Exploring Immortality Cultivation
Chapter 421 - 174: The Human Clan Immortal Artifact in the Demon Clan Ruins

The person who often knows someone best is his enemy.

Tang Xiao of Emperor's Extreme Heaven Splitting Dao and Wang Qi of Luofu Xuanqing Palace were mortal enemies since time immemorial. Zhen Chan, the Sect Leader of Luofu Xuanqing Palace, even understood the details of this Ancient Method Sect better than most Emperor's Extreme Heaven Splitting Dao disciples. He was quite aware of several confidential spells of the Emperor's Extreme Heaven Splitting Dao and even knew how to circumvent these spells through discourse. Just now, he had stopped Wang Qi and informed him about the correct way to interrogate a disciple of the Emperor's Extreme Heaven Splitting Dao.

Following Zhen Chan's instructions, Wang Qi dragged Li Yuncong deep into the forest. They had just left when an Ancient Method Practitioner clad in a golden battle robe, accompanied by three Foundation Establishment Cultivators, emerged. The Golden-Robed Cultivator leading them was tall and imposing, indeed a Golden Core Cultivator. In his hands, he held two Soul Lamps, one extinguished and the other flickering, emitting a stream of light fog. The light fog extended like an arrow, pointing straight in one direction.

The Golden Core Cultivator, Zhai Difeng, suddenly changed his expression and knelt down in the muddy ground to inspect Tang Xiao's body. It was not that he was particularly saddened by the death of his disciple, but the disciple's body could reveal a lot about the situation.

For example, the fatal wound was a sword wound, which meant that the possibility of a Demon Beast attack could be ruled out.

"Ancestors above... discovered by Modern Heretics..." Zhai Difeng barely managed to swallow his cry of despair. He unfolded his Spiritual Sense and meticulously searched the ground until he quickly spotted the traces Wang Qi had left on the ground.

"Modern Heretics don't cultivate the Dao, but practice magic, and are extremely adept in battle. If they had confronted a Heterodox Foundation Establishment, there wouldn't be any sign of struggle... A Heterodox Foundation Establishment could have captured them in an instant, meaning this was done by a Heterodox Qi Cultivator." Zhai Difeng measured the deep footprints left by Wang Qi: "They moved with the help of the ground at an accelerated pace... but this force seems a bit exaggerated. Even among Heterodox Qi Cultivators, this belongs to the elite."

"I heard that Heterodox Sects have also been excavating this relic, but they shouldn't have come here directly. And according to intelligence, such activities wouldn't involve Qi Cultivators from Heterodox Sects. It seems in Heterodox circles, Qi Cultivators don't hold any status, can't participate in all activities, and definitely don't encounter adventures. It's right not to bring Qi Cultivation Cultivators in the excavation team."

Ancient Methods had limited sources of intelligence, so they weren't aware that Modern actually saw Cultivators below Golden Core as potential powers yet to grow, not letting them be interrupted by miscellaneous duties. Moreover, if Modern spoke of "adventures," those were likely to occur in laboratories or on draft papers, rather than ancient antiques in tombs, which didn't count as adventures or even benefits to them.

"That means the other party is a Modern Qi Cultivator who has strayed here... perhaps for training?" Zhai Difeng made a judgment, then ordered, "Notify the other Golden Core Cultivators, we'll follow the direction of Li Yuncong's Soul Lamp for fifteen miles. If we can't catch up, we'll leave this place and consider the mission failed. Foundation Establishment Cultivators, gather and be ready to leave!"

A Cultivator wearing a black robe and his face covered by a hood arrived just in time to hear Zhai Difeng's order. He asked, "Mr. Zhai, what do you mean? Are we going to give up on this Immortal Artifact?"

His voice was rasping and unpleasant, as if two pieces of stone were scraping against each other. Zhai Difeng felt goosebumps but explained the situation anyway. The robed figure chuckled, "Is that so, indeed, those blasphemous Heterodox... A little mongrel snuck in, did he?"

"Priest Li, please follow me," Zhai Difeng pointed towards the Soul Lamp, intending to contact the other Golden Core Cultivators. Priest Li gently waved his hand and said, "I shall cast a Divine Art to halt that little mongrel. Mr. Zhai, may I use this disciple's body?"

"Feel free to use it."

Upon agreeing, Priest Li let out a low chuckle and inscribed a talisman on Tang Xiao's forehead. It was a Divine Tao Talisman, similar to the Hongyuan Sect Talismans that Wang Qi had seen before, but this talisman used by Priest Li was clearly more profound.

After the talisman had been inscribed, Tang Xiao's body started trembling violently, his skin turning an unsettling shade of gray. He rose up, his vocal cords trembling meaninglessly, crawling in the direction the Soul Lamp guided him.

Everyone present felt extremely uneasy. Even ghosts or corpse refiners, which were comprised of the energy of the dead, possessed a trace of spiritual essence, but this walking corpse had none. To their senses, any "spirituality" coming into contact with the walking corpse would likely be extinguished instantly.

Zhai Difeng was a bit perplexed, "This thing moves slowly and its aura isn't strong..."

"This 'World-Purifying Envoy' isn't meant for direct combat," the black-robed priest laughed. "I've buried some things around here some days ago. The aura of this World-Purifying Envoy is just the 'fuse', it will ignite my real setup!"

"Confirmed finally between seventy to eighty people, with no Qi Cultivation Cultivators leading; the heads are six Golden Core Cultivators. The target is an Ancient Immortal Artifact... Ah, what a coincidence, I actually know the true identity of that Immortal Artifact." With Zhen Chan's assistance, Wang Qi had extracted quite a bit from Li Yuncong. He was now holding the Protective Talisman with the hand that wore the ring, "Hmm, indeed, that's the feeling, one of the pieces from that set of Demi Immortal Artifacts."

Thanks to the Soul Forging Skill and Dream Building Technique he practiced, he had become sensitive to other's spiritual fluctuations. Now, he could discern if someone was lying just by their aura. Although he could only make basic "Yes" or "No" truth judgments, and sometimes there were errors, it was enough for handling Li Yuncong. If there was even a slight suspicion of lying, Wang Qi wouldn't hesitate to break one of his fingers. After paying the price of lying several times, Wang Qi finally created a crack in Li Yuncong's mind. Now, whenever Li Yuncong responded, his mind was as clear as a mirror, without a ripple of deceit.

"But this is clearly a Demon Clan relic, and 'Mathematics', this set of Immortal Artifacts should be the work of the Human Clan—finding Human Clan Immortal Artifacts in a Demon Clan relic?" Wang Qi communicated rapidly with Zhen Chan using his spiritual sense.

"Maybe it was taken over by predecessors from the Mathematical Sect as their cave dwelling?" Zhen Chan speculated based on the customs of Ancient Cultivators: "The civilization of the Ancient Demon Clan was much stronger than that of the Human Clan. In terms of defense, their relics are even stronger than some Human Clan cave dwellings. It is said some Loose Cultivators like to reside in Demon Clan relics."

Suddenly, Wang Qi stopped, holding Li Yuncong in his left hand and drawing his sword with his right. Zhen Chan asked, "What happened? Why have we stopped running?"

"Heh, can't run," Wang Qi whispered. "Didn't you notice the abnormal aura around us?"

Abnormal? Zhen Chan carefully scanned with his Spiritual Sense and finally noticed something interfering with his perception, one of the sources of interference was not far in front of Wang Qi. Zhen Chan exclaimed, "I can't see it! What is it?"

"Ah, I'd like to know too," Wang Qi smirked. "We're not in a hentai or manga world, so why would there be a tentacle monster here?"

The thing blocking Wang Qi's path was indeed a writhing mass of tentacles. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote and support. Mobile users please read on m.qidian.com.)