Myriad Daos of the Heaven

The reason Bai Zihua of the Ghost Blood People and the others were able to restrain themselves was because a few words from Young Master Fu echoed in their minds.

'Agree to his terms for now. Once we find the secret location, we'll kill him!'

Young Master Fu, the genius from the Heavenly Dao Realm, had sent this telepathic message. It was also the shared intention of the other two: the Beastman King and the Undead Female Cultivator.

But Jiang Jichen paid no mind to their thoughts. He happily stored away the Ancient Medicine Cauldron and said, "It seems you all know how to see the bigger picture. This way, we can all get along and cooperate happily!"

Hearing Jiang Jichen's words, many people shot him strange looks.

'Happy?'

'My ass! You killed our people and humiliated us, and now you expect us to get along happily?'

'If it weren't for the need to cooperate and find that secret location, we would've torn you limb from limb by now.'

This was what everyone was thinking, their eyes glinting with murderous intent.

Young Master Fu of the Heavenly Dao Realm spoke up. "Very good. From now on, we're all on the same team. Jiang Jichen, although you are a wanted man in the Heavenly Dao Realm, I won't make things difficult for you. That should be a matter for the Law Enforcement Association."

"For now, we should discuss the terms of our cooperation. Our primary goal is to find the secret location within the Desert of Extinct Spirit!"

The Beastman King and the Undead Female Cultivator nodded in agreement.

Jiang Jichen replied, "I certainly hope you'll be true to your word. You already know I can sense the fluctuations in Spiritual Qi here in this Land of Extinct Spirit. But since you've come all this way to the Desert of Extinct Spirit to find this secret, you must have come prepared."

The Undead Female Cultivator said, "We have an Ancient Map that shows the approximate location of the secret place. We can find the general area, and when we do, we'll need you to pinpoint its exact position."

Jiang Jichen nodded. That seemed reasonable.

Otherwise, searching blindly without any leads would make it impossible to find the secret location in the Desert of Extinct Spirit.

'As for me,' Jiang Jichen thought, 'if I didn't have the Ancient Map to find the general area first and had to rely solely on my Divine Soul Thought to sense it, who knows how long that would take?'

Besides, a Divine Soul Thought was easy to expend but difficult to recover.

Even with his incomparably profound Source Character Qi Condensing Technique, recovery would still take a significant amount of time.

And so, the group set off, embarking on their journey to find the secret location in the Desert of Extinct Spirit.

The group was composed of Jiang Jichen's party of six and a skeleton, plus the Undead Female Cultivator, the Beastman King, and Young Master Fu, each of whom brought ten attendants with them.

These attendants were all at the Nascent Soul Perfection Realm, far stronger than the servants Jiang Jichen had previously slain.

Han Qing, meanwhile, had reached the Late-Stage Nascent Soul Realm, his cultivation formidable.

Clearly, the guy had experienced some unimaginable fortuitous encounters of his own recently.

"Boss, we're going for something big this time!"

Han Qing sent via telepathic message.

The moment Jiang Jichen saw Han Qing, he'd felt the guy's intentions weren't so simple.

Otherwise, he would never have agreed to act as an attendant for a Beastman.

He had to be cooking up some wicked scheme.

"What's your plan?"

Jiang Jichen asked.

"I wasn't sure before, but now that you're here, Boss, it's a guaranteed success!"

"What is?"

"Have you heard the saying they have around here? 'The desert was once an oasis, only to become a dead land when the Azure Heaven was buried and Ten Thousand Spirits perished!'"

"I just heard it, but I don't understand what it means."

"Hehe... I didn't get it before, but I do now. So do Corpse Two and Bai Zihua. Otherwise, do you really think they'd be willing to act as mere attendants?"

"Damn it, Han Qing, just spit it out already! Don't make me drag it out of you!"

Jiang Jichen finally warned him directly.

'That bastard Han Qing. He could've explained it all in one go, but he just had to keep me in suspense, showing off.'

'It's been a while. The trickster's cultivation has grown, and so has his arrogance.'

Hearing the anger in Jiang Jichen's voice, Han Qing knew he should quit while he was ahead.

He knew exactly how terrifying his boss could be.

'Even though he's only at the Spirit Infant Perfection Realm and I'm already at the Late-Stage Nascent Soul Realm, if we really fought, I'd be instantly killed, no doubt about it.'

So, he obediently began to explain the whole story. "We secretly learned from some ruins that the Desert of the Undead was once a supreme cultivation paradise. But eons ago, a Secret Treasure fell from the heavens, smashing a deep crater into the land and burying itself within. After that, the paradise transformed into a Land of Extinct Spirit overnight. All the endless Spiritual Qi in the region began to converge on that crater, supposedly to help the Secret Treasure reawaken.

"That Secret Treasure is said to have the power to devour the Azure Heaven and the Ten Thousand Spirits, as well as the destructive might to slay all creation. Some call it the Azure Heaven Killing Weapon!

"But they aren't just here for the Azure Heaven Killing Weapon. They're even more interested in the treasure land itself.

"With the Azure Heaven Killing Weapon there gathering the essence of the heavens and all spirits for countless ages, who knows how many supreme Spirit Medicines have grown in that place.

"Some even speculate that a legendary Immortal Elixir is growing there!"

Han Qing's words left Jiang Jichen deeply shocked.

As he processed Han Qing's description, his first thought was of the Azure Heaven Killing Array.

'Perhaps the secret location in the Desert of Extinct Spirit contains another corner of the Azure Heaven Killing Array.'

'If that's the case, I have to get my hands on it.'

Finally, Han Qing added another explanation. "At the time, we were hiding and didn't dare reveal ourselves. Young Master Fu, the Beastman King, and the Undead Female Cultivator found the Ancient Map together in those ruins, so they teamed up to come treasure hunting in the Desert of Extinct Spirit. Corpse Two, Bai Zihua, and I just used a few simple tricks to get ourselves into their entourage."

After hearing Han Qing's explanation, Jiang Jichen understood everything.

He sent a telepathic message back to Han Qing. "So, what's your plan?"

He was certainly asking the right person.

Han Qing, the infamous trickster, replied via telepathic message, "Well, they were just plotting to kill you the moment we find the secret location. I'm sure you already figured that out, Boss. And I bet you have plans to kill them, too. But I was thinking, if we can reach the heart of the treasure land, find the Azure Heaven Killing Weapon, and activate it, we could just sweep them all aside without breaking a sweat."

And just like that, Jiang Jichen and the trickster Han Qing secretly finalized their plan.

Meanwhile, the group ventured deeper into the Desert of the Undead. With the Ancient Map to guide them, they made swift progress.

Jiang Jichen could sense the Spiritual Qi in the air gradually growing richer.

A mystical light swirled in the air, giving the place a dreamlike beauty.

"This is an Illusionary Area. Everyone, stick close to me and don't get separated!"

Young Master Fu announced, holding the Ancient Map in his hand.

In this Illusionary Area, Jiang Jichen found that his senses were useless. The Spiritual Qi was too chaotic and unpredictable.

Without the Ancient Map for guidance, he feared they could get lost at any moment.

Following the guidance of the Ancient Map, they soon passed through the Illusionary Area.

Here, the Spiritual Qi was even richer, almost reaching normal levels. There were even specks of green dotting the ground.

"The Ancient Map only leads us this far," Young Master Fu said to Jiang Jichen. "The rest of the way depends on you."