The Black Stone Mountain Range is also a well-known mountain range within Great Yan's territory, with a powerful Beast King residing deep inside. Ordinary martial artists must tread cautiously when entering.

But for Ning Qi, it's no big deal.

Now the only existence that can make him wary is one at the level of the Beast Emperor.

Ning Qi walked casually down the street. No one noticed him—a young man passing by—his presence reduced to a minimum. Sometimes people would notice after he'd passed, but upon closer recall, they couldn't remember the person's exact appearance, only feeling immensely surprised.

Ning Qi naturally wasn't wandering aimlessly.

Earlier at the inn, he'd already perceived the few suspicious individuals mentioned in the intelligence. Noticing they were heading towards the Black Stone Mountain Range, he immediately followed.

Up ahead were three people, two men and one woman, all middle-aged, chatting and laughing. They appeared no different from ordinary adventuring martial artists entering the Black Stone Mountain Range.

But once they entered the range, their demeanor changed, and the three, initially seeming of equal status, instantly shifted to being led by the woman.

"Lord, what should we do now?" asked the two men.

The woman replied,

"Proceed according to the old rules!"

Listening, Ning Qi couldn't help but be invigorated.

He executed the Silence Technique, quietly trailing them. As he watched the trio wander around, occasionally encountering exotic beasts, one of the men with metal gloves dealt with them. This man's cultivation was unexpectedly higher than intelligence indicated, clearly having reached the Primordial Core Realm.

Later, the three stopped in a valley.

From within the valley came a low voice:

"Registration number."

The leading woman sternly replied,

"Southern Border One Dot Red, which brother of the Holy Sect is here?"

"North Wind Pass of the Wind Character Hall of the Holy Sect, greeting Lord Hong."

"No need for formalities."

The two groups exchanged pleasantries, then Ning Qi discovered corpses hiding within the valley. It was evident these corpses once belonged to powerful martial artists. He raised an eyebrow, feeling a tinge of familiarity with the scene.

He understood that the Demon Sect was assisting Southern Border in collecting martial artists' corpses, shifting from quantity to quality to avoid detection.

Led by the Southern Border trio, the Demon Sect members continuously advanced through the Black Stone Mountain Range, carrying corpses.

There was barely any conversation during the journey.

After circling for some time, they stopped in a forest, where the Southern Border trio turned and smiled:

"Brothers of the Holy Sect, thank you for your hard work. Please leave the bodies here."

The Demon Sect's leading figure didn't hesitate, waving for the group to place the corpses at their feet, then remarked:

"Lord Hong, until we meet again!"

With that, everyone departed together.

Ning Qi silently praised their decisiveness, noting that a wisp of aura had attached itself as well. Even though the strongest among them was only at the Gang Essence Realm, discovering they belonged to the Demon Sect was a clue.

He discerned that the Demon Sect sent different people each time to deliver corpses.

He was somewhat expectant.

Given such a cautious and orderly exchange, this site was quite possibly genuine.

Unexpectedly, the first location he chose after descending the mountain yielded results, which pleased Ning Qi. Once he obtained another Blood King Gu, he could begin investigating other Blood King Gus' existence to eradicate the Southern Border threat ahead.

He waited silently.

After confirming the Demon Sect's departure, the leading Southern Border woman took out a small box from her bosom, releasing an unknown red Gu insect that soared high into the air.

Before long.

A group of martial artists emerged from the distance, each carrying a wooden box.

"Lord Hong, we've made quite the haul this time; those Demon Sect folks have kept their word." The newcomers jovially packed corpses into wooden boxes.

The leading woman merely snorted lightly:

"If we in Southern Border weren't helping them, would they be so obliging? It's merely mutual benefit, after all."

Though they didn't know why the higher-ups were collecting corpses, they surmised the Demon Sect wouldn't lend a hand without reason. They'd vaguely heard the Demon Sect had interests in the Hundred Thousand Mountains—an exchange of favors, basically.

Soon enough.

The corpses were packed, and the group sped away carrying wooden boxes, halting before another valley under Ning Qi's watchful eyes.

Again, strict inspection ensued.

From one person's whispered complaint, Ning Qi learned the code varied each time they entered or exited, seemingly tailored to attendees' traits, making impersonation exceedingly difficult.

Ning Qi faintly sensed this might be related to the Qing State site he'd previously destroyed, and precaution against disguisers was intentional.

Luckily.

Ning Qi now surpassed his past capabilities.

Since reaching the Celestial Human Realm, his skills had become increasingly diverse.

At this moment.

Seizing the opportunity, he soundlessly stepped into the valley, rendering martial artists' perception ineffective.

"Celestial Human Realm? And more than one?" Ning Qi's heart skipped a beat as he detected multiple perceptions imbued with the Power of Heaven and Earth scanning his hidden location—no less than four of them. For ordinary folks attempting to sneak in, it'd be utterly impossible.

He faintly sensed something was amiss.

So many experts at a single site?

Even given Southern Border and Demon Sect's profound foundations, such extravagance seemed excessive, wouldn't it?

Following the procession carrying wooden boxes.

Ning Qi finally paused before a palace.

His expression slightly complex, tinged with self-mockery.

He didn't even need to enter to realize he was delighting in vain.

No trace of Blood Pool aura existed within the palace, nor any remnants of Blood King Gu aura—instead, the Celestial Human Realm martial artists' auras were blindingly radiant, poised for action.

By now, he fully understood.

This was a trap.

Clearly a fishing ploy.

If the people from the Imperial Court recklessly barged in, they would likely get themselves killed. For a stronghold of this scale, the Imperial Court being able to send two Celestial Realm warriors would already be quite impressive. After all, there are too many places the court needs manpower, and unless there's accurate information, it's impossible to arbitrarily deploy numerous experts.

"They really can't be underestimated." Ning Qi sighed softly, putting away his previous bit of disdain before descending the mountain.

With his ability, he initially thought this was truly a base for cultivating Blood King Gu. Needless to say, others would too.

Someone had already discovered Ning Qi's presence.

"Who is it!"

A furious shout erupted from the depths of the palace, layers of Heaven and Earth Power exploded outward, a blue-haired figure soared into the sky, followed by three other powerful figures who rushed out, surrounding Ning Qi in an instant.

The many martial artists within the stronghold all charged fiercely.

The others were somewhat bewildered, but still joined in to encircle Ning Qi.

The blue-haired elder looked at the young Ning Qi, somewhat disappointed:

"Only a little shrimp like this? What have you all been doing, letting someone sneak in without anyone noticing?"

He said so, but Ning Qi's Golden Pupil of Illusion-breaking had already detected him secretly gathering all his strength, obviously realizing that Ning Qi, having reached this place alone, was definitely not an easy opponent.

Ning Qi's expression remained calm.

He released his aura intentionally.

Since he was already here, although it wasn't a Blood King Gu base, killing some Southern Border people would still alleviate some threat.

Sensing the surroundings, he spoke lightly:

"Very well, not missing a single one."

Those Celestial Realm warriors were about to scold Ning Qi for not knowing the immensity of heaven and earth, but in the next moment, they all froze in place. They could only feel an ocean-like vastness of Heaven and Earth Power gathering, making it difficult to breathe, and the oppressive feeling made their souls tremble.

Ning Qi slowly ascended into the air, forming a fist seal.

He didn't want to use his Sword Intent and thought the Heaven-Suppressing Fist of the Town North King was rather handy.

The Heaven and Earth Power suppressed everything, and the enormous fist seal descended like a mountain.

Everything was utterly obliterated.

Within the valley.

Battle erupted.

The fluctuation of Heaven and Earth Power, the sounds of screams always came to an abrupt stop.

A moment later.

Ning Qi turned and left.

Only chaos remained behind.

After using the Soul Capturing Eye Technique for questioning, those Celestial Realm warriors also didn't know more information. Their only task was to ambush any potential powerful members of the Imperial Court and deeply trap the court.

Moreover, Ning Qi discovered that these Celestial Realm beings had a special Gu insect in their bodies, which could stabilize their minds and resist his Soul Capturing Eye Technique, clearly the Southern Border had made precautions in this regard.

Slightly silent, Ning Qi then took a deep breath.

Since there were no traces here, he would just move to the next location. He didn't believe he wouldn't find any clues.

As for the aftermath here, that would be for the Imperial Court to handle.

Ning Qi returned to Black Stone City.

Slightly depressed, as he initially thought he had gained something, only to find it was a mere illusion.

This made him realize that things might not be as simple as he previously thought, having witnessed the Demon Sect and Southern Border's measures.

To have power but no target is in vain as well.

If the Demon Sect and Southern Border decided to hide wholeheartedly, they would indeed be difficult to find.

"But even if I can't find any trace, delaying them would be good. If nothing truly comes of it, I'll return to the mountain and focus on enhancing my strength!" Ning Qi secretly resolved.

Though he would practice Three Flowers every day when outside, ultimately, he had wasted much time on Enlightenment.

"I'll limit it to two months. If I find nothing, I won't waste time any longer."

Ning Qi exhaled slowly, calming his mind.

Half a day later.

Ning Qi set out to a different suspicious location recorded in the intel.

...

Time passed.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month had gone by.

During this time.

Ning Qi's path covered five or six states, following Luo Wentian's intel, but unfortunately, he almost came up with nothing. Without exception, it was either a trap or a smokescreen.

It was as if the Southern Border people were no longer cultivating Blood King Gu within Great Yan.

With repeated failures, even Ning Qi's temperament started to get restless.

The only gain was dismantling several ambush sites, killing nine Celestial Realm experts from the Southern Border and Demon Sect. The Demon Sect and Southern Border had become more restrained, knowing an unparalleled expert from the Imperial Court was investigating traps, which was perhaps the greatest comfort.

But for Ning Qi, the most important thing was still to find the Martial Saint's secret land. Otherwise, no matter how many Celestial Realm beings he killed, it would be meaningless. After all, he couldn't possibly slaughter every Demon Sect and Southern Border Celestial Realm expert.

"A few days ago, senior brother sent a letter saying Town North King had already dispatched elites to investigate the Northern Barbarian. We can only wait and see if there's any news from that side."

With constant failures, everyone suspected the Southern Border had long moved Blood King Gu cultivation to Northern Barbarian or elsewhere.

However, that place wasn't Great Yan's territory, making investigations much more difficult.

Ning Qi took a small sip of wine.

He sat in the tavern, lost in thought.

Suddenly.

His body shook, pupils slightly contracted, unable to resist looking southward.

"This is... the fluctuation of Gang Essence Sword Seed!"

He was in Cang State at the moment, and if he hadn't misperceived, the direction of that fluctuation should be... Lei State.

Ning Qi's mind tightened.

When Jiang Baishan and Lin Ruhua descended the mountain, he had given them a pair of Mandarin Duck Jade Pendants, within which contained Gang Essence Sword Seed. If they encountered a crisis, they could unleash it. And now, the Sword Seed had erupted, didn't that mean Jiang Baishan and his wife were in danger?

He couldn't sit still any longer.

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