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Chapter 210: Hostility

This time, however, they had the opportunity to explore the city as part of their mission.

The Golden-Furred Hou, having consumed its Spirit-Enhancing Pill, was now in a drowsy state and had been left behind.

The trauma Chu Liang experienced from the recent assassination attempt by the Dual Wielder lingered in his mind. He wondered if he had any accomplices.

With some time having passed since then, he was hoping that the danger had subsided.

After all, while it was important to remain vigilant, Chu Liang couldn't spend his whole life confined to the mountains due to the possibility of assassins. With Fei Qi, the Battle Soul at the Sixth Realm, tucked into his embrace, he had some confidence.

And so, accompanied by Lin Bei and Shang Ziliang, the trio made their way to Misty Waters City.

The city appeared vast, yet an oppressive atmosphere hung over it. People in the streets and alleys whispered about the recent series of mysterious incidents. The flow of merchants and travelers at the city gates was notably reduced compared to what one would expect in a major city of the Eastern Regions.

These consecutive mysterious incidents had impacted the Misty Waters City greatly. With a diabolical cultivator on the loose, who would dare to enter the city, knowing that they might not even escape alive?

However, it was also strange to note that ordinary diabolical cultivators, if they were killing for cultivation purposes, wouldn't confine their crimes to one location. Typically, they would commit a crime in one place and then immediately flee to another, making it harder to track them down.

In the case of the incidents in Misty Waters City, seven people had consecutively died, each victim gruesomely having their hearts ripped out of their chests, with no more than three days between each occurrence. Naturally, this instilled fear and anxiety among the citizens.

While ordinary homicides might not have sparked such widespread panic, the involvement of cultivators made the situation far more perilous for ordinary people, who were vastly weaker compared to cultivators. Encountering one could mean instant death.

A hypothesis had been formulated for this case: that the crimes had been committed by a diabolical cultivator at the pinnacle of the third realm from the Soul Destroyer Sect.

The Soul Destroyer Sect was one of the diabolical sects that inherited the most ancient cultivation legacy. Historically, this sect would rise when chaos ensued in the world, only to quickly fade away upon the return of peace and prosperity.

This was because the defining feature of the sect was its use of human lives in replacement of resources.

It was commonly understood that cultivation demanded substantial resources. This was true even for diabolical cultivators. For example, even the Fiends from the Dark King Sect, with whom they had interacted previously, had to worry about securing natural treasures.

That was not the case for Soul Destroyer Sect.

For cultivators of the Soul Destroyer Sect to achieve Core Formation, the primary materials required for refinement of the pill were nine live human hearts.

The founder of the Soul Destroyer Sect was indeed innovative. Initially, he may have only wanted to find an alternative to traditional cultivation resources, and he did succeed... Otherwise, he wouldn't have met such a tragic end.

Obviously, such cultivators would be killed immediately upon being sighted.

When Chu Liang and his two companions entered the city, they went straight to the city supervisor's office. After all, they had been summoned by the city supervisor, Du Ce.

In a city, the government cultivators usually consisted of military generals and officials from the city supervisor's office. The military generally wouldn't participate in investigations of city mysteries like these, as the city supervisor's office was short-staffed. When a major case would happen, they would request assistance from the capital of Yu. When manpower was tight in the capital of Yu, they would seek help from the Divine Nine and the Terrestrial Ten. This was not uncommon.

Du Ce shared a good relationship with the Mount Shu Sect, which was why he had asked disciples from Mount Shu to come to the Eastern Regions to help with the case.

Of course, the disciples of Mount Shu weren't the only ones he had requested.

...

Young Hero Chu, Young Hero Lin, it's good to see you again," Du Ce greeted warmly. "Haha, and Nephew Shang, you're here too."

Du Ce was still dressed like a scholar.

Shang Ziliang's arrival this time was quite timely, as Du Ce happened to be his father's junior brother. They had exchanged visits several times over the past few years and were quite familiar with each other.

"City Supervisor Du," Chu Liang greeted with a bow.

"Uncle Du!" Shang Ziliang called out loudly.

Lin Bei glanced at him, then immediately clasped his hands and said, "Big Brother Du."

But then, Shang Ziliang pushed him away.

Chu Liang laughed and explained, "It's just some playful banter among fellow disciples, City Supervisor Du, please don't mind them."

"No worries, they're just young people," Du Ce said, with a good temper, not minding at all.

With such warm greetings, everyone walked into the hall of the city supervisor's office.

Inside, there was a young man sitting.

The young man appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen years old, with a complexion resembling smooth, radiant jade, emitting a lively aura. He tied his hair into a simple bun, with some strands framing his face. His eyes exuded vitality, indicating that he wasn't some ordinary person. He wore a long robe made of blue and white silk brocade, with a white tiger pendant hanging from his neck. There was a pearl-adorned hairpin on his head, adding to his dignified presence.

He glanced at Chu Liang and his group as they entered, his expression remaining indifferent. Instead of standing up to greet them or offering any words of welcome, he continued to sit there in a lazy manner.

The three didn't bother as well.

Du Ce ushered the three from Mount Shu Sect into the hall and gestured for them to sit down. He then took his seat at the main position and introduced, "These are three young heroes from Mount Shu Sect, here to assist in capturing the diabolical cultivators. And this is a young hero from the Penglai Supreme Sect, Yang Yuhu."

Chu Liang couldn't help but glance at the person opposite him.

The name Yang Yuhu was frequently featured on the Seven Stars Gazette.

Though there wasn't a strict ranking among the Divine Nine and the Terrestrial Ten, the Penglai Supreme Sect of the East Sea was widely recognized as the top immortal sect. With deep heritage and numerous powerful cultivators, they had dominated the righteous path for centuries.

Among the disciples of Penglai Supreme Sect in this generation, the most famous were a pair of brothers, Yang Shenlong and Yang Yuhu.

The duo were known as the twin stars of Penglai Supreme Sect.

This was particularly true for Yang Shenlong, the elder brother who had been recognized as a genius since birth. His path of cultivation was marked by relentless determination, never encountering a worthy opponent. He consistently defeated foes of higher cultivation realms, earning widespread fear and respect. Few dared to compare him to others of similar status. While the Divine Nine and the Terrestrial Ten housed many talents, his name stood out as the most frequently mentioned when discussing the foremost talent of their generation.

Due to his elder brother's towering reputation, Yang Yuhu, the younger brother, though also a genius, was often overshadowed, often appearing as a mere accompaniment to his elder brother.

Upon seeing him today, it was clear that he was indeed from the prestigious Penglai Supreme Sect, as he exuded the typical arrogance associated with his sect.

After hearing Du Ce's introduction, Yang Yuhu simply nodded lightly in greeting to the three from Mount Shu.

Chu Liang smiled in response but remained silent.

When interacting with members of other immortal sects, if they appeared distant, it was natural not to be overly warm in response.

This was not merely a matter of courtesy. If their attempts at friendliness were met with indifference, it would only bring embarrassment to the Mount Shu Sect.

"Young Hero Yang is a disciple of Elder Huang Long from the Penglai Supreme Sect. He has long been famous since his youth. I am sure you have heard his name before," Du Ce said as he observed the tension. He then chuckled and introduced, "This is Young Hero Shang, the son of my senior brother. He is undoubtedly talented. This is Young Hero Lin, the disciple of the grand peak master of Mount Shu. I won't bother stating the obvious. And this is Young Hero Chu, the top-notch disciple of Di Nufeng. They have all traveled a long way here. I hope that you can put your utmost effort into this collaboration..."

Du Ce had good intentions. When he noticed that both sides weren't engaging in conversation, he immediately sought to facilitate a deeper connection between them and foster mutual understanding.

Yet, even before he finished talking, Yang Yuhu appeared to be frowning.

Yang Yuhu glanced over at Chu Liang and asked, "You are a disciple of Di Nufeng?"

"Indeed I am," Chu Liang nodded in response.

Yang Yuhu went silent for a moment before stating, "For this peculiar case, we will each handle it individually. I'm overlooking the fact that you all have low cultivation levels. Just don't cause me any trouble."

When Chu Liang heard this, he frowned as well.

The hostility was so obvious.

Wait a second...

Yang Yuhu had been just slightly arrogant.

However, he suddenly started speaking harshly. It seemed to have started when he heard Di Nufeng's name.

Chu Liang instantly connected the dots.

The Penglai Supreme Sect had long resided in the East Sea for generations, establishing the coastal areas as their sphere of influence and making it natural for them to handle matters in Misty Waters City. On the other hand, the involvement of the Mount Shu Sect members, invited due to Du Ce's connection with the sect, seemed out of place. Hence, Yang Yuhu's aloof attitude was understandable.

However, Yang Yuhu's attitude must have become worse because he found out that Chu Liang was a disciple of Di Nufeng.

Previously, when the esteemed teacher went to the East Sea to gather resources, the members of the Penglai Supreme Sect drove her away. She claimed to have handled the situation sensibly without much conflict, but the actual process was likely not as peaceful. Something unpleasant must have happened.

Sigh. City Supervisor Du, it's all because of you...

Whenever I am out, I would never even dare to mention my teacher's name, but you just exposed me like that...

When I go back next time, I must remind my teacher...not to mention my name if she caused a scene outside.

Regarding Yang Yuhu's attitude, Chu Liang's first course of action couldn't possibly be apologizing for his teacher.

He simply shrugged, not bothering to glance at Yang Yuhu. He then smiled at Du Ce and said, "We're here to capture the diabolical cultivator, whether we collaborate or not makes no difference."

Du Ce gave a wry smile, seemingly puzzled by Yang Yuhu's sudden hostile attitude, and replied, "Then, you all can proceed independently as you see fit."

He promptly signaled for an attendant to bring two sets of documents and presented them to both sides.

"Here are the case files for this investigation. Take your time to go through them and see if you can find any clues. He still needs two more hearts to complete the refinement of the pill, and we suspect that he'll strike again within three days. Therefore, we'll need to patrol the entire city at night. If our City Supervisory Office is short-staffed, we'll rely on your assistance to monitor the city's activities. You're free to act as you see fit; I won't give you any commands."

"Alright!" Everyone responded in agreement.

...

As dusk arrived, Du Ce lifted his head from the documents, closed his eyes for a moment, and then regained his focus.

Administrative tasks were particularly draining, even for a fifth-realm cultivator like himself.

Dealing with these matters daily left him quite exhausted. Lately, with the recurring mysterious incidents within the Yu Dynasty's borders, the tasks of various city supervisory offices had become increasingly burdensome, and his pressure was greater than ever before.

Since the rumors of the demon god's return and the recent surge in mysterious incidents across the land, it seemed as though a storm was brewing.

As the local city supervisor, he couldn't help but feel anxious.

He pushed the door open and called out to the attendant waiting outside, asking, "Have the cultivators from the Mount Shu Sect and Penglai Supreme Sect set out?"

The cultivators of the Divine Nine and the Terrestrial Ten were accustomed to their freedom and generally disliked being commanded by the imperial court.

And so, he didn't assign any rigid tasks to the youths, only letting them act as they saw fit. However, while not commanding them, it was still necessary to monitor their movements to prevent any instances of actual laziness on the job.

In the past, some young cultivators sent by their sects to assist with tasks would sneak off to brothels as soon as they entered the city, completely disregarding their responsibilities, which was extremely bad.

The attendant replied, "Young Hero Yang from the Penglai Supreme Sect left early and headed to various locations where bodies were found, seemingly to investigate the lingering fluctuations of foundational qi."

"What about the members of the Mount Shu Sect?" Du Ce inquired.

The attendant hesitated for a moment before answering, "Um... Young Hero Chu left just now, and before he left, he inquired about the best brothel in the city. He might have made plans of his own..."

What? Du Ce was confused.