I'm in the Demonic Sect, but my cultivation techniques are being used for palace intrigue!

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Just as Zhu Jingguang finished putting away the spoils he had taken from Senior Sister Tan and was about to get up, a dull and rhythmic knocking sounded abruptly outside the stone door.

Immediately afterwards, a slightly high-pitched voice, tinged with a hint of obsequiousness, came through the heavy stone door from the outside:

"Junior Brother Zhu? Senior Sister Tan? Are you still inside?"

"I am Zhao Shigang, an outer disciple. I have something important to discuss with you. May I speak with you briefly?"

"Don't worry, it won't take you too much time!"

…………

Meanwhile, Zhu Jingguang, who was in the stone chamber, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly upon hearing the name Zhao Shigang.

In the original owner's memories of this body, there was indeed a person named Zhao Shigang.

This person is a rather active disciple in the outer sect, and is usually very good at scheming.

However, according to the original owner's memories, the original owner had no interaction with him.

"So... he's after my deceased Senior Sister Tan?"

"Furthermore, since this person can recognize my and Senior Sister Tan's identities, it means that he knows that Senior Sister Tan and I are present in this stone chamber!"

"That means this person has very likely been eyeing Senior Sister Tan or me for a long time!"

…………

Due to the limited information, Zhu Jingguang could only analyze this much intelligence for the time being.

So, Zhu Jingguang, whose mind raced, came up with a good idea. He immediately lowered his voice, feigning weakness and wariness, and tentatively asked:

"Senior Brother Zhao? Is there something you need? Senior Sister is currently in seclusion, meditating and cannot receive guests."

Upon hearing Zhu Jingguang's voice, the person outside the door seemed to pause for a moment.

  

After a brief silence, the person outside lowered their voice in surprise, but at the same time, their tone clearly revealed an undisguised joy and excitement:

"Junior Brother Zhu, you're not dead? You...you killed Senior Sister Tan?"

Then, without waiting for Zhu Jingguang's reply, the senior student named Zhao Shigang, seemingly afraid that Zhu Jingguang would refuse to communicate with him, spoke in a low voice at a very fast pace:

"Junior Brother Zhu, if you really do kill Senior Sister Tan, then... will you sell her corpse?"

"As you know, Senior Sister Tan was considered a prodigy of the outer sect. She reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining at a young age. Even if she were to perish, her body and bones would be excellent materials for crafting puppets or blood banners!"

"If you, junior brother, are willing to sell, I, your senior brother, am willing to pay a high price for Senior Sister Tan's corpse!"

"Spirit stones, elixirs, magical artifacts... as long as you name your price and it's not too outrageous, I, Zhao Shigang, will never haggle!"

…………

Upon hearing this, the air inside the stone chamber seemed to freeze instantly.

Zhu Jingguang couldn't understand how the other party had deduced, and was so certain, that he had killed Senior Sister Tan.

However, it is clear that now is not the time to delve into this matter. The most important thing right now is how to get rid of the person outside the stone chamber.

However, during the time Zhu Jingguang forced himself to calm down, he suddenly realized that this might be a good opportunity.

A chance to delay the outside world's discovery that Senior Sister Tan died by his own hand, to buy himself more time to become stronger, and to take the opportunity to make a small fortune!

Although killing is a common occurrence in the Demonic Sect, according to Zhu Jingguang, Senior Sister Tan seems to have many lovers, including some Demonic Sect members who are also outer disciples of hers.

If her lovers knew that it was Zhu Jingguang who killed Senior Sister Tan, it's inevitable that one or two of them would jump out to avenge her.

Although his current strength has reached the third level of Qi Refining, he advanced through external force. Even though his foundation has been solidified because of the "Heavenly Demon Joyful Seal", he is ultimately not good at fighting. If they were to face each other to the death, it would be hard to say what his fate would be.

Anyway, Senior Sister Tan has already died and vanished. Her bones will only turn to dust if left behind. So why doesn't he take out Senior Sister Tan's remains and exchange them for some time that he needs most in his rise to power?

Thinking of this, Zhu Jingguang took a deep breath, completely concealing the coldness in his eyes, and replacing it with a look that perfectly blended hesitation and greed.

He did not answer immediately, but deliberately let the stone chamber fall into a suffocating silence.

He was gambling that Tan Shijie's corpse was exactly what Zhao Shigang outside the door desperately needed!

Sure enough, just a moment later, Zhao Shigang's slightly impatient urging voice came from outside the door.

At this moment, his voice was lower, but it also sounded more urgent:

"Junior Brother Zhu? Are you still listening?"

"This is a golden opportunity, don't miss it!"

"If others find out about Senior Sister Tan's death, I'm afraid... Junior Brother will also be in some trouble!"

"After all, our Senior Sister Tan has quite a few 'close' people within the sect!"

"Junior brother probably wouldn't want to face those people right now, would he?"

…………

These words were undoubtedly a blatant combination of threats and inducements.

Zhu Jingguang sneered inwardly. This Zhao Shigang was quite the schemer, trying to both drive down the price and control him.

But it was precisely because of this that Zhu Jingguang became even more certain that the value of Senior Sister Tan's corpse was probably even higher than he had thought!

Therefore, Zhu Jingguang was no longer in a hurry.

After all, since Zhao Shigang wanted Senior Sister Tan's corpse and seemed so impatient, it meant that he was definitely not the only one in the Demonic Sect who wanted this corpse!

His behavior clearly indicates that he is worried about someone competing with him.

Once a competitor emerges, the price he will have to pay to acquire Senior Sister Tan's body will naturally increase.

If the competitor is strong enough, he may not be able to beat them.

Feeling emboldened, Zhu Jingguang immediately let out a feigned fierce snort and said:

"Senior Brother Zhao, don't try to use this to lower the price!"

"At worst, we'll just break up!"

"When the time comes, I won't get any favors from Senior Sister Tan's admirers, and you can forget about getting Senior Sister Tan's corpse!"

"Furthermore, let me make this clear upfront: if the fact that I killed Senior Sister Tan is leaked anytime soon, the first person I'll be looking for trouble with will be Senior Brother Zhao!"

…………

There was a moment of silence outside the door, followed by a friendly laugh from Zhao Shigang:

"Senior brother was just joking, junior brother, please don't take offense!"

"Rather than both of us suffering losses, wouldn't it be better if we each got what we needed?"

…………