"A Priest of Black Buddha was ambushing Su Chen... could it be that Chu Xuan's death is related to Black Buddha?" You Shan looked at the sealed Priest of Black Buddha, unable to help but mutter softly.
"Uh," Wu Yang happened to return to the main hall and heard You Shan's words, unable to help but say quietly, "Chief Inquisitor, we found this place ourselves."
"You found it yourselves?" You Shan frowned, saying mildly, "That's just what you think. You might have been subjected to interference by the Believers of Black Buddha."
A chill ran down Yang Yan's spine; this was exactly the lead he had discovered himself.
"Chief Inquisitor You." The last one to return was naturally Su Chen, who had run the furthest away.
After exchanging greetings, he finally took a look at the sealed Priest of Black Buddha. The man couldn't even move; only his pitch-black eyeballs were trembling.
"You're quite sharp. Although this Priest of Black Buddha is a 4th-tier professional, he used the power of Black Buddha to amplify himself, making him comparable to a 5th-tier professional." You Shan cast a glance at him. She had been hiding outside the entire ti and only struck after sensing the Priest of Black Buddha.
She had also seen Su Chen's extre speed while fleeing and was quite amazed.
"The remnants down below have all been sealed. I will take him back first. Once you finish cleaning up, don't run around blindly either; just return directly to the Adjudication Court."
Guided by an invisible force, the sealed Priest of Black Buddha was taken away.
"Chief Inquisitor..." Su Chen called out, but You Shan had already disappeared, only her voice drifting back leisurely, "The rits that belong to you won't be lacking."
"Alright then." Su Chen shrugged. Inside the Adjudication Court, there was actually a rather rigorous rit assessnt system. Capturing an Evil God Cultist would have its rit points calculated based on their inherent threat level.
Ordinary inquisitors could rely on rit points for promotions, salary increases, exchanging for classes, various auxiliary potions, customized weapons, and the like.
However, under normal circumstances, Core Seeds like them didn't lack such things, nor would they fight their subordinates for rits.
====
At the sa ti, in another location, a desolate area near Yingfeng City, Bu Siqi was holding a pair of binoculars and gazing from afar at a team that had just finished searching an underground black market.
A large number of people conducting transactions had been apprehended. Supervision Guards clustered all around, and a few individuals who appeared to be high-ranking Supervision Guards were currently locked in a standoff against the inquisitors.
The two sides argued until their faces were flushed red. The inquisitors were blockaded in the center and had no way to take the apprehended people away.
As for ng Qi, his face was filled with nervousness. He appeased the left side, then appeased the right side, repeatedly saying sothing, yet absolutely no one paid any attention to him.
In the end, it seed the Supervision Guards gained the upper hand and took over the group of people from the hands of the inquisitors.
The expressions of the several inquisitors clustered around ng Qi were very ugly. When their gazes swept over him, it was inevitable for them to reveal a look of disdain.
"This underground black market is probably free-range fard by the Supervision Guards. They definitely receive tributes frequently, so they certainly won't easily let us arrest people." Bu Siqi shook his head, unable to hide his contempt.
"But this ng Qi is way too cowardly. He's the commander of this group of inquisitors, yet he acts so timid and cowering even when he speaks, completely unable to argue against the other party."
"To think soone like this can actually beco a Core Seed. I genuinely have no idea how he managed to advance into the Bloody Butcher class."
Beside him, Teng Liang was like a mute wooden post, not saying a single word. His thin and frail body looked as if it would collapse at any mont, while his gaze remained fixed intently on the distant ng Qi.
Bu Siqi couldn't help but say, "There shouldn't be any problems with this coward, right? We've already followed him for nearly ten days without discovering the slightest clue. He acts cowering and timid all day long—"
"Senior Brother? Teng Liang, you mute, say sothing! You're gonna worry to death!" Consistently unable to get a response, Bu Siqi inevitably grew annoyed and irritated.
Only then did Teng Liang slowly open his mouth, "There are only three people who had a relatively close relationship with Chu Xuan. Pang Xingwen has gone missing, and we cannot access Chu Yunze. There is only this ng Qi—"
"Junior Brother rely said a single sentence. I'm afraid he hasn't fully grasped the specific situation himself," Bu Siqi said helplessly. "He's a Core Seed anyway. For us to constantly follow him like this isn't a long-term solution either."
Teng Liang's voice was deep and low, "Before Teacher left, he told that if Junior Brother suddenly expresses an opinion or gives an inexplicable hint about a certain matter, I must absolutely take it to heart."
"Why didn't Teacher say that to ? I see, both of you are his little darlings, huh." Bu Siqi felt a burst of sour jealousy in his heart.
Seeing Teng Liang remain silent, Bu Siqi inwardly sighed. If Su Chen were here, he definitely would have offered so comforting words by now. He couldn't help but say:
"This Junior Brother of ours is indeed quite formidable, but what Teacher said is far too mystical. Could it be that Chu Xuan was murdered by this ng Qi?"
"Furthermore, Junior Brother might not have necessarily been hinting at anything. It's unknown whether you just interpreted it incorrectly."
"You're right," Teng Liang suddenly said. Bu Siqi couldn't help but say, "We need to withdraw."
"Continuing to trail him like this isn't a solution."
Bu Siqi: "——"
'Big Brother, this was literally three sentences ago. So you didn't hear a single word of what I said afterward?'
"I want to test him." Teng Liang stated concisely. Bu Siqi's expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly said:
"Big Brother, this kid is definitely bait thrown out by the higher-ups to fish. The people following him are either Directors or Chief Inquisitors."
"It's Jiang Shumo." Teng Liang shifted his gaze, looking toward the gathered crowd in the distance. Due to the vast distance, the crowd had rely beco tiny dots.
"You—" Bu Siqi was stunned.
"Contact him. Just say the Chief has summoned him urgently," Teng Liang said. "I will take his place."
"Old Jiang is the most cunning of them all; he'll definitely contact the Chief directly." Bu Siqi repeatedly shook his head. "If you play tricks on him, he'll definitely take note of it. That well-dressed beast is the most insidious of them all."
"The Chief is currently participating in an Elder Council eting; this is already the third ti in these past ten days. It won't conclude within a short period of ti," Teng Liang said mildly.
"How do you know?" Bu Siqi asked in surprise.
Teng Liang pulled up a virtual screen. "I just contacted the Chief and said I have important intelligence. He hasn't replied to even until now."
Bu Siqi's eyelids twitched madly, his throat bobbing. "This isn't a good idea, right?"
"Little Bu—" Teng Liang suddenly looked at Bu Siqi, his gaze faint and profound.
Bu Siqi felt his hair stand on end. He imdiately opened his wristband and said, "I'll contact him right now, I'll contact him right now."
Not long after, Teng Liang walked out from his current location, looking toward the crowd.
Within the crowd, a figure vanished accordingly.
"I heard that Your Excellency Ming Lin forced the Supervision Guards to retreat this morning, making them watch helplessly as he arrested people."
"Yeah, Your Excellency Wei Yufan didn't even say a word on his side; he rely showed his face, and the Supervision Guards had already retreated."
"Not to ntion Your Excellency Su Chen, who just beca a Core Seed this year. He didn't lose any face during his recent friction either."
"Yeah, we're the only ones making a spectacle of ourselves and losing face every single day."
Hanging their heads low, the inquisitors who had reorganized their formation spoke very loudly, not shying away from ng Qi, who was standing right beside them.
ng Qi wasn't angry either. He rely offered an awkward, apologetic smile, and his heart remained similarly undisturbed. To him, this was rely the noisy clamor of a group of ants; it wasn't worth getting angry over.
'It's a pity it's still a bit too hasty. I didn't expect Chong Jingtian to suddenly issue a summons, causing Chu Xuan's death to be exposed. Otherwise, I would be much safer.' ng Qi sighed inwardly. 'And also that Su Chen... his vigilance against Chu Xuan was truly too strong. It's difficult to get close to him.'
'If this keeps up, there won't be a suitable opportunity to get close to him.'
He originally planned to pin the bla for Chu Xuan's death on Su Chen, and then he could express his stance, stating his belief in Su Chen and defending him. Offering tily assistance in his hour of need would undeniably be a superb opportunity to gain a person's trust.
Finally, he would send a subordinate to take the fall to clear Su Chen of suspicion, resulting in a happy ending for everyone.
However, the developnt of the situation was difficult for him to predict as well. Since Chu Xuan couldn't just drop dead right inside Su Chen's house, using indirect thods would greatly diminish the effect and would also arouse the other party's vigilance.
'I'll have to think of another way. Su Chen... why would Black Buddha pay such close attention to him!?' He was truly burning with curiosity inwardly, wanting to figure it out as soon as possible. 'If I had known of Su Chen's existence earlier, I wouldn't have bothered getting close to Chu Xuan—'
Just as he was scheming internally, his expression suddenly shifted. Unbeknownst to him when it started, a grayish-yellow storm had actually whipped up all around, sweeping dust and sand across the entire sky.
These grains of sand whirled and ground against each other at astonishingly high speeds, emitting a shrill shriek that set one's teeth on edge, converging toward the center with terrifying montum!
"Ambush!! Protect ng Qi!"
The inquisitors beside him roared loudly, rapidly forming a formation to block in front of ng Qi. As their auras erupted out, their advance and retreat were asured and steady.
However, it was of no use whatsoever. A large number of inquisitors were swept into the storm, vanishing from sight very quickly.
Standing in the center, ng Qi looked as if he had been scared silly, his expression dazed. Inwardly, however, he was astonished. 'Soone is actually genuinely ambushing . Whose people are they?'
His underlying infiltration was only known to the Believers of the Faceless Ghost; other Evil God Cultists knew absolutely nothing about it. If soone truly targeted him, he wouldn't be all that surprised.
'Hmm, I wonder who is secretly protecting ?' He pondered internally, yet also felt a strange sensation. 'The feeling of being protected by others truly isn't bad at all.'
However, until that storm carrying a putrid stench actually descended upon his body, there was still absolutely no movent from his surroundings. His entire person was sent flying outward, smashing right into the underground black market from earlier.
The buildings here were very crude and simple. Dust flew everywhere, and his chest stung with a burning pain. ng Qi was utterly dumbfounded internally. 'Where are the people supposed to be protecting !?'
'Nobody is actually protecting !?'
Thud!
A burly figure landed. A full three ters tall, he looked like a miniature giant, exuding a nauseating, putrid stench of blood.
'A Corrupted Blood Giant? Isn't this a Believer of "Dark Plague"? They should be operating in Yuandu; how did they run over here to Yingfeng?' ng Qi shrank his body backward, his mind racing wildly.
"Help! Help !" He completely broke down, wailing and shouting loudly.
He refused to believe there really was no one protecting him. He was a Core Seed!
"A Core Seed from Yingfeng... what a rare, excellent opportunity." The Corrupted Blood Giant stepped forward. The muscles all over his body were in a state of decay, exuding a putrid, stinking sll of blood that was enough to make one vomit.
"Cough, cough," ng Qi was caught between panic and fury. The Adjudication Court truly hadn't sent anyone to protect him. What on earth were they thinking!?!?
"Die for !" The Corrupted Blood Giant lifted a massive foot. The squirming white maggots on the soles of his foot practically made ng Qi retch.
This body of his had been ticulously modified by him, expending a massive price in order to evade layer upon layer of the Adjudication Court's inspections, achieving near-perfect disguise.
If he were truly stomped to death by a Corrupted Blood Giant just like this, it would simply be too massive of a loss.
Practically at the exact instant those white worms were about to brush against his cheek, there was still absolutely no movent from the surroundings.
ng Qi finally erupted, his eyes covered by a hazy grayish-white light. He sharply shouted:
"STOP!"
His voice overlapped layer upon layer, grandiose and profound.
"You..." The Corrupted Blood Giant froze. ng Qi flew out from beneath his foot, suspending himself in midair. His entire person actually emitted a hazy divinity and majesty, rebuking:
"SCRAM OUT OF HERE!"
The Corrupted Blood Giant wasn't a Believer of the Faceless Ghost, so he couldn't directly command him, but this was more than enough to prove he wasn't an enemy of the Evil Gods.
However, an ugly smile suddenly crept onto the Corrupted Blood Giant's face. His already massive body expanded once more, and the rotting flesh and blood was gradually replaced by bronze-colored skin. His entire person exuded a primal, barbaric aura.
"You truly do... have a problem!"
"An Ancient Spirit Giant!? Teng Liang!" ng Qi's expression was one of shock.
He instantly knew things had gone terribly wrong. This guy was clearly here to test him.
'Where did I slip up? Why would the Adjudication Court suddenly co to test ?'
Before he had ti to think, a fist the size of a clay pot was already smashing toward his face.
"Teng Liang, I'll rember this!" A ruthless glint flashed through ng Qi's eyes. Afterward, his eyes rolled back, and his body plumted straight down.
Whoosh—Teng Liang's giant fist stopped right in front of ng Qi's face, the resulting gale vibrating the surroundings. ng Qi's frail body spun along with the gale and fluttered down, actually losing all signs of life just like that.
"He's dead?" The Ancient Spirit Giant stared at the corpse on the ground with a pair of giant eyes.
...
"Everyone heard that. Whatever belongs to you won't be lacking. Go down and wrap things up." Su Chen beckoned the inquisitors outside the main hall to co back in, then reminded them:
"This place isn't simple, so everyone, be careful. If you discover anything strange, do not act on your own; report it first."
"Yes!" Everyone was in quite high spirits. They descended down the crater one after another, bringing detection tools to map out a preliminary layout.
Yang Yan, however, looked sowhat terrified. Hiding in a corner of the main hall, he groped all over his own body.
"What's wrong?" Su Chen abruptly appeared behind him, giving him a fright.
"I... I..." Yang Yan's expression was ugly. Glancing left and right, he whispered, "I suspect a Believer of Black Buddha used so trick on ."
"Oh?" Su Chen asked in surprise, "Based on what evidence?"
"Look, you few Core Seeds each led a team. Other than Wei Yufan who literally couldn't care less, the other few are also scrambling all over Yingfeng searching."
Yang Yan's expression wasn't looking too good. "Yet over the past few days, we're the only ones who actually reaped results, and the mont we bumped into sothing, it was a massive one."
"Thinking about it now, it's quite bizarre. Why was it of all people who discovered those clues? And the mont we touched it, it proved to be a Priest of Black Buddha... if it weren't for Chief Inquisitor You, we would've likely been in extre danger this ti."
'Uh—' Su Chen was speechless. This was literally the main base camp of the Believers of Black Buddha in Yingfeng.
He had already frad the core area and had constantly been leading people to wander around here. If Yang Yan still couldn't detect any clues, he might as well resign from being a Level-4 inquisitor and go back ho to farm.
Furthermore, if he hadn't guessed that soone might be secretly tagging along behind him, Su Chen wouldn't have made a beeline straight for this place, to begin with.
"It is indeed bizarre. Investigate it carefully." Su Chen hesitated to speak, ultimately only patting his shoulder. Shifting his gaze down into the cracks, he thought, 'I wonder if this place holds the thod to manipulate the Divine Blood—'
In order to avoid arousing other people's suspicion, Su Chen had co straight to the area where his sensing was the strongest; he completely ignored the other two areas.
The Priest of Black Buddha hiding here also served as supporting evidence that there was no issue with his sensing. anwhile, the probability of that so-called thod to manipulate the Divine Blood being located here was the greatest.
Su Chen didn't go down. In any case, whenever they found the item, it would inevitably pass before his eyes. All he had to do was wait from up top.
(End of this chapter)
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