“Would you like to come to my dwelling and take a look?”
“Where is it?”
Li Qingshan extended a hand. A wisp of cloud formed a bridge, extending into the distance through the mountains.
Ru Xin followed the winding cloud bridge, making her way around the mountain in front of her. She travelled quite a short distance and arrived in front of Li Qingshan’s dwelling. Looking at the three words, Qing Xiao’s Home, she sank into her thoughts and fiddled around with her hair. “So close? Don’t tell me you’re planning to do something to me!”
“You overestimate yourself. I’m just protecting my pills, as well as the alchemist.”
……
“In other words, you were cultivating in your dwelling that day?” Fu Qingjin crossed his legs and fingers as he stared at the master of the Vermillion Clothes sect right before him with a slight smile.
The master of the Vermillion Clothes sect seemed rather uneasy. “Fellow Fu, What’re you asking this for? Of course I was cultivating in the sect.”
Fu Qingjin took out a curved, slender horn from behind, which flashed. “Have you heard of the xiezhi before?”
“I’ve heard that it’s a divine beast that can see through deception. Don’t tell me that’s…”
“That’s right. This is a xiezhi’s horn. I hope you tell me the truth, as it’s very important.” Fu Qingjin fiddled with the Green Ruins sword absentmindedly.
The master of the Vermillion Clothes sect’s face twisted. This was his secret. He definitely could not let anyone know. However, he glanced at the Green Ruins sword before glancing at the xiezhi’s horn and became conflicted. In the end, he said, “Fine. I’ll tell you. That day, I ventured underground…”
“Alright, I understand.” Fu Qingjin turned around as he stood up. He had already achieved some initial results with his investigation of all the Foundation Establishment cultivators within the Clear River prefecture. Some had been questioned personally, while others had clear evidence that they were not present. However, there were also a few Foundation Establishment cultivators who refused to cooperate, and they all belonged to the academy. In the end, there were a total of seven suspects, with the prime suspect being Li Qingshan.
As if he had just been spared, the master of the Vermillion Clothes sect let out a long sigh of relief. As it seemed, Fu Qingjin was not investigating that matter.
“You were engaging in trade with the night roamers, weren’t you?” That one sentence from Fu Qingjin made the master of the Vermillion Clothes sect’s heart lurch violently. “Liaison, you must listen to me…”
“Colluding with otherfolk and assisting the enemy is taboo in the Daemon Suppression alliance. Oh right, your disciple that killed Hawkwolf guards from three years ago is still around. Don’t let him run off. I might have a use for him soon.”
With that, Fu Qingjin turned into a streak of green light and flew off, leaving the master of the Vermillion Clothes sect standing there in daze.
Leaving the Vermillion Clothes sect, Fu Qingjin arrived in the sky. He did not go off to find the suspects one by one for questioning. Instead, he found his bearings and took off in the direction of the Boundless mountains.
Those directly connected to the Soaring Dragon Elder’s death were the Dark Queen’s cat daemon and Gu Yanying. Neither of them were existences the Sword Collection palace could investigate. However, there must have been other witnesses deep within the Boundless mountains.
These witnesses definitely would have been daemons. Constrained by the treaty, it had been very difficult for the Sword Collection palace to do anything. Coupled with the Divining Elder’s warning, the entire matter came to a grinding halt. But now, the treaty had been lifted within the Clear River prefecture, and the Diving Elder had confirmed that the power not of this world no longer interfered. They could finally undertake a large, formal investigation.
They would definitely be able to get to the bottom of the Soaring Dragon Elder’s death by approaching the matter from two directions.
Arriving near the edge of the Boundless mountains, he discovered that the huge crater left behind from the destruction of the Green Vine mountain had already turned into a city. It was enveloped by various formations with many human cultivators moving around in there. It was even busier than the Town of Flowing Clouds of the past.
Ever since the treaty had been lifted, many human cultivators chose to enter the Boundless mountains and not anywhere else. They would still be able to kill daemons, and clearly, being above ground brought people relatively more relief. There were many more spiritual herbs in the Boundless mountains that bathed in sunlight too.
Fu Qingjin’s gaze then shifted to the east. Milliped had blown up his daemon core there, leaving behind a pit. It seemed desolate on the surface, but Fu Qingjin knew that a city of night roamers was prospering below the thick rock and soil. It was rumored that these night roamers did not attack humans, remaining neutral instead.
And, according to the information Fu Qingjin had received, the governors of the city were two night roamer sisters. The people that the master of the Vermillion Clothes sect traded with should have been them too. This was not a coincidence. Compared to facing life-threatening risk to kill and plunder, obtaining the scarce resources from underground through trade was much more favourable.
The prosperity of the city in the Green Vine mountain’s crater was very closely linked to the stance they had taken. Who knew how many resources had been exchanged through these two cities.
Centred around Li Qingshan’s “throne”, the web-like tunnels were flattened and smoothed out under the efforts of the night roamer craftsmen, just like long, underground corridors.
The slender tip of a finger brushed past the smooth walls. Ye Liusu walked through there with a deep sense of pride. This was the fruit of her efforts over the past three years.
Ye Liubo followed alongside her, fiddling around with a formation banner. “Sister, I didn’t think the human would even be willing to sell a formation like that to us. He even seemed to be a member of some Daemon Suppression alliance. Aren’t they the enemy of our underground world?”
“It’s not like we’re daemons, so what’s wrong with that? Black Gold ore is very useful for forging artifacts. The Daemon Suppression alliance is incapable of excavating and mining underground, so of course they’ll have to rely on us.”
As they conversed, the two of them arrived in a cavern. This was a newly-established village of night roamers. Every single night roamer bowed deeply towards Ye Liusu when they saw her. This was not just out of a fear for power, but also out of respect for Ye Liusu.
Beyond Li Qingshan’s territory, the internal strife between the night roamers had never stopped. Instead, it intensified, extending all the way to the surface and upholding the Spider Queen’s wishes. As they assassinated human cultivators, they also became each other’s prey.
However, under Ye Liusu’s rule, this place completely upheld Li Qingshan’s will. All internal conflict had stopped, making it a unique region of peace.
Many night roamers who had grown tired of fighting or lacked the ability to fight gathered here, becoming sir Northmoon’s servants willingly, which was equivalent to leaving the control of the other clans. During the time Li Qingshan spent in secluded cultivation, his servants under him had already reached five figures.
Ye Liusu smiled. She had proven that night roamers did not have to kill one another in order to survive, that they too could live their lives in peace and happiness.
“Liubo, set up the formation!”
Ye Liubo deployed the formation, and a spherical barrier enveloped the cavern.
Ye Liusu nodded in satisfaction. Now, even if they were under attack from ignorant human cultivators, they would still have enough time for reinforcements to arrive.
“Just when is master going to emerge from seclusion?” Ye Liubo kicked a pebble.
“Don’t fret. He’ll rouse sooner or later.” Ye Liusu’s eyes flashed. When he roused, she wanted to personally thank him and tell him, “You’re right. I am special.”
The pebble flew into the darkness, but it did not produce any sounds after that.
Ye Liusu’s expression changed. “Be careful, Liubo!”
The pebble shot back with ten times the speed, but it shattered against the barrier of the formation.
Strongboulder emerged from the darkness and bellowed, “Where’s Northmoon!?”
