture room behind him. "See those torture instruments back there? If you won't speak, we'll use those things to help you talk."

Dried dark blood remained on the instruments, looking exceptionally terrifying. The thieves swallowed hard, scrambling to confess their tale.

"I'll speak..."

The thieves had barely uttered two words when they abruptly ceased.

If anyone had approached them from behind, they would have discovered ox-hair-thin needles driven deep into the napes of their necks, each tipped with a virulent poison.

"Assassins!"

Chief Constable Wei, proving why he was the most seasoned catcher of men, reacted instantly and lunged out of the room in search of the killer.

Yet, what shadow could be found outside?

Within the torture chamber, the darkness stirred with a sinister life of its own, seeming to whisper a low, mocking laugh before vanishing into nothingness.