A month later, somewhere in the rolling mountains hidden in the gray mist in the northwest of Zhongtian Continent, there was a complex of buildings covered in darkness, covering an area of almost dozens of acres, including towers, attics, palaces,
An ellipsoid-shaped light mana barrier enveloped all the buildings inside.
The gray and black air floats gently over the building, isolating everything here from the outside world.
Within the mana barrier, people wearing gray clothes can be seen flying back and forth from time to time, which is quite lively.
In a secret room at the top of a black tower with more than ten floors, an old man with a dove face and a purple brocade robe was sitting cross-legged.
This man's face was as thin as a ghost, his eye sockets were deeply sunken, and he looked as skinny as a skeleton.
The dove-faced old man was meditating and practicing. He held a black crystal stone in each hand in his arms. From time to time, a faint gray gas flew out of the crystal stone and was sucked into the old man's mouth.
The void in the secret room suddenly fluctuated, and a figure appeared out of thin air, standing two steps in front of the dove-faced old man.
"Are you the old man from the Jackdaw Sect?" The figure was covered in a faint black aura, and his appearance could not be seen clearly, but the voice seemed to be that of a young man.
The dove-faced old man was horrified, and just as he was about to make a move, there was a sharp clang, and a cold and sharp object was pressed against his forehead, and a slight stinging sensation came.
The dove-faced old man suddenly stiffened. He had no doubt that if he moved again, his head would be pierced immediately.
His secret room is completely sealed, and there are countless formation restrictions placed up and down the entire tower, but the person in front of him can sneak in quietly, which already speaks volumes.
"Is he a monk in the true elixir realm?"
The dove-faced old man did not dare to use his spiritual consciousness to sense the black figure's cultivation. His thoughts were racing in his mind and he was secretly guessing. He could only answer honestly:
"Yes. This junior is Wu Shen. May I ask what your senior's orders are?"
"Let me ask you, five years ago, in the Tongyang Mountains in the southeast of the mainland, did you have contact with a middle-aged monk in white with a face full of scars?" The black figure said lightly. Although the tone was gentle, it was vague.
There was an evil spirit.
The dove-faced old man felt a sudden chill in his heart. He tried his best to collect the ups and downs of memories from his mind, and finally recalled the long trip a few years ago, and said hurriedly:
"What the senior said is true. I had just entered the late stage of crystallization at that time. I went to the Tongyang Mountains to search for medicine. I once joined a hunting group. There was indeed such a person in the hunting group."
"Very good, how much do you know about this person?" The black figure's voice rose a little.
"The man calls himself Fan. He is a casual cultivator in the True Alchemy Realm and one of the leaders of the hunting group. He is very powerful in both martial arts and spiritual weapons. However, he has a withdrawn personality and rarely communicates with others.
.The junior only stayed with the hunting group for half a year. After that, because he found the needed medicine, he left the hunting group with some excuses, and then he did not stay in the Tongyang Mountains any longer. So that’s all he knew about it.”
The dove-faced old man didn't know what the black figure wanted to know, but he also knew that he could only survive now if he fully cooperated with the other party, so he searched hard for memories that were very common to him.
"Other than that, is there nothing else? Think carefully and don't miss any detail." The black figure ordered in a tone that left no room for doubt.
"By the way, senior, I remembered... that person should be an alchemist, and his alchemy skills are quite good." The dove-faced old man seemed to have suddenly remembered something, and said in a loud voice.
"Go on." The black energy around the black figure rolled slightly.
"During that hunting, the hunting group once chased a golden-eyed poisonous ape and chased it to the mouth of a valley filled with poisonous miasma. The monk surnamed Fan collected several spiritual materials from the hunting group and refined them at will.
There are a few poison pills for us to wear on our bodies to block the poisonous miasma in the valley." The dove-faced old man said.
"Oh? Do you still have that poison pill on you?" The black figure's voice sounded slightly excited.
"No. After killing the golden-eyed poisonous ape, that man took the poison-reducing pill back." The dove-faced old man said hurriedly.
The black figure was silent for a while, and after a moment, he said calmly:
"Give me the list of people in that hunting group, as well as the locations where you fought in the Tongyang Mountains, and mark them on the map in detail."
"Yes, senior." The dove-faced old man was stunned when he heard the words, but then he agreed with joy and took out a burnt yellow map. After thinking carefully for a while, he marked a few on it.
place.
Then, he took out a blank jade slip, put it on his forehead, used one hand to release his mental power, and carefully copied the map into it. He was very obedient.
A quarter of an hour later, the black figure silently flew out of the Jackdaw Sect's tower and landed on a cliff not far away.
The black energy on the figure slowly dissipated, revealing Liu Ming's figure, but at this moment, his brows were furrowed and his expression was quite depressed.
In the past month, he had followed the information recorded on the jade slips to track down the whereabouts of Qian Huanren, but his gains were minimal.
That person seemed to be extremely cautious, and would wipe out all traces of the place he stayed or the people he came into contact with.
Liu Ming finally made some inquiries this time and found the dove-faced old man, a person who had had direct contact with him. Unexpectedly, he still could not find out his exact whereabouts.
"However, it is a small gain to know that Qian Huanren Demon is good at refining elixirs. It would be even better if we could get the elixirs refined by this person." Liu Ming sighed and murmured to himself.
.
The Nether Soul Searching Technique can rely on some sporadic breath to sense the approximate location of the body within a certain range. Even the remaining mana in the refined elixir is enough to cast the spell.
He was able to kill many evil cultivators in a row in just two years because of this magical tracking technique.
After a moment of uncertainty on Liu Ming's face, he turned over one hand, a white light flashed in his palm, and the jade slip given by the dove-faced old man appeared in his hand.
Speaking of which, the dove-faced old man was quite knowledgeable. Not only did he list the members of the hunting group five years ago, but he also learned about the approximate identities of these people.
However, most of the people's names are vague and can only be called by such and such surnames.
For this kind of hunting group composed of loose cultivators, they are usually monks who get together by chance. They form long-term or short-term organizations because of the same purpose. They usually enter some dangerous areas to hunt monsters and beasts and explore ruins.
The task of collecting spiritual materials and herbs.
Because they are very free to come and go, the members are quite complex and wary of each other, and their real names are usually not revealed.
According to Liu Ming's judgment, most of the people on the list are people who cannot be traced, but the leader of the hunting group, in addition to the monk surnamed Fan under the alias Qian Huan Renmo, also has a Zhendan monk surnamed Zuo.
Regarding this person, the dove-faced old man explained in detail:
"Zuo Gongquan, the head of a small sect in the Tongyang Mountains, the main recruiter of the hunting group..."
"It's good to have a name. Since this person is the leader of the hunting group together with Qian Huanren Demon, he should know more about him than the dove-faced old man." After Liu Ming thought about it, he raised his sleeves and robe, and then
He sacrificed the Dai Yue Jade Boat, floated on it, and the flying boat turned into a red shadow and sped away into the distance.
…
The Tongyang Mountains are a medium-sized mountain range close to the southeast of Zhongtian Continent, stretching tens of thousands of miles from west to east. Most of the mountains are copper-iron veins, hence the name.
The vitality of heaven and earth in this mountain range is rich. Demonic beasts appear frequently, and there are also many spiritual grasses. Many monks often come here to hunt, including many high-level monks in the crystallization stage and even the true elixir realm. In addition, there are also some
Small sects took root here.
There is a flat mountain valley to the east of the mountain range, and more than a hundred buildings of different heights are arranged here, forming a small and medium-sized city.
It was noon now, and the market was crowded with people, noisy, and extremely lively.
In a conspicuous position in the central square of Fang City, there is a three-story wooden attic. A huge black and shiny plaque hangs on the door, with the three golden characters of "Jubao Tower" clearly written on it. Under the direct sunlight,
, sparkling and exceptionally eye-catching.
The space inside the attic is also quite open, with rows of counters neatly displayed, filled with elixirs, talismans, spiritual herbs, monster materials and so on. People come in and out of the shop from time to time.
.
The business was so prosperous that naturally all the shopkeepers and clerks in the shop were smiling and working harder to greet the business in the shop.
After a few words with a customer who came up to inquire, the old shopkeeper, who was over mid-year old, glanced at the stairs leading to the second floor involuntarily.
Speaking of which, the larger shops in this market are all backed by powerful people.
Just now, Zuo Gongquan, the real master behind the Jubao Building, the head of the Biyan Sect who rarely comes to the store, brought a middle-aged monk in a blue shirt up to the second floor.
When the boss comes to inspect the store, the people below will naturally have to be more attentive and try to leave a good impression.
At the same time, in the private room on the second floor of the attic, an old man wearing a leather robe was sitting on the main seat. He had broad shoulders and a tall body. Even when he was sitting, he exuded an aura of majesty.
.
Sitting opposite him was a middle-aged man in a green shirt, with a sallow face and a sickly look. Only a pair of bright eyes gave people a feeling that he should not be underestimated.
"Fellow Daoist Ye turns out to be a monk from the Tianying Demon Sect. Zuo is really disrespectful." Zuo Gongquan looked at a black token in his hand. There were three clumsy words engraved on the token, and he immediately handed it over with a serious look on his face.
He handed it back to the man in green shirt and held it in his hand.
Although the Biyan Sect is somewhat famous in the Tongyang Mountains, it is only a third-rate sect at best, and cannot be compared with the Ten Thousand Years Great Sect like the Tianying Demon Sect.
In the eyes of the old man, the aura of the man in green shirt across from him was chaotic and hazy. With his spiritual consciousness in the middle stage of the true elixir, he could not see how the other man really cultivated. Naturally, he had a higher opinion of the other man in his heart. (To be continued)