Having left the city, Yu Ci made his way towards the abandoned mining area.
Common sense would dictate that a "murderer" returning to the "scene of the crime" is a typical psychological inclination, yet it is also a foolish decision. However, if the Spiritual Witch herself is not playing by the rules, how could Yu Ci refrain from responding to the challenge?
He hastened along the road, but due to the disparity in Cultivation Level and the need to evade Sentry Posts, his pace was somewhat slower compared to Boss fifth He and his entourage. Fortunately, he had no intention of truly entering the area. Instead, Yu Ci found a relatively safe spot on the outskirts of the mining zone to lie in wait. By that time, Boss fifth He and the others had already ventured into the mine.
Boss fifth He possessed a very clear thought process. After inquiring about the surroundings, the first place he headed to was the Earth's Core Fire Eye, where Yu Ci was said to have destroyed the evidence. The temperature around the Fire Eye was extremely high, devoid of living creatures. Thanks to his penchant for grandeur, Yu Ci had still managed to implant his Divine consciousness starlight within the Brain Palace of his accompanying subordinates, piecing together an image as clear as a Divine Chart.
The Fire Eye had a diameter of about half a mile, and about ten feet below its edge was the churning magma. Occasionally, massive bubbles would surface, sending up a heat that caused the void above to twist and distort.
A group encircled the Fire Eye. Boss fifth He was one thing, but the rest looked at each other in bewilderment. This place was ideal for erasing traces—anything thrown in would melt, even iron. What sort of performance was the Ethereal Rhinoceros Hermit putting on here?
Boss fifth He, however, remained composed. Standing beside the Fire Eye for a moment, he withdrew an item.
It was a sachet, the opening tightly bound with a golden thread, though the bag itself appeared deflated, its contents indiscernible. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Boss fifth He untied the golden thread, opened the sachet, and with a slight shake, a wisp of blue smoke spilled out.
This was the smoke produced by the burning of Mysterious Cave True Incense. The Elder Spirit Witch had not come herself but had sent this wisp of smoke with Boss fifth He, along with instructions on its use. Boss fifth He acted as instructed, taking out a narrow-necked bottle and removing the stopper. Instantly, a small insect, glowing and twinkling, flew out and dove straight into the dissipating smoke ahead. In the blink of an eye, the smoke, which had been spreading out, began to contract as if being absorbed by the little insect.
Yu Ci still remembered the impression he had when Boss fifth He and his party first arrived at the Three Families Market. The Elder Spirit Witch had taken out this luminescent worm, performed a ritual to sense its surroundings, suggesting there must be something extraordinary about it.
After swallowing some of the smoke, the luminescent worm seemed to have grown considerably. It fluttered its transparent, thin wings and flew over the fiery pit, dancing amidst the twisting heatwaves. It circled overhead more than a dozen times, and just when the surrounding onlookers were growing impatient, it suddenly changed direction, drawing the attention of everyone present.
The worm then made its way to a particular spot on the edge of the fiery pit, where someone was already standing. Taken aback by the worm's approach, the person hesitated but eventually moved aside under the stern gaze of Boss fifth He. Then, they watched as the worm, trailing its glow, circled the area.
In no time, the luminescent worm continued forward, this time flying a great distance, all the way to the edge of the cavernous tunnel where the fiery pit was located.
"Let's follow and see."
Boss fifth He immediately assigned tasks, with one group following the luminescent worm to record its path and another inspecting the edge of the fiery pit. As for himself, he flew directly above the fiery pit, hovering in the very center where the luminescent worm had been circling. He commanded:
"Inspect carefully, and let no clue go unnoticed!"
His subordinates responded in unison. This was a team composed of ten Golden Elixir cultivators, each strong and experienced, having honed their keen eyesight through centuries of trials. With their collective wisdom and strength, they were sure to not overlook any trace.
Yu Ci wore a serious expression, not because of the ten Golden Elixir cultivators, but due to an unprecedented experience.
As long as the creature was alive and not too powerful, it couldn't escape the strange force of the Divine Bronze Mirror. Shortly after the luminescent worm emerged, Yu Ci had successfully implanted his Divine consciousness starlight into it. Therefore, what unfolded before him now was the unique perspective of the worm.
This peculiar creature had no sense of smell, hearing, taste, or touch. It possessed only a rudimentary vision and a bizarre, otherworldly sense.
As Yu Ci fully immersed himself in the "view" of the luminescent worm, the world around him suddenly darkened, yet it was not pure darkness. On the contrary, within the gloom, patches of dim green light, reminiscent of will-o'-the-wisps, flickered to life, casting their ghostly glow and illuminating the area.
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That was precisely the spot where the fluorescent bugs danced in circles.
To the eyes of Boss fifth He and his crew, these spots were merely dubious points of interest, but to Yu Ci, those faint green glows held special significance.
Right in the center of the Fire Eye was where he had abandoned the Ethereal Rhinoceros Hermit; the edge of the Fire Eye was the last place he had checked before disposing of the body. It was there that he had pulled the corpse of the Ethereal Rhinoceros Hermit from the space formed by the Cloud Tower Tree and cast it into the magma.
At this moment, the words of Elder Spirit Witch echoed in his mind: "The Karmic Wraiths in the world are highly active, concerning the affair of the Mastermind of Slaughterous Conspiracy…"
Could this fluorescent bug be a rare species capable of identifying Karmic Wraiths?
Apart from these two spots, there was also a dark green streak extending from the edge of the Fire Eye far into the distance, marking the flight path of the fluorescent bugs. In the middle, there was a rock spire jutting out from the ground which he remembered... that should be where he had come from...
No, that's not right!
Yu Ci suddenly felt something amiss. After careful thought, he realized: the general direction of the path was correct, but the specifics were off. He remembered that when he had first arrived, he had passed by the right side of the rock spire, and when he left, he had used the Escape Technique, not retracing his original steps.
However, the dark green light trail seen by the fluorescent bugs passed on the left side of the rock spire...
"Boss fifth!"
Someone called out from the other side, startling both Yu Ci and Boss fifth He. The former quickly adjusted his view, while the latter flew over directly.
"What's the matter?" Boss fifth He approached and saw his subordinate carefully lifting a torn piece of robe from the ground. It was only a couple of inches long and had been originally stuck to the side of a protruding rock on the ground, already crisped by the high temperature of the area.
Such a clue might stump others, but certainly not Boss fifth He. Even without the methods of a Spiritual Witch, his crew was full of talented individuals. At his signal, someone took the torn piece of robe, sniffed it cautiously, and quickly concluded, "It smells like 'True Essence Corroding Incense'..."
"Don't tell me 'it smells like'; is it or isn't it?"
Boss fifth He's reprimand was less about anger and more about excitement. His quick-witted subordinate promptly responded with certainty, "It is indeed 'True Essence Corroding Incense,' the unique method of the Ethereal Rhinoceros Hermit!"
Receiving this answer, Boss Fifth He's pupils flared with a fierce aquamarine light as he snatched the corner of the robe, holding it up to his eyes: "The Ethereal Rhinoceros Hermit?"
Having matched wits with the Ethereal Rhinoceros Hermit on numerous occasions, Boss Fifth He had gained a profound understanding of that cunning fox of a character. The True Essence Corroding Incense was indeed one of his most formidable tactics, a technique he reserved for formidable foes. Clearly, unbeknownst to them, the Ethereal Rhinoceros Hermit had engaged in a fierce battle with someone else.
Of course, even a fool would know this wasn't the primary battlefield. Merely from these clues, the outcome remained indistinct, but if one were to consider the judgment of the Spiritual Witch, Boss Fifth He inevitably arrived at a previously unconsidered possibility:
"Judging by the situation, could it be that the Ethereal Rhinoceros Hermit suffered a loss... was killed?"
Yu Ci, tens of miles away, felt a chill in his heart.
Regardless of whatever Karmic Wraith or benevolent spirit, the first thing to confirm was this: he was always extremely cautious in his actions, leaving no traces behind. If there were traces, they could only be from where he retrieved the Ethereal Rhinoceros Hermit's corpse from the spatial realm within the Cloud Tower Tree, which was at the edge of the Fiery Eye, and definitely not from that irrelevant, ghostly place, with such almost imbecilic stuff!
This was a setup!
His line of thinking did have some absurdities, but the general idea was correct.
What Yu Ci was now pondering was but one thing: had the news of him slaying the Ethereal Rhinoceros Hermit leaked out? Perhaps there was someone, unknown to him, lurking in the shadows, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment?
These clues might not be enough to indict him yet, but should that person desire, just a slight leak of information would suffice to turn the entire North Wilderness—no, the whole Cultivation World—against him, swarming in his direction, making him taste the same bitterness the Ethereal Rhinoceros Hermit had endured over the years!
In that moment, a chill seeped down Yu Ci's entire spine.
The thoughts of Yu Ci were inscrutable to others, yet the minds of the clever often tread similar paths. Separated by dozens of miles, the initial excitement had faded, and a multitude of doubts began to surface in Boss fifth He's mind. His recent conjecture held some merit, but when he retraced the logic from the outcome, there were inconsistencies that didn't quite add up...
"Keep searching!" Boss fifth He tucked the corner of his robe and commanded his subordinates to continue. However, the luminescent bugs seemed to have exhausted their efforts, wobbling back to the bottle they had previously inhabited.
"Huh?"
Both parties were taken aback, whether it was Yu Ci or Boss fifth He, they both sensed something amiss.
Especially Yu Ci, who could adopt the perspective of the luminescent bugs, saw the issue even more clearly. According to the unique senses of these tiny creatures, the dark green glow should be an indication of what the Spiritual Witch referred to as the "Karmic Wraith," or rather, the trail left by its movements. Logically, this "Karmic Wraith" should carry the mark of the Ethereal Rhinoceros Hermit; otherwise, with the myriad of murderous schemes in the world, how could one discern any connection to their target?
Yu Ci also deduced that the luminescent bugs were ineffective beyond the separate space created by the Cloud Tower Tree; otherwise, the path he had taken would have been covered in that dark green hue. This led to another question:
How did that extending trail come into being? And why did it end abruptly?
In an instant, both Yu Ci and Boss fifth He came to a realization. While Yu Ci had yet to settle his thoughts, Boss fifth He had already dashed to the edge of the fiery pit, fixating on the irregular fissure with an intense gaze.
But then, he was taken aback, hastily retreating as a giant blister burst open before him. From the crack, a fierce red light intensified, and the boiling magma, as if possessing the power of tides, struck the rock layers with a deep, thunderous roar.
A fraction of a moment earlier, before Yu Ci's eyes, the image on the Divine Chart suddenly vanished.
The sharp consciousness of Shadow Ghost pierced through: "Quick, hide!"
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I have also posted the following more chapters [All free]: https://www.readgates.com/article/74a39e