"Next, I will refine you into soul seeds, then control your bodies to kill Li Shentong and other bandits!"
Qin Wang looked at the souls of Ye Qian and Lin Shengbing. With a thought, ghostly flames began to rise from their souls, causing them to scream in agony. Their eyes were filled with venomous hatred as their souls twisted and contorted under the burning.
Nearby souls like Li Laocai, Zheng Kecheng, and Chen Kun recoiled in terror, shaking uncontrollably.
By dawn:
[Daily Intelligence Refresh!]
[Today's Intelligence!]
1. Yesterday, you ambushed and killed bandits Ye Qian and Lin Shengbing. Ye Qian was an abandoned wife of the Chen family from the Great Yan Immortal Dynasty, cast out for infidelity. Lin Shengbing was a former servant who murdered his master and gained immortality by chance.
2. Yesterday, you killed Ye Qian and Lin Shengbing and discovered they had eight other bandit companions. Their leader, Li Shentong, is aware of their failure and is sending people to investigate your and the couple's huts.
3. Ye Qian's bandit team is secretly affiliated with the Tianyao Chamber of Commerce in Wanling Market, protected by them. Their leader, Li Shentong, is in the twelfth level of Qi Refinement, aiming to be the strongest Foundation Establishment cultivator. The team pays tribute to the Tianyao Chamber every year.
4. Wanling Market houses four major chambers of commerce: Tianyao, Chilong, Jingang, and Longjing. Three of these have Golden Core masters, while the weakest, Longjing, is led by Chen Longjing, a pseudo-Core cultivator.
5. You acquired a Qingyou small sword yesterday. This is part of the Qingyou Sword Formation, which consists of thirty-six swords scattered across the Nine Realms. Gathering nine swords forms a powerful array that allows dominance in the same tier but requires high spiritual strength.
6. The tip of the black broken sword, Tiangang Sword, is in the possession of Chen Hao, son of Chen Longjing of the Longjing Chamber of Commerce. Chen Hao is at the eleventh level of Qi Refinement and plans to train in Wanling Blessed Land.
7. Yesterday, you brushed past a Qi Refinement disciple from the Taiyi Sword Sect, gaining intelligence that an elder at the Nascent Soul level was devoured and possessed by an entity in an ancient forbidden area.
8. Yesterday, you examined a stone table touched by Situ Yunfei, learning that he possessed the body of Sun Jieyun, grandson of the Chilong Chamber of Commerce's leader.
9. Situ Yunfei has reached the eleventh level of Qi Refinement through ample resource accumulation after taking over Sun Jieyun's body.
10. You played with the hidden-seeking spirit mouse, Xiaobai, yesterday. If Xiaobai eats the five Golden Spirit Fruits at the Lingyao Shop in Wanling Market, it will enhance its strength.
"The bandit team is protected by the Tianyao Chamber of Commerce?"
"And they have a Golden Core master?"
Qin Wang frowned at the first four pieces of intelligence and then pondered silently.
Even if the Tianyao Chamber of Commerce had a Golden Core master, what of it?
Didn't Situ Yunfei, who was a Golden Core, end up being reduced to a primordial spirit that had to possess others?
"The Qingyou Sword Formation consists of 36 swords scattered across the Nine Realms? Gathering nine forms a powerful array?"
Qin Wang's heart filled with anticipation.
He needed to spend more time studying these Qingyou small swords, hoping to gather intelligence on the remaining swords.
"The tip of the black broken sword is with Chen Hao from the Longjing Chamber?"
"An opportunity to retrieve it might present itself when Chen Hao enters Wanling Blessed Land."
Qin Wang began to plan.
The news about Situ Yunfei finally surfaced!
Situ Yunfei, now inhabiting the body of Sun Jieyun from the Chilong Chamber of Commerce, carried a mysterious fragment Qin Wang desperately wanted.
"Buy the five Golden Spirit Fruits from the Lingyao Shop today!"
Qin Wang looked at the tenth piece of intelligence, filled with excitement.
With the entrance to Wanling Blessed Land imminent, enhancing Xiaobai's strength would be a significant boon.
By 9 AM:
"The observer is from Lin Shengbing's bandit team!"
Qin Wang returned to the shack by dawn and found someone monitoring from a distance. His eyes flashed with killing intent.
To avoid suspicion, he waited half an hour before controlling 'Ye Qian' and 'Lin Shengbing' to return, while Xiaobai monitored from the doorway.
Through Xiaobai's eyes, Qin Wang saw a middle-aged man in blue observing from a hundred feet away. The man pretended to pass by Lin Shengbing's hut, coughing once, before quickly leaving.
"Knock, knock!"
"Lin Daoyou, are you there?"
In the afternoon, Qin Wang heard someone knocking on Lin Shengbing's door next door.
He controlled Lin Shengbing with his spiritual sense, pretending not to hear, leaving the door unanswered.
The knocking continued for a while before the visitor left, frustrated.
"The bandit team will surely investigate further if Lin Shengbing doesn't respond. That's my chance!"
Qin Wang watched the departing observer through the window, eyes cold with intent to kill.
Given the bandit team's plot against him, he wouldn't let them go.
He planned to wait a day, then have Lin Shengbing and Ye Qian leave Wanling Market. The bandits would undoubtedly follow, providing the opportunity to pick them off one by one.
He could lure a few out daily and kill them until the entire team was wiped out.
However, with eight skilled members left, he couldn't rely solely on the injured Mu Hun'er. Qin Wang decided to visit the Treasure Pavilion for formation flags, array disks, and thunder talismans.
Set up a few traps, and they wouldn't stand a chance!
Fifteen minutes later, in a five-meter-wide hut five miles from Qin Wang's, eight powerful cultivators gathered.
"You knocked, but Lin Daoyou didn't answer?"
"And what about that Mei Changxin?"
The leader, a young man in his late twenties, sat on a tiger-skin chair, questioning the returning middle-aged man in blue.
This man was at the twelfth level of Qi Refinement!
"Yes, there was noise inside, but no one answered."
"And Mei Changxin is in seclusion."
The middle-aged man in blue was puzzled.
"Continue watching Mei Changxin!"
Li Shentong's eyes narrowed in displeasure. "Lin Daoyou and his wife failed their task but still have time for romance! We'll summon them later!"
At this moment, Li Shentong was displeased with Lin Shengbing and Ye Qian for their failure, feeling the need to question them thoroughly.
"Understood."
The middle-aged man in blue nodded.