Ten minutes later, Qin Yuanhao and the tall, thin man left the brothel expressionless, completely devoid of the excitement they had shown before entering.
Lu Yang scratched his temple. *Out so soon?*
At the entrance, the madam handed Qin Yuanhao and the tall, thin man each a slip of paper. The two opened them, glanced at the contents, and immediately destroyed them.
"Brother Qin, the Branch Master has business with me and told me to head to the sub-branch. I'll take my leave first."
"Mm. The Branch Master has given me some errands to run as well. Let us part ways here. Don't forget to help spread the word that I visited the brothel."
"No problem."
The two parted ways before the brothel. Lu Yang's heart stirred, and he chose to follow the tall, thin man.
The tall, thin man's cultivation was comparable to Qin Yuanhao's, and he failed to notice Lu Yang underground.
The surrounding pedestrians and houses gradually thinned. Further along, it turned into desolate mountains and wild hills, completely devoid of people.
The tall, thin man seemed very familiar with the area, navigating the mountain paths with leisurely ease. The mountain trail twisted and turned. After walking for about twenty minutes, he came to a stop before a stone wall.
This place was situated at the border between Yanjiang Commandery and another commandery. Theoretically, it belonged to Yanjiang Commandery, but historically, both sides had grounds to claim jurisdiction.
Precisely because both had a claim, neither bothered to govern it.
After all, there was nothing of value here, so there was no need to dispute it.
He tapped on the stone wall—three long knocks and one short—muttering an incantation under his breath, and the wall rippled like water.
The tall, thin man stepped through the wall and vanished without a trace.
Lu Yang heard what he chanted: "The Immortal Celestial rises from the dead, parts the clouds to reveal the sun, and endures forever in this world."
*Is this a grotto-heaven?* Lu Yang's eyes narrowed, a look of astonishment crossing his face.
A grotto-heaven was a separate space opened up by an almighty cultivator proficient in spatial arts. The higher the cultivation, the more complete the created space would be.
Generally speaking, Soul Formation cultivators could already create their own personal spaces.
Some cultivators liked using grotto-heavens as dwellings to live in seclusion, while others liked using them as tombs to rest in seclusion.
Throughout history, there had been countless Soul Formation cultivators, to say nothing of the three major realms above it: Void Refining, Body Integration, and Tribulation Transcendence.
When cultivators passed away, their grotto-heavens remained behind. This resulted in countless ancient grotto-heavens scattered across the Central Continent. Moreover, most cultivators did not disclose the locations or opening methods of their grotto-heavens before dying, leaving people to rely solely on luck to find these spaces left by predecessors.
No one knew how many unopened grotto-heavens still remained today.
Eldest Senior Sister had said that with the arrival of the Golden Age, more and more grotto-heavens were being discovered, and plenty of people had soared to the sky after seizing fortunate encounters.
The grotto-heaven before him presumably belonged to one left behind by a predecessor, discovered by the demonic cult and claimed for their own use.
Lu Yang did not follow recklessly. He chose to wait quietly underground for the tall, thin man to emerge.
Still, Lu Yang felt this was not safe enough. After all, this was the Yanjiang Branch, a demonic cult stronghold. Who knew how many experts were inside? Simply staying in the dirt did not offer sufficient concealment.
With this thought, Lu Yang retreated to a distance where he could just barely keep the entrance in sight, using To Inches to shrink his body and concealing himself with the barbarian concealment technique Man Gu had provided.
About two hours later, a masked man stepped out from the stone wall, with the tall, thin man following behind him.
From the looks of it, the masked man held a higher status than the tall, thin man.
"Hm?" The masked man sensed something amiss and swept his divine sense across the surroundings, not sparing even the underground.
"Come out. I've found you. Don't think you're hidden so well. Step out now, and I might spare your life!" the masked man said flatly.
"Still not coming out? Don't assume this Branch Master is soft-hearted. I'll count to three. If you still refuse to show yourself, don't blame this Branch Master for not giving you a chance!"
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
"Die!"
The Branch Master condensed power in his palm and struck out in one direction, producing a rumbling roar.
"Branch Master, what is the matter?" the tall, thin man asked respectfully.
The Branch Master shook his head. "I kept feeling someone watching me, but there was no reaction even after bluffing. Perhaps it was just an illusion."
Cold sweat broke out on Lu Yang's forehead. A moment ago, the thought had sprouted in his mind to leap out of the earth and fight the Branch Master, thinking that would be his only slim chance of survival.
Fortunately, his willpower was strong enough to forcefully suppress the urge; he trusted that the barbarian concealment technique would not expose him.
Lu Yang had felt the Branch Master's divine sense sweep over him, but he believed the Branch Master had merely dismissed him as a rock and paid no heed.
If the Branch Master had truly found him, why would he bother counting down? Striking immediately would have made far more sense.
*Fortunately, the barbarian concealment technique is brilliant—as long as I don't move from this spot, I won't be discovered,* Lu Yang thought to himself. *This Branch Master likely has a Golden Core stage cultivation.*
"How are the preparations for the trials in ten days coming along?"
"Everything is ready. We are only waiting for our fellow travelers to arrive in ten days, pass the trials, and join our ranks."
"Very good. Hopefully we can recruit a few more geniuses of the demonic path this time. That way, headquarters will take the Yanjiang Branch more seriously."
The two talked as they walked, quickly disappearing past the edge of Lu Yang's vision. Lu Yang remained motionless, terrified of exposing himself.
*The Golden Core stage really is something else.*
Lu Yang waited for another hour. He worried that the Branch Master was excessively suspicious and might suddenly double back.
An hour passed, and the Branch Master did not appear.
"Time to go."
Lu Yang slipped away underground.
This venture had yielded a bountiful harvest: not only had he learned the location of the Yanjiang Branch, but he had also confirmed that the trials would take place right here.
***
"Spill it, Grim Phantom. What's the deal with your hair? Word is you pull out a strand every time you kill someone?" Constable Wei asked, legs crossed casually. The thieves sat in a trembling row opposite him.
"N-No such thing! It's just hard being the boss, tough leading a crew... my boys stir up trouble everywhere, and my hair fell out from sheer stress!"
"And what about you, Desperate Erlang? I heard you traded blows with a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, gouged out both of his eyes, and he took one of yours?"
"M-My eye is fine. Wearing an eyepatch just looks more imposing. When you're out making a name in the jianghu, you've got to have something to brag about."
"And you, Grass Skimmer. Heard you burgled the imperial palace. At a conservative estimate, that's a life sentence. In the worst case, death by a thousand cuts."
The third thief cried out in grievance, "It's a misunderstanding, Milord! I just defaulted on a debt, and the creditor broke my leg to wipe the slate clean!"
Constable Wei yawned. He had thought each of them carried major cases on their heads, but this was it?
"Constable, big brother, I confess! I'll confess everything! I've burgled sixteen households..."
Constable Wei waved a hand. "No rush on that. First tell me—why did you lot flock to Yanjiang Commandery all at once?"
"Well..." The bandit boss hesitated, weighing the pros and cons of talking.
Constable Wei pointed toward the torture chamber in the back. "See those torture implements back there? If you won't talk, we'll let those things help you speak."
Dried black blood still stained the implements, giving them a spine-chilling look. The thieves swallowed hard, scrambling over each other to confess.
"I'll talk..."
The thieves barely managed two words before coming to an abrupt halt.
If anyone had stepped behind them, they would have seen ox-hair needles embedded in the napes of their necks, each tipped with lethal poison!
"An assassin!"
Worthy of being the most experienced constable, Wei reacted instantly, bursting out of the room to search for the assassin's figure.
Yet how could there be anyone outside?
Inside the interrogation room, the shadows flowed as if alive, seeming to let out a few low chuckles before melting away into nothingness.
Chapter 62