A Night Wanderer? No, a Star Official? The second group really is Dark Night Rose! Having personally experienced the incident at Qinfeng Academy, Xiahou Aotian recognized his enemies' identities at once.
Two Star Officials—one possessing the driver, and one possessing him.
Xiahou Aotian was a frail Fangshi. Neither his physical body nor his soul could be called powerful. He could only watch helplessly as he was possessed.
That the enemy possessing him could suppress his soul and manipulate his body meant they were definitely at the Saint stage.
However, the enemy had not displayed an overwhelming advantage, which indicated they were not a Level 5 Star Official, but likely only Level 4.
If they were Level 5, Xiahou Aotian wouldn't have even had the warning sign of feeling "frozen"; his body's control would have been wrested away cleanly and decisively.
"My eyes didn't deceive me earlier—your physical constitution is quite mediocre. Looking at it now, your spiritual body's strength is equally ordinary. You're either a Fangshi or a Red Phoenix Star Official, and I don't sense any charm on you..." The middle-aged driver looked at Xiahou Aotian through the rearview mirror while driving.
"So you're a Fangshi."
Xiahou Aotian kept his face taut and gave no response, as he could no longer speak.
Looking straight ahead, the driver continued nonchalantly, "We'll be taking the money. Tsk tsk, sixty million can buy two medium-quality Saint props."
His tone was brimming with ease and confidence, as if both the money and Xiahou Aotian were completely in the bag.
"As for you..." The driver chuckled.
Xiahou Aotian raised his own hands, grabbed his head, and began twisting it backward inch by inch.
*Crack, crack!* Xiahou Aotian's neck bones made sounds on the verge of snapping. His face turned bright red from pain and lack of oxygen, and blood vessels burst in his eyes.
It seemed as though he would die from a snapped neck in the very next second.
Yet at the critical moment, his hands loosened their grip.
Xiahou Aotian panted heavily.
The driver said coldly, "As long as you tell us where those Qin dynasty antiques came from, we can spare your life."
While still gasping for air, Xiahou Aotian suddenly let out a chuckle. "A Level 5 spiritual body isn't tasty, and I don't feel like getting schizophrenia. But if you don't cooperate, I won't go easy on you like I just did."
This was the Star Official possessing him speaking.
Killing someone before using Spirit Devouring minimized the psychological contamination. If one directly seized a body and swallowed a complete soul whole, the chances of developing schizophrenia on the spot were extremely high.
After all, this was a Level 5 Fangshi.
*As expected, they aren't certain of the Qin antiques' origin...* Xiahou Aotian finally caught his breath. He strained with all his might to blink, but could manage only a quiver of his eyelashes.
The driver glanced at him through the rearview mirror. "Let him speak."
Right after that, Xiahou Aotian discovered he could speak again; the possessing Star Official had yielded a portion of control.
Xiahou Aotian instinctively opened his inventory, only to realize that his limbs still could not move, so he silently closed it again.
"Don't think about stalling for time. If you don't talk within ten seconds, we'll perform a Spirit Inquest ourselves." The middle-aged driver was exceptionally cautious, keeping a close eye on their surroundings at all times, especially the vehicles behind them.
He was watching out for official organizations, as well as staying alert against "Kakarot's" accomplices catching up.
Meanwhile, the Star Official possessing Xiahou Aotian raised his hands once more to cup his head, ready to snap the Fangshi's neck with a *crack* at any second.
"You two Star Officials..." Xiahou Aotian could finally speak, but instead of the defiance or terror his enemies expected, he sneered with blatant disdain. "Didn't you read your own fortunes before making your move? So foolish. No wonder you can only ever be short-lived side characters."
"What do you mean!" The driver's brows furrowed. He instinctively opened his Star Eyes and examined his own physiognomy through the rearview mirror.
His Palace of Calamity showed nothing out of the ordinary, while his Palace of Affinity sparkled brightly.
This portended an impending windfall of wealth.
It matched the current development of events perfectly.
Only then did the driver put his worries to rest. He said in a deep voice, "Since he won't cooperate, kill him and conduct the Spirit Inquest. At worst, we'll ask the Third Protector to purify your contamination with the divine power of the sun. We're carrying out business for the organization; the Third Protector will help you."
Ten seconds meant ten seconds. This Dark Night Rose operative was decisive and ruthless, granting the other party no chance to stall.
Yet his words received no response. In the rearview mirror, Xiahou Aotian remained frozen, hands cupping his head.
"What... what's wrong with you..." A jolt of alarm ran through the middle-aged driver.
The corners of Xiahou Aotian's mouth curled up into a smile. "Oh, nothing. I just ate him and am digesting his memories."
His expression and gaze were no longer pretentious or full of chuunibyou arrogance; it was as though he had become an entirely different person.
*This...* The middle-aged driver's face changed drastically. Without the slightest hesitation, his spiritual body detached from the shell, passed straight through the car roof, and shot into the sky.
The driver's eyes rolled back, and he slumped forward over the steering wheel. The speeding taxi swerved sharply toward the guardrail.
Xiahou Aotian lunged forward and grabbed the steering wheel, narrowly averting a crash.
"Keep a steady grip on the wheel," he muttered to himself.
"I know! Hurry up and chase him!" Xiahou Aotian commanded.
"He didn't leave." Zhang Yuanqing's spiritual body detached from the physical shell and passed through the car roof, spotting a translucent middle-aged man clinging to the top of the taxi, his face vacant.
The instant the middle-aged man had separated from the driver's body, Zhang Yuanqing had ensnared him with Star Illusion.
In the middle-aged man's perception, he was currently executing consecutive Star Escapes and flying, fleeing far away from the taxi.
In reality, he had remained on the car roof the entire time.
Zhang Yuanqing had caught up long ago, hiding inside the cab using Night Wander—spiritual bodies could cast skills as well.
The reason the two Star Officials hadn't detected any calamity in their physiognomy was that after advancing to Level 6, Zhang Yuanqing could actively trigger the Fragment of Taiyin Origin to receive the blessing of concealment.
Even though he could mobilize only a wisp of lunar origin spiritual energy, confounding two low-level Star Officials was more than easy enough.
Zhang Yuanqing swooped toward the soul on the car roof, engulfing it with his spiritual body and devouring it.
His eyes instantly lost focus as he entered a state of digesting memories.
More than ten seconds later, Zhang Yuanqing's soul regained clarity. After digesting the memories of both Star Officials and connecting the pieces, he obtained some interesting intelligence.
These two Star Officials were members of Dark Night Rose's Execution Department, and their direct superior was a Day Wanderer known as the Third Protector.
The Execution Department did not need to lurk within the Five Elements Alliance or Spirit Realm clans; it was Dark Night Rose's mobile division. The department was spearheaded by Night Wanderers, supplemented by a small number of orderly classes.
There were even unaffiliated evil classes among them.
Additionally, in the memories of these two Star Officials, Zhang Yuanqing saw Sect Master Chunyang.
The ones secretly aiding Sect Master Chunyang were precisely Dark Night Rose's mobile division.
Just a few days ago, they had clashed with Taiyi Sect's Elder Hongying and elders of the Nihility Sect, successfully withstanding the pursuit of both major organizations.
Sect Master Chunyang had sustained serious injuries and was currently recuperating.
At present, the Third Protector was plotting against Elder Hongying and the Nihility Sect, intending to use Sect Master Chunyang as bait to spring a reverse ambush on the experts of both organizations.
*Dark Night Rose is treating Sect Master Chunyang like a pawn in their game. Aren't they afraid of nurturing a tiger that will turn on them?* Zhang Yuanqing frowned inwardly.
If Sect Master Chunyang grew stronger, he would pose just as much of a threat to Dark Night Rose's Night Wanderers, Star Officials, and Day Wanderers.
*Once I return to Songhai, I'll report this and give Elder Hongying and Yin Ji a heads-up,* Zhang Yuanqing pondered.
He decided to take the bodies of the two Star Officials with him; they might prove useful in the future.
His soul sank back down into the physical body, possessing the protagonist: "I've already taken the money. You can get back on your own, right?"
A look of relief washed over Xiahou Aotian's face. "As long as the money is safe, that's fine."
"Don't forget to return the bead to the guild repository. I borrowed it from Fu Qingyang." Zhang Yuanqing gave a subtle glance toward Xiahou Aotian's thumb, smiling with an underlying implication. "Seems like I might've meddled unnecessarily."
With that, his spiritual body separated and executed Star Escape, departing from the taxi.
He returned to his own physical body hidden near the old quarter. Taking advantage of the empty surroundings and the offline surveillance cameras, he used Star Escape to vanish.
The bodies of the two Dark Night Rose Star Officials were lying inside a sedan parked along a street in the old quarter. Their eyes were closed on the seats as if they were merely asleep.
They were still alive. The death of a soul did not instantly kill a physical body; instead, it turned them into living corpses. With meticulous care, the bodies could even "live" indefinitely.
Brilliant starlight flared inside the car, and Zhang Yuanqing appeared in the back seat.
He brought out Red Cap, stored the two Star Officials inside the cap's internal space, destroyed the dashcam, and checked the vehicle's contents, finding it to be a rental.
In that case, there was no need to dispose of the car.
After a moment's thought, Zhang Yuanqing exhaled a breath of lunar power, which transformed into a glamorous woman with spring in her eyes.
"Master, do you have any other instructions?" Yi Chuanmei prostrated herself at his feet.
Zhang Yuanqing asked, "When you were in contact with Xiahou Aotian, did you sense any spiritual fluctuations from his ring?"
Yi Chuanmei let out a giggle. "Yes. A very strange spiritual body. Its aura resembles a Night Wanderer's, but it's far more complex—almost like an amalgamation sewn together."
*An amalgamation...* Zhang Yuanqing pondered briefly, then corrected her, "To be precise, it's likely an ancient cultivator of dual classes."
Yi Chuanmei considered it for a moment, then nodded. "Right."
*Still, why does Xiahou Aotian have the soul of an ancient cultivator on him? Ancient cultivators aren't bound by Morality Points either. I need to get to the bottom of this, but I can't be too aggressive, lest I agitate the soul inside the ring...* Zhang Yuanqing pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on.
Then he saw Yi Chuanmei gazing at him eagerly.
*Pervert!* Zhang Yuanqing gave an impassive nod.
"You did well. I must reward you."
With that, divine power of the sun condensed into a whip that lashed violently against Yi Chuanmei.
Amid rising black smoke, Yi Chuanmei collapsed at his feet, gasping for breath. A morbid pleasure and excitement surfaced on her face. "Th-thank you for the reward, Master... The harsher you are to me, the happier I am."
*Should I find her a sadistic spirit servant?* Zhang Yuanqing kept his expression cold and aloof, looking like an overbearing, disdainful corporate CEO.
His frigid demeanor struck right at Yi Chuanmei's sweet spot.
Just then, police cars came swarming toward the area, their sirens wailing shrilly.
*Time to leave, before the roads in the old quarter are cordoned off!* Zhang Yuanqing stepped on the gas and drove away with the two bodies.
He drove the car out of Du and onto a secluded country road. Seeing that no one was around, he brought out Red Cap and stored the entire vehicle inside.
By midday, having slipped aboard a commercial flight using illusions and Night Wander, Zhang Yuanqing returned to Songhai.
The moment he turned off airplane mode, he saw Xiahou Aotian pinging everyone in the group chat:
[Xiahou Aotian: Matter resolved. The sixty million was snatched by Yuanshi Tianzun. Go to Songhai if you want your cut from him.]
[Sun Miaomiao: Resolved? Are any of you hurt? Who was ambushing Xiahou Aotian?]
[Yuanshi Tianzun: On the Du Branch side, there were three Level 5 Saints and sixteen Extranormals. The other group was Dark Night Rose—two Level 4 Star Officials. I dealt with both. Of course, our colleagues from the Du Branch are still alive; I showed restraint.]
A total of five Saints and sixteen Extranormals, all handled by Yuanshi Tianzun alone... Sun Miaomiao and the other two fell into silence.
After a dozen seconds, unwilling to stay submerged in an atmosphere of anxiety and dejection, Tianxia Guihuo changed the subject:
[Tianxia Guihuo: We don't need to make a special trip to Songhai to collect the cash. We can receive it through Yuanshi Tianzun's Red Cap.]
Everyone in the chat was sharp. Understanding instantly, they began praising Tianxia Guihuo for being a clever Fire Master.
[Tianxia Guihuo: There's no need to emphasize that I'm clever. It makes me feel like you're mocking me.]
[Xiahou Aotian: For side characters, intelligence is a rare and precious quality.]
Amid the back-and-forth banter, everyone took turns opening the guild repository, requested to use Red Cap, and retrieved their ten-million-yuan share.
***
Black Dragon Society.
Inside an antique hall, Elder Jiangbao sat on a red sandalwood chair beneath a horizontal plaque inscribed with the gilded words "Black Dragon Society."
Elder Jiangbao stood about one meter seventy, dressed in a black martial arts suit. His sparse white hair gave him the appearance of a senior martial arts master from a kung fu movie.
However, his expression was fierce, marked by a knife scar over his left eye. A dormant rage coalesced between his brows, making him look as though he might grab a cleaver, roll up his sleeves to reveal arms full of green dragon tattoos, and lead his underlings out into the streets for a brawl at any second.
Elder Jiangbao leisurely sipped hot tea while Zhao Gongming and another deacon, Chen Jianxian, gave their reports with trepidation:
"The one who ambushed me was a female Star Official, estimated to be Level 6. She seemed to bear no murderous intent toward me, only injuring rather than killing."
"The one who ambushed me was a yin corpse, exceptionally strong in close combat. He didn't use any skills, yet... yet I had no power to fight back against him. He didn't intend to kill me either."
Zhao Gongming added, "The assailant who attacked Zhao Sanyang is still unclear for now. At the time, the power grid in the old quarter was cut, and surveillance failed. By the time we found Zhao Sanyang, he was already dead."
Elder Jiangbao took slow sips of tea, maintaining a blank expression, but the veins on his forehead subtly bulged.
"What about the team members you brought?"
"They were tasked with cornering the target, but... but that was an illusion, not real. The target's accomplice was extremely cunning; he used an illusion to lure the tiger from the mountain, making us believe the target had already left Wanbao House."
"A female Star Official, a high-level yin corpse, an unknown assailant, and an illusion capable of deceiving Chen Jianxian—that must be an Illusionist..." Elder Jiangbao's gaze turned severe. "This organization's composition is quite complicated. Continue."
Zhao Gongming glanced at Chen Jianxian, who said in a low voice:
"The target and his companions likely have ties to our official faction, or might even be official personnel themselves. Otherwise, they wouldn't have shown us mercy. Taiyi Sect doesn't have many female Level 6 Star Officials; we are currently screening them.
"Regarding Lian Sanyue, Elder, perhaps you could pay her a personal visit? She wouldn't dare refuse you face."
The moment he finished speaking, he saw Elder Jiangbao raise a palm.
Despair gripped Chen Jianxian's heart as he braced himself for severe injury.
Elder Jiangbao lowered his hand and took a deep breath. "Control your wrath, control your wrath!"
He glared at Chen Jianxian. "That little girl is completely impervious to reason. If I go look for her, it can only end in a fight. Given her personality, she wouldn't talk even if you beat her to death."
Did they really want a Dominator-level battle to drag half the city into the grave with them?
Zhao Gongming hurried to speak:
"Although we stumbled this time, it proved one thing: the origin of those antiques is problematic. Think about it—if they had ties to us, they could have easily stepped forward to explain rather than resorting to extreme confrontation.
"That precisely shows they cannot explain the source of the antiques..."
Elder Jiangbao narrowed his eyes. "You mean those antiques are very likely from Qinfeng Academy?"
Zhao Gongming nodded.
Elder Jiangbao pondered briefly. "I will report this matter to headquarters. As for any follow-up, let headquarters worry about it; it has nothing to do with us anymore."
The other party had likely already left Du. Having missed their chance to catch them this time, they probably wouldn't get another.
***
Songhai, Fujia Bay.
Zhang Yuanqing returned to the villa in a taxi, retrieved Red Cap, and summoned Commandery Princess Yinyao back into reality.
The three yin corpses, including Greed Divine General, remained inside the cap's space.
*Even though I protected the money and rescued Xiahou Aotian, making such a huge fuss over a few antiques is a flaw in itself. Fortunately, I purchased the materials through Fu Qingyang. Had I applied for them myself, higher-ups could easily have found out I was refining high-grade yin corpses, which would draw suspicion straight to me.*
Though he was still under suspicion now, the severity was far lighter.
Furthermore, before acting, he had disguised the yin corpse's face and put Commandery Princess Yinyao out in the open, never making a personal appearance himself.
To the Du Branch, who knew nothing of him, the assailant was a female Level 6 Star Official.
*These matters can be put aside for now. My most pressing priority is formulating a plan to rescue Demon Eye. Time is running out for me.*
With the immediate issues handled, the pressure of the Fear Heavenly King's curse weighed on his mind once more.
Chapter 492