I made the entire cultivation world cry

Chapter 464 Clues about the Demon Clan (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

After disguising themselves, Zhenshan Duanjin went out with Hongli to investigate the market.

Hua Gu couldn't stay still. She looked around and frowned, hands on her hips, clearly dissatisfied with the simple and dilapidated inn rooms.

"This place is so dilapidated!"

Hua Gu rolled up her sleeves and, as was her usual practice, used her magic to fill a pot with water for Jiang Yi, letting him sit and drink it. She also took out a set of storybooks from her own storage ring.

"This good-looking."

Then he began to move around the room, using his water elemental energy to sweep over the tables, chairs, furniture, bedding, and other items, giving them a simple cleaning and tidying up.

Jiang Yi, with Hua Gu by her side, is a treasure. She sat down comfortably and took a sip of the sweet rain that was comparable to a high-grade spiritual spring, feeling refreshed all over.

Then look at the set of bestselling storybooks that Hua Gu bought from Zhongzhou on the table...

puff!
Jiang Yi spat out a mouthful of water. "The Sword Sect's heartthrob? What the hell is that?"

The book that Hua Gu gave to Jiang Yi was the set of stories written by Lou Qianji. The book showed signs of having been turned over. Jiang Yi's forehead tightened, and he couldn't help but glance at the busy little Hua Gu behind him.

It's obvious that Hua Gu is also reading this set of books.

Yao Yao, you're going to corrupt my little Hua Gu!

Jiang Yi pinched the bridge of her nose, found the first volume and started reading. She wanted to see how Yao Yao would make fun of her this time.

Before she could read more than a few pages, she heard a noise from the back window, so Jiang Yi quickly put away the set of books on the table.

Zhao Cangyun carried in a man who had been knocked unconscious, threw him to the ground, and Zhao Ming followed closely behind. After entering the room, Zhao Ming transformed back into a longsword and returned to the scabbard that Jiang Yi had placed on the table.

The person on the ground was in the late stage of Foundation Establishment, with a burly build and skin that gleamed with a dark golden luster and carried a faint paralyzing power of lightning; he was likely a physical cultivator.

Zhao Cangyun placed a black shield, no bigger than a palm, that had not been activated in front of Jiang Yi. In the center of the shield was something that looked like a black gem.

"A demon seed?!" Jiang Yi recognized the creature at a glance.

"I found it on this person, but unfortunately I don't know the art of soul searching, so I don't know where he got it from. I can only bring him back and ask Senior Sister to take a look."

The jade snake crawled out of Zhao Cangyun's sleeve, landed, and transformed into human form, looking dejected.

"This demonic species appears to be a late-stage Foundation Establishment Ink Dragon demonic species, possibly a brother I haven't seen before."

Only the demon spirits of Beixuan possess demon seeds; demon beasts from other places do not have such things within their bodies, and their intelligence is still undeveloped, relying solely on instinct and ferocity.

The Northern Mystic Demon Spirit's Core Formation is based on the demon species, making it easier than for demon beasts without any core, and its potential in the later stages is also stronger.

“Zhu Xin, please take a look.”

Jiang Yi took down the Heart-Piercing Mirror and held it up to the unconscious person on the ground.

"Heart-Piercing Insight" doesn't just expose people's dark past; that's his personal perverse taste. He can actually glean past memories from a person's soul, and that's the real purpose of "Heart-Piercing Insight."

As the mirror shimmered with golden light, a scene appeared in mid-air.

In the center of the image, the Foundation Establishment cultivator is facing a person dressed in a black robe and wearing a mask, a style of dress commonly seen in most auction houses.

The man in black robes handed over a wooden box, which the Foundation Establishment cultivator opened to examine. Inside was the black shield inlaid with the demon seed.

After verifying that everything was correct, the Foundation Establishment cultivator handed over a packet of spirit stones, completing the transaction.

The screen disappeared, and this was all the useful information available. Zhu Xin surprisingly didn't offer any commentary.

Jiang Yi said, "The box containing the shield has the Tongbaolou mark on it. Like the Jiuxiaoyun Pavilion, Tongbaolou is a merchant guild that is spread throughout the Eastern Continent. The Jiuxiaoyun Pavilion is excellent at intelligence gathering, while Tongbaolou is known for its constant stream of rare items at auctions and its reputation is renowned throughout the Eastern Continent." Zhao Cangyun pressed on, "Then can we trace the origin of this demonic species from Tongbaolou?"

Jiang Yi shook his head. "It's almost impossible. Tongbaolou buys and sells goods, and they would never leak the information of buyers and sellers. That's how they make their living. Moreover, I heard that the owner behind Tongbaolou has a very powerful background. We can't afford to offend him."

Zhao Cangyun and Yu Hui were visibly frustrated.

Jiang Yi thought for a moment, "Don't be discouraged. Tongbaolou won't tell us, but we can find out ourselves. Zhu Xin, can you confirm where this Tongbaolou is located?"

The Heart-Piercing Mirror was activated again. After some investigation, Jiang Yi and Zhao Cangyun compared the map of Zhenzhou and finally determined that the Tongbao Tower was located in Tiangu City, southeast of this place.

To reach Tiangu City, one needs to traverse the 'Thundercloud Canyon' or detour to Fenglong City in the southwest and take a teleportation array, which is a longer journey.

"Ayi, we're back~"

The protective barrier around the guest room was opened from the outside, and Shen Puning, Xin Wushuang, and Shang Shixu returned after gathering information.

Suddenly seeing an extra person on the ground, along with a transformed jade snake, the three of them stopped at the door. Shang Shixu reacted quickly, closing the door and restarting the protective array that came with the guest room.

"Ayi, what are you doing?"

Jiang Yi found a Forget-Dust Pill that could make someone forget their memories of the last three days, and had Zhao Cangyun give it to the Foundation Establishment cultivator before throwing him out.

Yu Hui was a little shy, so it transformed back into a small black snake and followed Zhao Cangyun.

Jiang Yi gave a brief explanation, and after learning the situation, Xin Wushuang said directly, "Then we'll go through Thundercloud Canyon."

Shang Shixu nodded, and Shen Puning chuckled as she took out a yellowed booklet from her storage bracelet, looking quite pleased with herself.

“Ayi, praise me! Wushuang and Shang Shixu are really bad at dealing with people! They are no match for me. I just casually made a move and got this from an old Foundation Establishment cultivator at Minglei Whistle.”

Upon hearing this, Xin Wushuang remained expressionless, while Shang Shixu felt somewhat embarrassed. He was indeed not very good at directly inquiring about information from others, preferring instead to control insects to secretly gather intelligence.

Shen Puning continued, "That old Foundation Establishment cultivator made a living by hunting demonic beasts in this area north of Zhenzhou. He spent more than 30 years figuring out all the common demonic beasts in this area. When he heard that I wanted to capture a special demonic beast, he recommended that I go to the inner valley of Thundercloud Canyon to take a look. There is a lot of information about Thundercloud Canyon in there."

Jiang Yi took it and looked it over. "This is really amazing. What did you trade for it?"

Shen Puning smiled, "I painted a picture for that old cultivator, fulfilling one of his wishes. Of course, I also paid him some spirit stones."

Zhao Cangyun returned from outside soon, and the group sat down to discuss the matter.

Thundercloud Canyon contains the remains of a once-great sect that has since perished. Its lightning-attracting tower has gone out of control, causing thunderclouds to surge through the canyon year-round, making it impossible to fly through.

The canyon runs east to west and has a fragmented terrain.

The outer valley is filled with swamps and mud pits, while the middle valley is a stone forest with tens of thousands of sharp stone pillars containing magnetic lightning stones that can guide heavenly lightning to form an electric grid. Foundation Establishment cultivators can only reach this place.

Only cultivators at the Golden Core stage or above can venture into the Inner Valley Thunder Pool. The old cultivator didn't know what the core area was like, only that there were ancient relics of the Thunder Kui Leopard and Thunder Vine inside.

They are said to be a highly intelligent race, and many Golden Core cultivators have tried to hunt them, but either they returned empty-handed or could not find any trace of them.

Xin Wushuang said, "True Venerable Suhua instructed that the first criterion for selecting demonic beasts is high intelligence. I think it is necessary for us to go in and explore."

No one objected, and they decided to rest for the night and set off early the next morning.

Even if this trip yields nothing, crossing the Thundercloud Canyon will still allow us to reach Heavenly Drum City and help Zhao Cangyun and the others investigate the Northern Xuan Demon Clan.

　See you tomorrow!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)