Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 455 Old friends meet
The entire Mirage Sect, from the mountain gate to the main hall, was littered with corpses.

No one was spared, regardless of age or gender.

To Chen Ye's utter surprise, these people did not die from swords or magic. Each of them wore a strange smile, as if they had witnessed some blissful scene before their deaths, completely unaware that they were already dead.

Feilian Demon Lord squatted down, casually examined a corpse, then stood up and said to Chen Ye, "It seems to have been affected by some kind of special illusion, which has clouded its mind. The skin has an unusual color, which suggests that it has also been poisoned, and this poison is very potent, capable of even corrupting the soul."

Chen Ye frowned deeply and asked Fei Lian Demon Lord, "Can we go back in time to see who the murderer is?"

"I can, but on what basis?" Demon Lord Feilian glanced at him disdainfully. "Their deaths are none of my business. Do you really think my power to make my words come true comes without a price?"

"Ah this..."

Chen Ye truly didn't know what price this supernatural power would require, but after hearing what Fei Lian Demon Lord said, he figured it wasn't a small matter that could be remedied with just a meal.

Since the two had different positions, he couldn't force Fei Lian Demon Lord to find the murderer.

"Does the Venerable One believe that it was the Azure Dragon's grandson who did it?"

Although the Mirage Sect has declined, it was once a major sect, and it still possesses some hidden treasures. The protective array guarding the mountain gate is intact, without a trace of being forcibly broken; therefore, the culprit is most likely someone within the Mirage Sect. Their purpose in coming here was to investigate a spy from the Demonic Sect, and the grandson of the Azure Dragon is undoubtedly the prime suspect.

But Demon Lord Feilian shook his head: "If that person really knew the magic inherited from the Azure Dragon, why would he leave these corpses behind? Wouldn't it have been more advantageous to just swallow them whole?"

The Azure Dragon Lord's most powerful ability is that it possesses a small world within its belly, capable of digesting and absorbing anything with a spirit, growing stronger with each meal. The flesh and blood of cultivators, brimming with spiritual energy, are naturally the best food, and should not be missed in the first place.

Chen Ye pointed to the bizarrely dead corpses and said his guess: "Unless the poison is too potent and the poison itself is not cultivated enough, it is impossible for it to digest even if it is swallowed."

This poison can silently kill the entire Mirage Sect, including all the Nascent Soul cultivators within it, leaving even their souls unable to escape. The potency of its toxicity is unimaginable.

Chen Ye couldn't help but recall his experience of being poisoned by Youluozi in Zhuguang Port. That poison was extremely potent, specifically designed to damage the soul, greatly reducing the victim's resistance to illusions.

Moreover, it is colorless and odorless, and there are no symptoms before it occurs.

If he hadn't cultivated the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts and hadn't happened to smell the fragrance of the ginseng fruit, he probably would have already fallen into Youluozi's hands.

Now, these Mirage Sect cultivators also seem to have fallen into some kind of illusion before their deaths. Since a group of cultivators skilled in illusion techniques could ultimately die from an illusion, Chen Ye guessed that the poison used by the murderer was likely the same one he had been poisoned with.

The Demon Lord Feilian seemed to have heard of the existence of this toxin as well. He said to Chen Ye, "I remember that this toxin can only be prepared and used immediately, and it must be prepared with the tears of a virgin as a catalyst. It is very troublesome to prepare."

"Since it's so troublesome, finding clues shouldn't be too difficult." Chen Ye's gaze swept around and he quickly found the way to the alchemy room.

To poison everyone in the Mirage Sect, the only way would be to tamper with their food, and the alchemy room would be the best choice.

The two entered the alchemy room one after the other.

Unlike the devastation outside, everything here was in perfect order, with various medicinal herbs neatly arranged, showing no signs of a fight.

Several enormous alchemical furnaces stood silently in the center of the room, one of which still retained its warmth.

However, this doesn't accurately determine the time of the Mirage Sect's deaths. A cultivator's physical body is difficult to decompose; it might remain lifelike even after a month or a year. The same applies to alchemy furnaces. Even if left unattended, the fire inside can burn for months or even years. Although this furnace still has flames, it's impossible to determine exactly how long it has been unattended.

Demon Lord Feilian walked straight to the warm alchemy furnace, ran his finger lightly across the furnace wall, and sniffed it.

"This scent... is the 'Dream Essence'."

"A Dream of Enchantment?"

The name stirred some memories in Chen Ye. He remembered that when the Tiger Lord was refining the horrifying Tiger Plague, he used this special catalyst. It could evoke the deepest, most beautiful dreams in people's hearts, making them addicted and unable to extricate themselves.

This is not the exclusive recipe of any particular demon lord; it is widely circulated within the demonic sects. However, each sect has its own subtle adjustments, and the refining methods vary, resulting in vastly different final effects of the pills.

"The combination of the two toxins can indeed cause a person to die in their most beautiful dream, which explains the eerie smiles on their faces," Chen Ye analyzed. "However, one of the toxins requires virgin tears as a catalyst. I just looked, and there weren't many female cultivators among the dead. Even if there were, judging from their attire, they were all already married."

Most spiritual sects do not prohibit marriage, and do not even require monogamy.

Just like Lu Xingzhou, the leader of the Incense Burning Sect, who has many wives and concubines. It is said that on Tianxin Island, both men and women can marry multiple times, as long as they can manage their household affairs well.

However, after marriage, the details of a nun's hairstyle and clothing usually change. This is not a strict rule, but rather a customary etiquette used to clarify her identity and reduce unnecessary misunderstandings.

As I just saw, all the female cultivators who died in the Mirage Sect were dressed as married women, so they naturally couldn't provide the so-called virgin tears.

Chen Ye's thoughts raced: "So, the murderer is an unmarried woman. But what deep-seated hatred does she have for the Mirage Sect that would drive her to poison the entire sect?"

“Unless, she is Qingjiao’s grandson.” Demon Lord Feilian said coldly, “I’m not entirely sure whether Qingjiao sent a boy or a girl to the Mirage Sect back then. If it was a girl, then it would be reasonable for her to kill. The Mirage Sect is currently severely weakened. Taking this opportunity to eliminate everyone would allow them to freely take away the sect’s books and treasures. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing?”

The Demon Lord Feilian's deduction was simple and direct, yet very reasonable.

So, she is the murderer.

But where did she hide after committing such a heinous crime?
Chen Ye looked at Demon Lord Fei Lian: "We came here specifically to find this spy from the Demonic Sect. Now that she has committed murder and fled, where should we even begin to look?"

He did want to trace the cause and effect directly, but he wasn't a member of the Mirage Sect, and couldn't simply jump in and help an unrelated sect find the murderer through such a connection. Unless someone had close ties to the Mirage Sect, and Chen Ye conveyed the Fengdu Emperor's prayer to that person and lent them the divine power of the Heavenly Punishment Hell, it would be possible to trace that thread of cause and effect.

But Chen Ye had no idea who the Mirage Sect was. Yin Xiaoshuang's remnant soul hadn't been repaired, and Chen Guang and her mirage demon clan had long since severed all ties with the Mirage Sect; it was unlikely they would be willing to help the Mirage Sect seek revenge. Trying to trace the cause and effect through this path seemed highly improbable…

and many more.

It seems there really is one.

"Lord, please take me back to the Yellow Springs Sect." Chen Ye's tone suddenly became very certain.

Feilian Demon Lord raised an eyebrow: "What, the murderer has gotten right under your nose? Or did you arrange for someone to slaughter the Mirage Sect?"

Chen Ye was speechless for a moment.

"Why would I slaughter the Mirage Sect for no reason?"

"For the sake of pride," said Demon Lord Feilian as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Weren't you harassed by the Mirage Sect the day you founded your sect? That's no small grudge."

Chen Ye shook his head. He wasn't the one who suffered a loss back then, nor was he the one who held a grudge.

However, you can't reason with these old devils who have lived for countless years. Their logic is still the same: "If you glare at me, I can kill your whole family."

"Your Excellency, please send me back to the Yellow Springs Sect first. I have a way to find the murderer quickly."

Demon Lord Feilian didn't ask any further questions. Now the two were in the same boat, and if Chen Ye had any clues, it would benefit him as well.

He casually tore through the void, and the two of them took a step forward, their figures reappearing outside Fengdu City.

Without pausing for a moment, Chen Ye headed straight for the depths of Fengdu City, to the solemn and majestic underworld.

The original underworld had only one level, where most of the hundreds of thousands of wandering souls lived. The place was spacious and somewhat desolate. But now the underworld has a second level, and the third level is already half-built.

There's no way around it; birth, aging, sickness, and death are inevitable stages in life. The northern frontier is bitterly cold, and although the City God guards the four directions and can prevent many natural disasters, people still die unexpectedly. The number of souls in Fengdu has now exceeded 200,000.

The once desolate underworld has now been transformed into a complete underground city.

Houses of all shapes and sizes were built, not much different from towns on the ground. Countless ghosts wandered among them, and because they didn't need to sleep, they were never idle.

The games of mahjong, chess, and other forms of entertainment that Chen Ye brought have already spread, and almost everywhere he goes, there are shouts and calls of encouragement.

Of course, there was also entertainment such as opera performances. Chen Ye also saw several vendors selling offerings, including children... Chen Ye thought that there were still people in the underworld who dared to be human traffickers.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that these were neither living people nor ghosts, but rather "paper dolls" burned with the power of wishes.

Chen Ye had previously sent people to learn the paper-crafting skills of the Central Plains, and now he has achieved results. He not only has paper-crafted children, but also all sorts of strange-looking things, even cattle and sheep.

I wonder what kind of cattle and horses these wandering spirits keep in the underworld.

Because they contain the power of incense and prayers, these paper puppets can barely move, but they will probably dissipate in a few days. They are consumables that need to be replaced frequently, but they sell well. Chen Ye saw that these shops were basically crowded with ghosts, and the sound of bargaining never stopped.

Chen Ye chuckled to himself; these underworld spirits were living too comfortably.

This can't go on. I'm really afraid that people will stop being human and all become ghosts.

The cycle of reincarnation needs to be established as soon as possible, but sending living people to be reincarnated is still difficult. For one or two people, Chen Ye can use the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts to create a physical body and then integrate their yin souls into the body, just like he did to the Soulfire Lord. It is not difficult to mold him into a moth.

But it's impossible for hundreds of thousands of people to rely on Chen Ye alone to help them reincarnate; even if Chen Ye worked himself to death, he couldn't do it.

With these thoughts in mind, Chen Ye soon arrived at the Soul Locking Division.

The current underworld of Fengdu does not have the Ten Kings of Hell, nor does it have a very complicated organizational structure; it only has the Four Departments of Detention, Interrogation, and Punishment.

The Soul-Capturing Division is responsible for arresting criminals, the Spirit-Locking Division is for imprisoning them, the Crime-Interrogation Division is responsible for interrogation and conviction, and the Prison Division is naturally the final place of punishment.

The Soul Locking Bureau contains records of all the spirits in the underworld and is also a place specifically for locating and tracking them.

What was originally just a small mound, with a few logs and a hole dug, was called the Soul Locking Division. But now this place has become majestic and magnificent, a huge palace.

The three characters "Locking Spirit Division" emitted a faint green light, which looked somewhat eerie.

Chen Ye revealed his identity and entered the Soul Locking Division, instantly silencing the previously noisy and busy atmosphere.

The patrolling ranks of ghostly soldiers stopped abruptly the moment they saw Chen Ye. Immediately afterward, the crisp clinking of armor filled the air as every ghostly soldier, regardless of rank, knelt on one knee and bowed their heads.

"Welcome to the sect master!"

The roar, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing, filled with awe emanating from the depths of one's soul, resounded throughout the entire underworld.

"No need for formalities, please rise. Take me to see the Lord of the Soul Locking Division."

Immediately, a commander of the ghostly soldiers arrived and led Chen Ye inside.

This ghostly commander didn't look like a soldier; he looked more like a refined scholar, except that his body was thin and long, no longer resembling a human.

Without the constraints of a physical body, the spirits are left with only simple feelings and desires. Over time, they often find it difficult to maintain a normal human form. Chen Ye has already seen many ghost soldiers with heads as big as buckets or twisted and ferocious shapes. The thin ghost figure in front of him is considered to be good-looking.

Chen Ye politely asked, "How should I address this commander?"

The thin, ghostly figure quickly replied, "Reporting to the sect leader, my humble servant is Sun Defang. In my previous life, I was a scholar, so everyone called me Scholar Sun."

Chen Ye asked, "Is Scholar Sun a native of the Central Plains?"

Sun Xiucai explained, “My ancestors for three generations were from the Central Plains, but later our family fell into decline, so we came to Fengdu City to make a living. However, we couldn’t adapt to the climate and died far from home before we even reached Fengdu City. Fortunately, the City God guided us to this underworld, otherwise I would have been annihilated long ago.”

Chen Ye asked in confusion, "Then it seems you haven't been in this underworld for very long."

Fengdu City has only been built for a short time, and the Underworld has only been unearthed for a few days. This Scholar Sun must have died recently in the Northern Frontier, and he has already become the commander of the Soul Locking Division?
Sun Xiucai was a clever man, and he knew immediately what Chen Ye wanted to ask. He quickly said, "Because I can read, I helped the director with some things and was promoted to a nominal position as a commander. I don't have any real skills; I just help with some miscellaneous tasks on a daily basis."

"I see."

Although Fengdu City was wealthy, it was established too recently, and there were not many literate people.

The Soul Locking Bureau needed to compile and catalog all the information on the spirits, and they definitely needed someone who could read and write to help them. Sun Xiucai was fortunate to have come at the right time.

No, saying it like that makes it sound like it would be better if he were dead.

Chen Ye smiled wryly as he entered the inner hall. Soon after, the head of the Soul Locking Division arrived.

When Chen Ye looked, he realized it was an old acquaintance.
A woman with a pair of bull horns, standing over ten feet tall, so robust... isn't this Qiqi Gesang, whom Chen Ye promoted before?

This girl originally belonged to the Liman tribe. She could transform into an ox using the power of her ancestral spirit, and possessed immense strength.

When Chen Ye recovered the northern frontier, Qiqi Gesang was of great help.

It's been a while since I've seen you. How did you become the head of the Soul Locking Division?
Upon seeing Chen Ye, Qiqi Gesang's eyes immediately reddened. She had not seen Chen Ye for a long time and had been thinking about the kindness and promotion he had shown her. However, the difference in their status was too great, and she usually had no chance to get close to this almost celestial Huangquan Sect Master.

Chen Ye asked curiously, "Qiqi Gesang? How did you end up in this underworld and become the master of the Soul Locking Division?"

This is a living, breathing person, not even dead yet, so how come they've already started managing the underworld?

Qiqi Gesang immediately prostrated himself before Chen Ye and said respectfully, "Reporting to the sect master, the Soul Locking Division was originally headed by the priest of my Liman tribe, but a few days ago, he committed a crime and was sent to the prison. After reporting back, for some reason, the sect selected my name and appointed me as the temporary head of the Soul Locking Division. I thought it would only be for a few days, but I never expected to be in charge for more than a year."

"What did you do wrong?"

Qiqigesang replied, "He violated the rules of the Wangxiangtai by meeting with his relatives without permission, abusing his power for personal gain, and attempting to monopolize the trade of offerings from the underworld."

Chen Ye remained silent.

Even the Yellow Springs Sect is not immune to such selfishness.

"Human hearts are unpredictable, and greed is insatiable."

Chen Ye sighed, then inquired about Qiqi Gesang's recent situation. After chatting for a while, Chen Ye finally got to the main topic.

"I need you to help me find out about a ghost named Yu Xing. He was sent to the underworld not long ago. He was a disciple of the Mirage Sect in life. Can you find him?"

(End of this chapter)