King Black Rat, noticing that Lu Qingshan was ignoring him, swallowed nervously and continued, "I saw that the demon beast looked fierce and terrifying, which really scared me. I was about to flee when someone came in.
The newcomer was an extremely sleazy-looking male cultivator, holding a Spirit Beast Bag. He actually took away the demon beast from the Blood Pool.
Since the beast was taken by the cultivator, I planned to sneak into the Blood Pool to steal some red Spiritual Pearls. Last time I ate a pearl, I turned out like this. This time, eating more might allow me to transform."
But to my surprise, there was a transparent thin shield around the Blood Pool, not only blocking the scent from escaping but also preventing me from entering. So, I had no choice but to come back and look for you."
It seems he came back to seek help only because he failed to steal as he had hoped.
Lu Qingshan understood the situation.
"You are quite bold for a little demon who hasn't cultivated any Cultivation Technique. You dare to sneak into a cultivator's home without fear of being caught?" Lu Qingshan clicked his tongue in amazement.
King Black Rat had always seemed timid.
King Black Rat, feeling somewhat embarrassed, hesitantly said, "Ever since I swallowed the Spiritual Pearl from the Blood Pool, I've felt as if something dormant inside me is waking up.
Since then, I have been continually acquiring new abilities. Just the other day, I seem to have awakened a new one, which made me dare..."
"Oh?" Lu Qingshan became somewhat interested.
He had assumed that King Black Rat's Illusive Rat Bloodline had fully awakened.
But according to King Black Rat, it was still mastering new abilities, indicating that its Illusive Rat Bloodline hadn't fully revived and still had great potential.
Lu Qingshan used the Heavenly Eye Technique on King Black Rat once again.
Indeed, he discovered a brand new skill on its Attribute Panel.
——————
[Sneaky]: Innate skill.
Sneaky entry, silent and traceless. Once this skill is activated, unless he attacks, all his scents will vanish, making him difficult to detect.
Cool down: 3 days.
——————
Sneaky, one of the most mysterious innate skills that the Illusive Rats can master.
It is also a highly practical skill.
With the[Sneaky]innate skill, an Illusive Rat, being secretive, excels in tracking assassinations as well as stealing confidential information.
Unexpectedly, King Black Rat had awakened this skill.
It seems to be quite the European rat, Lu Qingshan muttered.
"Are there other cultivators in that house?" Lu Qingshan asked.
He was indeed curious to explore the secrets of the dwelling, which might yield some unexpected gains.
"Other than that sleazy-looking male cultivator, only some ordinary humans remain." King Black Rat seemed to remember something, speaking in a strange tone, "However, the male cultivator left the house with the demon beast last night and has not yet returned."
Lu Qingshan pondered for a long time and then spoke, "Lead me to that house."
Today is July 15.
The Underworld Cultivators should have all moved out to initiate a long-planned operation.
The fact that the sleazy-looking male cultivator had left and not returned was evidence of this.
Seize the opportunity when the boss is not home to steal a chicken.
Stealing chickens is something players are particularly good at.
As an elite player, Lu Qingshan was no exception—his "Innate Swordseed" was acquired through such a theft.
It could even be considered the most successful chicken theft in the history of the Nine Heavens game.
Unfortunately, before he had the chance to flaunt it on the forums, he had arrived in the game world.
This would have certainly made those unlucky players green with envy.
Lu Qingshan felt a bit of regret.
...
Led by King Black Rat, Lu Qingshan soon arrived at the mansion.
It was a huge estate covering several acres.
Over the black lacquered gate of the courtyard hung a signboard with the words "Mansion of Suffering."
Beneath the signboard, two muscular men stood on either side, apparently the guards of the mansion.
Lu Qingshan's face twitched slightly.
This Demon Cultivator was indeed very bold; most people from the Netherworld preferred to keep a low profile whenever possible.
For example, Real Blood Corpse arranged his yard in a very remote location and the huge house was occupied by him alone.
Yet, the owner of this Mansion of Suffering had acquired such a large property in the busiest area of Yuanshan city.
Yet, on reflection, there was also a bit of reverse thinking involved.
Lu Qingshan circled to the back of the mansion, channeled his Spiritual Power, and directly scaled the wall to enter the back garden of the Mansion of Suffering.
The backyard of the Bitter Mansion was a sizable garden, filled with many exotic flowers, plants, and herbs.
A refreshing fragrance hit them.
Lu Qingshan couldn't help but take a deep breath.
"Eh?!" Lu Qingshan involuntarily let out a soft exclamation.
"What's wrong?" Black Rat, extremely cautious, asked.
Lu Qingshan's expression turned strange, and he shook his head to indicate, "It's nothing."
The flowers and herbs grown here actually had an aphrodisiac effect.
Merely sniffing the fragrance temporarily, he had felt his body grow slightly hot.
Fortunately, these were just mundane items.
Lu Qingshan stirred the spiritual power within his body, a cooling sensation surged from his dantian, then circulated through his body's meridians.
The feeling of heat instantly dissipated.
Lu Qingshan held his breath, not daring to delay any longer, and following Black Rat's directions, he infiltrated deeper into the mansion.
The Bitter Mansion was quite interesting; it even had many mortal sentries arranged around, appearing extremely vigilant, but to a cultivator, they were undoubtedly just for show.
Lu Qingshan easily bypassed the numerous sentries.
Stopping in front of a three-story building, Lu Qingshan paused.
This building was guarded by at least a dozen people nearby.
With such heavy security, could there be something important inside the building?
"What's inside here?" Lu Qingshan asked Black Rat.
Black Rat hesitated, unsure of how to start.
Seeing this, Lu Qingshan did not inquire further, and with a movement swift as lightning, he was at the base of the building in a flash, and silently leapt to the second floor.
Lu Qingshan stationed himself against the wall of the second floor's room and peered inside.
He could see smoke filling the room inside, and Lu Qingshan, sniffing slightly, recognized the scent as similar to the aphrodisiac herbs grown in the backyard, likely made from an aphrodisiac herbal concoction.
In the room's center was a large sandalwood bed covered by a sheer curtain, through which one could faintly see several women lying on the bed, unclothed, their pale thighs and arms highly alluring.
However, Lu Qingshan frowned.
Because the women on the bed had extremely weak breathing, terribly frail.
— They had been harvested for their Yin Qi by the Technique of Harvesting Qi; these mortal women's lives were near their end.
No wonder the backyard was planted with aphrodisiac herbs, no wonder Black Rat looked hesitant to speak, so this was the reason.
The demon cultivator here practiced the Technique of Harvesting Qi.
These women in the building were all his furnace cauldrons.
Shaking his head, Lu Qingshan headed to the third floor.
He had roughly guessed why Wu Yi had come here.
Inside the third floor, there was also a large bed, but there was only one woman on it.
Lying on her side, her back and buttocks towards Lu Qingshan, her voluptuous and slender curves undulated like a mountainous landscape.
It seemed as though she heard something, the woman slightly shifted her body, turning around in a somewhat lazy posture, her body uncovered.
It was indeed Wu Yi.
Apparently, Black Rat had discovered that this building contained women harvested for Qi and hadn't thoroughly checked the third floor before moving elsewhere.
That's why Wu Yi hadn't been found within the Bitter Mansion.
The moment Wu Yi turned around, Lu Qingshan had already taken the Peach Wood Sword from his spirit beast bag, pointing its tip directly at Wu Yi's throat.
Wu Yi, who had been enchanting just the day before, was now utterly pale, with a deathly hue to her complexion.
— Women who had been harvested for their Yin Qi would age rapidly.
Facing the sword tip at her throat, Wu Yi was quite calm, not minding her revealed body, and slightly sat up, "Who are you?"
"I've seen you before." Wu Yi, spotting Black Rat on Lu Qingshan's shoulder, didn't wait for Lu Qingshan to respond, and suddenly chuckled, "At that time in the Great Xia Commercial Firm, you also had this Black Rat with you. I thought it was odd then, that a cultivator would carry a black rat around, so I actually remember you quite well."
"Who is the master here, you weren't following the Blood Corpse Sage, why have you become a furnace cauldron harvested by others?" Lu Qingshan asked.
Hearing Lu Qingshan's inquiry, a ripple suddenly surfaced in Wu Yi's otherwise calm expression.
"Are you here to kill Cry Soul Sage?"
"Yes, it must be so, I haven't heard any noises, and yet you appeared here, surely having bypassed the guards. Your movements are so sneaky, either you're a thief or a bandit.
If you were a thief, you would certainly avoid me and not expose yourself easily."
Lu Qingshan neither confirmed nor denied, "What if I am a lecher?"
Wu Yi shook her head, "Hehe, impossible. Your eyes don't have any lust when you look at me. Being a woman like me, I can feel even the slightest desire in a man's gaze, you can't hide it from me."
Women's intuition is sometimes more accurate than a cultivator's spiritual sense, especially in matters between men and women.