"Daoist friend, is something wrong?"

Wen Jiu asked tentatively, wanting to gauge the other party's reaction.

But unexpectedly, the Night Patrol Division disciple was well-prepared. "These past few days, people from our Fei Xian Peak who traveled to the Loose Cultivator Market near Lianwu Mountain have been attacked by vengeful spirits on the way. Four disciples from the Spiritual Agriculture Division have already died. The steward knows that you are a corpse-raiser and might understand ghost-tracking methods better than us, so he sent you to join this mission… Don't worry, whether we find anything or not, you'll still be rewarded with spirit stones."

"How many?"

Wen Jiu deliberately pressed further.

The Night Patrol Division disciple's lips curled into a smile. "At least three to five. Steward Mu never treats his own people poorly."

"That's quite a lot."

Wen Jiu replied with a smile while an image of the so-called Steward Mu surfaced in his mind.

There weren't many stewards in the Night Patrol Division, making it hard to forget them. If he recalled correctly, Steward Mu's full name was Mu Ye—one of Sikong Bai's people, and he had a close relationship with Li Ye. Back when the Night Patrol Division used Illusion Pills to interrogate their own disciples, Mu Ye and Li Ye had stood together.

Could this matter be related to Li Ye?

Was he already losing his patience?

If Wen Jiu really followed them to search for vengeful spirits near the Loose Cultivator Market, there was a high chance Li Ye would make his move there.

A blatant scheme.

Not even a conspiracy—just an open trap.

If he refused to go, he would be accused of defying orders. If Deacon Mu were present, such an accusation wouldn't mean much. But if he wasn't, it could become a reason to revoke his examination eligibility.

The journey was silent.

Wen Jiu arrived at the Night Patrol Division.

By the time he got there, seven Night Patrol Division disciples, all at the second level of Qi Refinement, were already gathered, fully geared and ready to set out.

Leading the team was none other than Mu Ye.

Li Ye was nowhere to be seen—not in the group nor lurking nearby.

Mu Ye, his face radiating friendliness, glanced at Wen Jiu and smiled. "Little Wen, just use your divine sense to detect yin energy and ghostly aura when the time comes. Even if we don't find that damned vengeful spirit, I guarantee you won't walk away empty-handed."

"Thank you, Steward Mu."

Wen Jiu returned the smile.

But in his heart, a murderous intent was already surging.

Li Ye.

Since you want to kill me…

Then I might as well give you a little surprise.

Wen Jiu was certain—right now, Li Ye was hiding somewhere, secretly watching him. He could feel a faint yet undeniable gaze on him.

It was the intuition of a corpse-raiser.

A sense honed in lands filled with mangled corpses, while searching for vengeful spirits.

Because vengeful spirits loved to lurk in the dark, silently observing their prey, just like lone wolves stalking in the dead of night.

Mu Ye nodded and didn't say much more. "Let's move out!"

The group set off.

Along the way, Mu Ye seriously explained the recent murders of the Spiritual Agriculture Division disciples. The other Night Patrol Division members had also gathered intelligence—there were detailed reports on the locations and strength of the vengeful spirits.

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Over the past half-month, two first-level Qi Refinement disciples and two second-level Qi Refinement disciples from the Spiritual Agriculture Division had been killed while delivering spirit rice. The incidents occurred at three locations: Cold Night Forest, Little Bamboo Peak, and the Exotic Beast Slope. Their yang energy was completely drained, and their internal organs were hollowed out—a clear sign that a vengeful spirit was trying to become a ghost cultivator through murder.

The three locations were no more than ten miles apart, and the most recent victim, a second-level Qi Refinement disciple, had died just yesterday.

Everything seemed real.

Everything seemed normal.

It was just an ordinary Night Patrol Division field mission.

But the more normal it appeared, the more suspicious Wen Jiu felt.

And sure enough—

Upon reaching Lianwu Mountain, Mu Ye distributed a first-tier low-grade signal talisman to everyone. Unlike the one Wang Nian had given him, this type of talisman was immune to ghostly concealment techniques and had a transmission range of thirty miles.

In addition, Mu Ye also handed out two first-tier low-grade ghost-repelling talismans of exceptional quality, which could effectively block vengeful spirit attacks.

Once everything was set, Mu Ye instructed everyone to spread out. "If you find anything, crush the signal talisman immediately. I'll rush over on my sword."

"Understood!"

"Understood!"

The group gradually dispersed.

With the signal talismans in hand, along with top-tier first-grade Ghost-Repelling Talismans, they had nothing to fear even if they encountered vengeful spirits.

Wen Jiu also moved away with the others.

By now, he was completely certain—this was a trap set specifically for him. The problem lay with the first-grade signal talisman he had received.

Before becoming a first-grade Yin Talisman Master, he wouldn't have noticed anything amiss. But now, having mastered the ability to craft top-tier first-grade Soul-Reaping Talismans, a single sweep of his divine sense immediately revealed the flaw in the signal talisman.

One of the talisman's runes had an abnormal flow of spiritual energy. It was subtle, yet clearly not a mistake made during its creation—otherwise, the talisman wouldn't have qualified as a first-grade item at all.

This meant the issue had been introduced afterward.

A flaw that minor was enough to render the signal talisman completely useless. Even if he crushed it, it would never send out a signal.

Next, Wen Jiu scanned the Ghost-Repelling Talisman with his divine sense.

As expected.

It had the same issue.

Not only did it have the same flaw as the signal talisman, but it also contained a hidden trace of divine sense—someone had left a mark on it.

"They really put effort into this. These tricks… only a top-tier first-grade Talisman Master could pull off."

A cold glint flashed in Wen Jiu's eyes. Killing intent surged within him.

But he quickly calmed down.

Killing Li Ye wasn't difficult—not with his current power and resources. The challenge was making sure he could do it without being implicated.

After traveling about five or six miles, Wen Jiu stopped at the edge of a secluded forest pond.

He had sensed something unusual.

There was a strange, lingering Yin energy in the air, along with faint traces of ghostly aura. Yet when he probed the depths of the pond with his divine sense, he found nothing—just a cold, dark bottom.

Still, it reminded him of something.

He thought of Heavenly Fiend Water.

This substance wasn't just used for nurturing corpse puppets in the Three-Fiend Corpse Refinement Method—it could also be used to feed vengeful spirits. That was why only Ghost Cultivators ever prepared it. After all, under normal circumstances, only spirits needed Heavenly Fiend Water.

If he used it to lure spirits…

If that murderous vengeful spirit—one as strong as a third-level Qi Refiner—was still lurking somewhere in Lianwu Mountain, it would surely be drawn to the Heavenly Fiend Water.

Even in broad daylight.

Wen Jiu had encountered this effect before. Back in the Land of Dismembered Corpses, simply uncorking a vial of Heavenly Fiend Water and letting its aura spread had been enough to attract two or three vengeful spirits within ten breaths.

At the end of the day, spirits weren't human.

Unless they transformed into Ghost Cultivators, their intelligence remained low.

Resisting the lure of Heavenly Fiend Water? That was like asking a starving pervert to push away a woman throwing herself into his arms—it just wouldn't happen.

As long as he could draw it out…

Then maybe—

It could be useful.

Wen Jiu's lips curled into a cold smile.

"You want me to die here in this mountain?" he muttered to himself. "Then perhaps… it can become the reason your death makes perfect sense."

With that, he took out three vials of Heavenly Fiend Water. After a quick glance around, he uncorked them one by one and poured them into the cold pond.

Three whole bottles.

Good thing he could refine it himself now—otherwise, this would've been a painful expense.

Each vial cost twenty lower-grade spirit stones.

Once he was done, Wen Jiu withdrew into the dense forest and waited silently.

He didn't bother using concealment talismans to mask his presence. His second-level Qi Refining aura might even add to the bait.

—

Meanwhile, deep within another part of the forest.

Mu Ye crushed a signal talisman.

Before long, a shadowy figure arrived, moving swiftly and silently through the foliage. They left no footprints, no sound—completely shrouded in black robes, their face hidden behind a mask.

"The artifact?" Mu Ye stretched out his hand the moment they met.

"The target?"

"In the mountain. I summoned him under the authority of a Night Patrol Division officer. He didn't even have time to bring his Ghoul Puppet with him."

"Good work," Li Ye's voice came from behind the mask, slow and measured. "But I'll hand over the artifact after the job is done. For now, keep watch for me."

"Such a hassle… I knew earning a single lower-grade artifact wouldn't be easy," Mu Ye sighed, but he didn't argue.

With Li Ye's abilities, killing a reckless second-level Qi Refiner without his Ghoul Puppet was effortless.

Keeping watch wouldn't take long.

It made no difference whether he got the artifact now or a little later.

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