Translator: Cinder Translations
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"I know where Ji Yin is," Zhang Xiaofan said.
"Where is he?" Miao Tong asked instinctively.
"He should be southwest of the sect, about a thousand miles away," Zhang Xiaofan replied.
Miao Tong suddenly realized, his face filled with suspicion.
"How do you know Ji Yin's whereabouts?"
Zhang Xiaofan raised his hand, and a dragon-shaped jade token appeared, about the size of a palm.
"This is the reason," he said.
Miao Tong looked puzzled. "What is this?"
Zhang Xiaofan explained, "This is a treasure my master obtained from an ancient secret realm. It is called the 'Dragon Phoenix Spiritual Resonance Token.' This token comes in two halves—one male and one female. When two people refine the two tokens together, they can sense the general location of the other, even if they are separated by tens of thousands of miles. The one in my hand is the Dragon Token, and the other half, the Phoenix Token, was with my wife, Lu Chan. After she was killed by Ji Yin, the Phoenix Token fell into his hands."
Miao Tong stared at the Dragon Token with interest. "I've heard of such a treasure before."
With a flick of his hand, the Dragon Token disappeared. Zhang Xiaofan, looking anxious, said, "Elder Miao, time is pressing. If Ji Yin manages to escape beyond the sensing range of the Dragon Phoenix Spiritual Resonance Token, it will be difficult to find him. We must hurry and go after him now."
Miao Tong looked at Zhang Xiaofan, who was still somewhat skeptical about what he said. However, without any evidence, he couldn't easily question a Golden Core Elder.
But once they caught Ji Yin, everything would be revealed.
He said, "Ji Yin must be captured, but since he has a top-tier third-stage corpse puppet, we can't rush into action. I'll gather two fellow cultivators, and then we'll head out."
"Thank you, Elder Miao. Please take me with you," Zhang Xiaofan said, his face showing a strong desire to avenge his master and wife.
Miao Tong nodded. "Naturally."
After all, Miao Tong needed the Dragon Token in Zhang Xiaofan's hands to help locate Ji Yin.
Miao Tong flew off, while Zhang Xiaofan took two healing pills and began meditating to recover.
In his heart, Zhang Xiaofan was calculating the time. He had made an appointment with Song Wen to meet for a trade at the You Shi (5PM-7PM).
At this time, there was about a quarter of an hour left until You Shi, and he had to leave with Miao Tong just before the appointed time.
He was worried that Miao Tong would return too quickly, and Song Wen would already be rushing to the market, making it impossible to find him there. Or, Miao Tong might return too late, missing the agreed time, and Song Wen might grow impatient and leave.
Both situations could expose him and alert Miao Tong to something strange.
The so-called Dragon Phoenix Spiritual Resonance Token didn't exist—it was something he had fabricated.
There was indeed a Phoenix Token in Lu Chan's storage ring, but like the Dragon Token in his hand, it was a one-time defensive treasure. It was a life-saving gift from Lu Cang when he and Lu Chan married, but it had never been used.
If they successfully killed Ji Yin, Lu Cang's remains wouldn't need to be mentioned, but Lu Chan's belongings would certainly be handed over to Zhang Xiaofan. Thus, Zhang Xiaofan wasn't afraid of the so-called Dragon Phoenix Spiritual Resonance Token being exposed.
Zhang Xiaofan's mind was in turmoil, but his expression remained unchanged, filled with sorrow and deep hatred.
To his relief, about a quarter of an hour later, Miao Tong arrived with two Golden Core cultivators—a man and a woman—at the Law Enforcement Hall.
Zhang Xiaofan recognized them.
The man's name was Ba Feng, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator.
The woman's name was Hao Man, a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator.
Zhang Xiaofan stood up with great effort, enduring the pain of his injuries, and cupped his hands in greeting.
"Thank you both for risking your lives to help capture the murderer who killed my master and wife."
Although the Corpse Demon Sect followed the demonic path, Ba Feng and Hao Man were moved by Zhang Xiaofan's strong sense of loyalty and affection.
Ba Feng smiled and responded, "Elder Fancheng, no need to be polite. It's our duty."
Hao Man said to Zhang Xiaofan, "Elder Fancheng, please accept our condolences. We will definitely avenge your master and wife."
Miao Tong said, "Don't waste time. Let's head out quickly, so Ji Yin doesn't escape."
Most of the time during Miao Tong's absence had been spent verifying Zhang Xiaofan's story.
He had first checked the sect's sealed records and found that Ji Yin, Zhang Xiaofan, and Chen Yi, along with two other people, indeed entered the sect at the same time.
Additionally, he had also sought confirmation from Elder Zhou of the Alchemy Hall. When Zhang Xiaofan, Lu Cang, and Lu Chan went out, Zhou confirmed that he had indeed encountered them. At the time, Zhang Xiaofan had mentioned that they were leaving to help Lu Chan relax.
Given this, Zhang Xiaofan's words seemed somewhat credible.
Zhang Xiaofan said, "Elder Miao, please wait. As you left, I sensed Ji Yin's position through the Dragon Token. He is now near the market."
"Market?" Miao Tong asked. "Are you saying Ji Yin has reached our Corpse Demon Sect's market?"
Zhang Xiaofan nodded. "Yes."
"Ji Yin killed one of our Sect's Elders and didn't flee far from the Corpse Demon Sect, but instead came to the foot of our mountain?" Miao Tong said with a look of suspicion.
Zhang Xiaofan explained, "It is indeed a bit hard to believe. But the Dragon Token has sensed the Phoenix Token near the market. Perhaps Ji Yin is trying to take advantage of the many scattered cultivators in the market to hide his whereabouts?"
Miao Tong replied, "No matter his reason for coming, as long as we capture him, everything will become clear."
Zhang Xiaofan's eyes flickered with a hint of concern.
"Ji Yin is ruthless, Elder Miao. Don't be careless. To be safe, it's better to kill him on the spot."
Miao Tong reassured him, "Don't worry, Elder Zhang. Ji Yin is just a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator. Even if he has a top-tier third-stage corpse puppet, he won't be able to stir up any trouble in the Corpse Demon Sect's market. Even if we can't capture him alive, we will take his soul for interrogation and soul-searching."
Zhang Xiaofan glanced at Miao Tong but didn't say anything more.
His spiritual sense entered his storage ring, where he found a black jade vial.
Inside the vial was Soul Ruin Incense, made from the resentment and grievances of countless vengeful spirits. If a cultivator's soul came into contact with this incense, it would corrode their consciousness, causing confusion in their memories and thoughts, making it impossible to extract any valuable information from their soul.
On this trip, he had to ensure that Ji Yin was killed, and his soul was tainted with the Soul Ruin Incense.
The four of them got ready, and Miao Tong piloted the flying ship to the market.
Miao Tong activated a formation on the flying ship to block spiritual sense probing, to prevent the four Golden Core cultivators from appearing together and alerting Ji Yin to their presence, causing him to flee secretly.
The Corpse Demon Sect's market was vast, covering an area of over a hundred miles. The spiritual senses of the four of them couldn't cover the entire market.
Looking at the crowded streets of the market, Miao Tong frowned slightly.
"Elder Zhang, can you sense Ji Yin's exact position?"
Zhang Xiaofan held the Dragon Token, remaining silent.
He appeared to be sensing the position of the Phoenix Token, but in reality, he was calculating the time.
There was only about a quarter of an hour left until You Shi.
He pointed towards a street in the market.
"It should be near the Blood Corpse Street, but I can't be sure of the exact location."
Miao Tong's eyes lit up. "If it's near Blood Corpse Street, that makes things much easier."
As they spoke, the flying ship moved and reached the sky above Blood Corpse Street.
Blood Corpse Street was less than ten miles long, and with Miao Tong's peak Golden Core cultivation, he easily covered the entire street with his spiritual sense.
However, after several breaths, Miao Tong didn't detect any Golden Core cultivators or find anyone matching Zhang Xiaofan's description of Ji Yin.
Miao Tong wasn't satisfied and carefully searched several nearby streets with his spiritual sense, but found nothing.
He turned to the other three on the flying ship.
Ba Feng and Hao Man were also using their spiritual senses to scan Blood Corpse Street and the surrounding streets. From their expressions, it was clear they hadn't found anything.
Zhang Xiaofan, whose spiritual sense range was the narrowest, focused his gaze and spiritual sense on Blood Corpse Street but also didn't find any trace of Song Wen.
He couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.
Could it be that Ji Yin has seen through my plan?
Or perhaps he was delayed by something and didn't arrive on time?
Just as Zhang Xiaofan's thoughts were in turmoil, he suddenly sensed a jade slip in his storage ring that had faintly flickered.
Zhang Xiaofan's expression shifted. That was Ji Yin's messaging jade slip.
In front of Miao Tong and the others, he didn't dare to take out the jade slip to read its contents.
However, this indirectly confirmed that Ji Yin was nearby, not far away.
(End of the Chapter)
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