Master of Strange Dao

Just when Yu Ziqing thought that something could connect with him, the image suddenly returned to its normal state.

The lifelike beast bone face, which seemed as if someone was watching him, turned into a normal appearance—it didn't quite look the same.

Yu Ziqing's expression instantly darkened.

It was definitely not an illusion; there was something, that feeling, akin to having connected with certain deities before.

The Seven Yin King was like this, as was the Cliff Divine King, and even those bastards in the Mud Sea of the Muddied World were similar.

But this time, the other party decisively severed the connection and didn't face him.

This instead made Yu Ziqing vigilant.

He wasn't afraid of arrogant fools; those standing in the open posed much less of a threat.

Those exceptionally cautious individuals were much more troublesome.

Without the connection, not knowing who the other party was, many things became difficult to handle.

However, this person showed a slight anomaly, which made Yu Ziqing certain that his deduction using the Dayan Preface was correct.

He followed the network constructed by those points of light, according to the pattern, eventually focusing on a specific location.

A place that surprised him.

The location where Dali, Daqian, and the Wilderness intersected, also the westernmost small town of Kuihou Country.

Before Dadui's return, this was the closest city to Jinlan Mountain, where Jinlan Mountain initially went to purchase some items.

Later, as the reputation of Jinlan Mountain's Forbidden Land grew, the chaotic little town began to slowly establish order.

Because it was too close to Jinlan Mountain, all sorts of weird creatures avoided passing by here, fearing they might be casually killed by someone from Jinlan Mountain.

Yu Ziqing's gaze was deep as he summarized the pattern, eventually discovering that here was the most critical location, surely housing high-level evil cultivators.

Because it was incredibly safe here, Dadui and Jinlan Mountain effectively played a trick under the light, and spies from other forces certainly wouldn't venture to investigate so close to Jinlan Mountain.

This seemingly dangerous and easily exposed place became the safest in the world.

And traveling north allows entry to Dali, heading south leads to Daqian, moving east enters the heart of Kuihou Country.

Considering earlier that a group of evil cultivators escaped from Kuihou Country to West Qian before subsequent events unfolded.

The Emperor Kuihou even personally blocked people at the southern border of Kuihou Country.

Thus, this western small town nominally belonging to Kuihou Country remains the safest and most convenient place to conduct affairs.

Yu Ziqing gently rubbed his head, walked out of Jiachen City's dungeon, and sent a message to Song, informing him of the location deduced through the Dayan Preface.

But he advised him to investigate first, without alerting the enemy.

Ideally, engage a Body Cultivation cultivator, while Qi Refining cultivators should avoid it; otherwise, they might unwittingly contaminate themselves with those wicked things and bring them back to Dadui.

Yu Ziqing pondered for a moment; aside from personally taking action, it seemed dependable only You Zhen and the village chief remained.

Yu Ziqing didn't want to gamble on whether those top evil cultivators possessed something that could infect stronger Qi Refining cultivators.

But for now, these folks were performing tasks based on evil dao — after all, evil dao was a Qi Refining branch, albeit also Qi Refining.

That Grey Qi, which infects Qi Refining cultivators, had little effect on Body Cultivation or Refining God cultivators.

Yu Ziqing pondered a bit more, deciding to ask the village chief to handle it; Dadui had too few strong experts. Letting Jia Shisi act would be too conspicuous; he desired the outcome of an unintentional discovery and then casually solving it.

Preferably, the other party wouldn't realize he had deduced the pattern.

Days later, Zhong Shouzheng walked out of Jinlan Mountain with a sigh, followed by the frail, slightly hunchbacked village chief, who idly walked behind him.

As time passed, the village chief seemed to return to simplicity, with his Qi-Blood completely restrained, expending none of his energy when not in action, appearing increasingly weaker.

Zhong Shouzheng was merely accompanying them at Yu Ziqing's quiet request.

On one hand, it facilitated investigation and discovery of traces.

Song had sent people to investigate—only finding traces of appearances by evil cultivators, with none actually seen.

Zhong Shouzheng went to verify.

If there were indeed evil cultivators, they certainly would've hidden deeply; once detected, they should prevent any escapes.

The second intention was for the village chief to avoid killing everyone.

The village chief appeared senile, while Zhong Shouzheng seemed like a youth. Having trained for a few days in Body Cultivation, he looked like a newly initiated cultivation teenager, rendering this elder-youth pairing inconspicuous.

After all, among those journeying outside, a seemingly invincible bunch was often disguising their true low-profilec nature.

The village chief, with Zhong Shouzheng in tow, reached the small town gate. He glanced back at Zhong Shouzheng.

"Did you sense anyone?"

"No, there is quite a bit of Evil Qi, but in this place, it's perfectly normal to have residual Evil Qi. Some noise would be needed to feel it. I've heard these fellows especially enjoy burrowing underground..."

Before Zhong Shouzheng finished speaking, he saw the village chief nod. With hands behind his back and stooped posture, he slowly lifted one foot, then stomped fiercely.

Sudden explosive force was perfectly controlled, with no leak whatsoever, thoroughly directed towards the underground.