"Thank you, Deacon Mu!"

Wen Jiu silently committed the Yinzhou Left-Hand Path Record to memory.

"Alright, go back and cultivate, but don't ask for leave again. After the two of us leave, if you continue to slack off, Sikong Bai will surely make things difficult for you." Mu Canglong reminded him again before waving him away.

Wen Jiu cupped his fists in salute, exchanged a few more polite words, then walked away at a steady pace—his steps swift, his heart eager to return.

Once Wen Jiu had left, Mu Canglong was about to give Liu Xiao a few more instructions when a frivolous voice rang out from outside the door. Just hearing it made Mu Canglong's eyes fill with disdain.

He had no desire to deal with Sikong Bai and was about to leave directly, but unfortunately, Sikong Bai had come bearing an oral decree from Elder Gong Chi.

As always, Sikong Bai wore a smile, but this time, there was a hint of schadenfreude in it. "Daoist Mu, Elder Gong has instructed that the two of us are to head to the Night Patrol Division's main hall immediately."

"What for?" Mu Canglong asked.

Sikong Bai's smile stiffened. "It seems Daoist Mu is quite displeased about Elder Gong having you leave Feixian Peak. Does Elder Gong really need to explain why he's summoning us? Why do you suddenly seem so—"

He trailed off.

Mu Canglong couldn't be bothered to argue with him and simply strode towards the main hall.

Sikong Bai followed closely behind.

Soon, they arrived.

Pushing open the doors, they saw Elder Gong Chi seated in the main hall's central position, his face pale and weak. Beside him stood a masked man in black—Nightfall, the Night Patrol Division's elusive third deacon, rarely seen by anyone.

Mu Canglong cast him a thoughtful glance before stepping forward and bowing. "Subordinate greets Elder Gong!"

Sikong Bai also saluted.

Gong Chi spoke slowly, his expression cold. "Just now, Nightfall informed me that the Spirit Farmers' Division, the Talisman Hall, the Alchemy Chamber, the Refining Tower, and the Demon-Slaying Division are conspiring to suppress us—and they have their eyes on the position of Peak Lord."

"Elder Gong, if I leave Feixian Peak now, isn't that exactly what they want?" Mu Canglong exclaimed in shock.

But Gong Chi shook his head, seemingly unconcerned. "No matter. I never intended to compete for the Peak Lord position anyway. If they want it, let them fight for it. The reason I summoned you here is for two matters."

"First, from today onwards, Sikong Bai will have full authority over the Night Patrol Division. You will focus solely on leading your men to assist the Supervision Hall in tracking down the remnants of the Blood-Clad Tower. Your main objective is to uncover the truth behind the Peak Lord's death—find out who the real culprit is."

"The second matter is a gift—this is a mid-grade artifact that has accompanied me for many years: the Woodleaf Throwing Knife." With that, Gong Chi retrieved a wooden box from his storage pouch and handed it over.

"This—!"

The Woodleaf Throwing Knife.

Elder Gong's signature weapon.

For a moment, Mu Canglong was taken aback, unable to grasp the elder's true intentions. But he had no time to overthink—he quickly bowed in gratitude and carefully accepted it with both hands.

"You're out there alone—don't bring disgrace to our Night Patrol Division!" Gong Chi gave one final reminder before waving him away.

Mu Canglong stowed the artifact and took his leave.

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All the way home, his mind was occupied with the Woodleaf Throwing Knife. Something about it felt off.

But he couldn't put his finger on what.

Meanwhile, after Mu Canglong had departed, Gong Chi gave Sikong Bai a few more instructions and finalized his plan to enter seclusion for recovery.

Sikong Bai's expression tightened. "Elder Gong, are we really not fighting for the Peak Lord position?"

"We're not."

With that, Gong Chi waved him away.

Sikong Bai dared not press further, but his face brimmed with delight.

Whether Elder Gong fought for it or not—

From now on, the Night Patrol Division was his to command.

He had been waiting for this day for a long time, even to the point where he had considered killing Mu Canglong. But he simply wasn't strong enough to defeat him. So that thought had ultimately come to nothing.

…

When only two people remained in the hall, a figure in black, who had been standing in the darkness all along, slowly emerged.

"Daoist Friend Gong, what is the meaning of this? First, you gifted the Wooden Leaf Throwing Knife, then you announced that you were going into seclusion to heal, refusing to compete for the position of Peak Master. You should know—this is the closest we've ever been to securing that position!"

There was a trace of displeasure in his tone.

But Gong Chi didn't mind. A sly smile appeared on his face. "No need to worry. Not fighting for it is exactly how we win. Before that Blood-Robed Bastard left the Chen Clan's territory, he gave me a high-grade Tier-One Violet Dew Pill. If I can use this pill to break through to the late stage of Qi Refinement... then whether I fight or not, the Peak Master position will be mine!"

"So that's your plan."

The black-clad man remained in the shadows, and the irritation in his voice lessened.

Gong Chi then coldly continued, "As for that Wooden Leaf Throwing Knife, it was just a show for the Inspectors from the Supervision Hall, as well as the Peak Elder of the Supervision Hall. Think about it—my most trusted subordinate takes my most treasured artifact, and then I suddenly refuse to compete for Peak Master. How could they possibly suspect me?"

"So you had it all planned out, Daoist Friend Gong. It seems I was too hasty." The man in black let out a dry chuckle before adding, "But what about the one who stole the blood? That was the essence blood we painstakingly collected over three years, and it was meant for a mission personally assigned by the Alliance Leader."

"That's none of your concern. Just focus on staying hidden and don't come looking for me unless absolutely necessary."

Gong Chi spoke with confidence, then stood up, preparing to leave with Ye Luo.

The black-clad man gradually faded back into the darkness, disappearing completely.

…

After leaving the Night Patrol Division, Wen Jiu headed straight for the Land of Mangled Corpses.

Once there, he carefully examined his newly acquired knowledge, focusing on True Meaning of Yin Talismans and Three Fiends Corpse Cultivation.

He started with True Meaning of Yin Talismans. Aside from the Black Bone Yin Talisman Brush, this text introduced three unconventional talisman-drawing techniques.

First, Yin Talisman Paper—it required soaking ordinary demon-skin talisman paper in Earth Fiend Yin Qi for three hours.

Second, Yin Land Talisman Drawing—it wasn't just restricted to nighttime; the location also mattered. The talisman had to be drawn in a place of true death.

The Land of Mangled Corpses was a perfect fit.

Third, Talisman Ink—it had to be mixed with corpse blood and demon blood ink. However, under normal circumstances, a black ghoul wouldn't produce corpse blood. It only had corpse energy flowing through its body. Only a walking corpse could generate corpse blood.

But strictly speaking, even that wasn't real blood—it was just corpse energy so dense that it merged with the blood it absorbed over time.

Without a walking corpse, True Meaning of Yin Talismans was impossible to use.

Fortunately, his Corpse Eye had the ability to cultivate corpse blood.

He just wasn't sure if it would work.

Once he had everything prepared, Wen Jiu waited for nightfall, then had his black ghoul hold a lantern while he began drawing talismans in the Land of Mangled Corpses.

The moment his brush touched the paper, he was pleasantly surprised. Every stroke flowed smoothly, as if guided by instinct. His spiritual sense consumption was also drastically reduced—he could now draw ten talismans with the same effort it used to take for one.

And after drawing ten in a row, six were successful. Two were of excellent quality, and one was of supreme quality.

A true Soul-Reaping Talisman—capable of killing a third-layer Qi Refinement cultivator!

"This…"

The unexpected success left Wen Jiu momentarily at a loss.

If he sold just one Soul-Reaping Talisman, it would be worth at least twenty to thirty low-grade spirit stones.

Yet the cost to make one?

A single grain of spirit sand.

Only one-tenth of a low-grade spirit stone.

"At this rate, not only will I have enough spirit stones to cultivate corpse blood, but I can also invest in Three Fiends Corpse Cultivation for my black ghoul, turning it into a Three Fiends Walking Corpse."

A Three Fiends Walking Corpse—capable of tearing apart a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator with its bare hands.

Wen Jiu was determined to cultivate one, no matter how many spirit stones it took.

A Three Fiends Walking Corpse, combined with Three Rivers Ghost Concealment and Blood Transformation, would become his greatest trump card.

Its strength would be terrifying. If he could raise it to the upper tier, even a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator wouldn't be impossible to kill.

And if he could kill a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator, then on Dead Man's Peak, he would finally have a solid foothold.

Thinking of this, Wen Jiu couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.

After fantasizing for a moment, he quickly set aside his thoughts and decided to visit the rogue cultivator market in a few days to sell talismans and earn more spirit stones.