Using his competence in array formations, Cao Yun was trying to follow the trail of that faint smell. It was going underground but there was no form of tunnel at all. Without spiritual senses, it was difficult to probe the ground. In fact, with his senses, Cao Yun could only detect if there were holes of Qi within the ground. It could prove useful sometimes. But in this situation, it was rather useless. Since there was no Evil Qi he couldn't use it either to detect anything. Unfortunately, this was also the case for Yong Ke who wasn't a Spirit Warrior either.

Her clothes and her weimao in particular were protecting her from mental attacks but it didn't enhance her senses at all. As such, the both of them were forced to dig the ground themselves. Indeed, the fragrance was stronger as they were going deeper.

As he had the spatial ring of the Huang family, Cao Yun decided to take a look at the documents within. Since Huang Si had found appropriate to use Cao Yun for her own ends, he figured that he had no reason to respect her secrets. Besides, the spatial ring was not protected at all. Indeed, seals were not something easy to use. In fact, demonic cultivators were probably the most talented when it came to this domain. Unlike Cao Yun, very few cultivators spent a lot of time working on those. In the past, only Sages were working on seals as they required a lot of time and mental strength to really master.

Within the documents, Cao Yun found many maps showing all the tunnels the Huang family had explored. The Deep Cloud Ridge was literally riddled with holes. The mountains that were visible on the surface also extended underground and even formed a complex maze under a large part of the Subei Province. Now that he was looking at the maps, Cao Yun realized that the Subei Province might even be a real threat for the Hongchen Kingdom.

If the demons were able to map those tunnels, they might be able to literally cross the entire province and get deeper within the Hongchen Kingdom without being stopped. Yes there were array formations at the frontier of the Subei province. But if they were able to get in, they might be able to find a fast way to travel behind the defensive lines of mankind.

At first, Cao Yun thought that Di Xihe, which was probably a fake name, had stolen the documents to sell them. But she might have been hired by someone else. In that case, either she was working for people worried about the Huang family who was starting their business in the Subei Province, or someone who had more nefarious intents. If she hadn't left the Subei Province, Cao Yun might find her again. If that were to happen, he had to be prepared this time around as she might have some useful information for him. Even if she was indeed working alone, she might have stolen other things to other people. Or she might even help him infiltrate some of the noble families of the Subei Province. After all, he was soon going to be rich thanks to Huang Si, and with his alchemy he had plans to be even richer.

For now, Cao Yun put all those thoughts to sleep. He was helping Yong Ke getting deeper underground. After a few long minutes, they finally reached a solid rock under Luozhi. Unfortunately, the fragrance almost disappeared within the rock. It had remained that long thanks to the humidity in the soil that had trapped it. But in the rock, there was nothing to trap this smell. However, this wasn't the end.

When they reached the rock, Cao Yun was able to feel that it was hollow. With his usual senses, he shouldn't have been able to sense it at all. But he used his knowledge of 'Death Verses'. Indeed, there was a faint trace of Death Energy below the rocky surface they had hit. It was also mixed with a tinge of Ghost Energy. Both of those were caused by the souls of humans after their death. However, Cao Yun detected no sign of Evil Qi. Evil Qi was created by a brutal death during which the emotions of the dead were intertwined with his own Qi.

If there was no Evil Qi but traces of corrupted souls, that could mean that the people in that village had been killed so instantaneously that they had no time to regret their deaths. On the other hand, it could also mean that their deaths had been extremely traumatic as to affect their very souls.

Unlike Cao Yun, Yong Ke was unable to sense those energies. Even a Spirit Warrior would have had a hard time detecting them. But Cao Yun had been faced with Death Energy for a very long time and had even worked on 'Death Verses' as well as his own soul. Although it might be affecting his mood a little, his work on his Po of Jing had increased his sensitivity to everything related to souls. Thankfully, he had a good cover to explain how he was able to follow the tracks even though they were gone.

For some time, Cao Yun meddled with his compass. He had read enough books to put up a very convincing show.

"I feel like whoever left that strange smell behind went this way. But I fear that all the people in Luozhi were killed in a very fast and yet brutal fashion. Of course I can't be sure, but my guess would be that someone or something attacked their very souls. Back in Luozhi, I was unable to detect any trace of array formations. Thus, I think it rather plausible that a demonic beast did so, maybe under the orders of a beast tamer."

"Do you think that demonic cultivators could be behind it? From what I know, they were behind the stampede that touched a huge part of our kingdom. Apart from them, the only ones I could think of who would attack such a village would be demons. But if demons had crossed the border, everyone in the Hongchen Kingdom would know of it. Besides, they would have most likely attacked a more strategic target."

"So you suspect demonic cultivators of having invaded the Subei Province?"

"To tell you the truth, this is what I've come here to investigate. After the disaster that was the stampede, I tried to find clues as to what the demonic cultivators were trying to achieve in our Hongchen Kingdom. And if I am not mistaken, there is a dangerous Spirit Warrior who's hiding in Qingyun City."

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"And you think he's the one behind those disappearances?"

"Of course! He's an alchemist. So you should understand what an alchemist might want with mere mortals..."

Cao Yun was a bit surprised that Yong Ke seemed to know so much about Gu Song he was chasing himself. But what surprised him more was the fact that she was willing to tell him so much. In fact, he even wondered whether he should trust her because of that. Maybe she didn't intend to let him live through this so it didn't matter if he knew too much. Or perhaps she was testing him. After all, they had met by pure chance and Cao Yun had somehow decided to tag along her investigation. He wouldn't have trusted himself either. However, the two of them had the same strange feeling that the other one was somehow familiar and trustworthy.

They kept on talking and shared some theories as to what had happened in Luozhi. There were not that many demonic beasts who could attack an entire village without leaving any trace behind. Indeed, this demonic beast had to have some form of mental attack. As they were walking through the tunnels, Cao Yun also started to examine the samples he had gathered earlier. He used many ways to try and distill the substance within the sand without altering it too much. In it was lying the definitive clue to know what had happened. Identifying the demonic beast before coming face to face with it would be a very good thing. Unfortunately, it was taking way too long.

The tunnels were rather shallow. In fact, Cao Yun and Yong Ke could barely walk side to side. And they were also very humid as though they had been filled with water not too long ago.

Down there, there was no light at all and it was hard to know where one was going. Thanks to Cao Yun's compass though, they were able to perfectly locate themselves in regards to the surface. It took them several hours before the scenery around them changed. They were clearly going out of the Deep Cloud Ridge and toward the border of the Subei Province. Of course, the tunnels were not straight but they were going in the general direction of Qingyun City. Maybe they had been right about Gu Song's involvement...

For now, it was still too soon to be certain of anything. But as they were following the Death Energy and the Ghost Energy, Cao Yun was feeling them increasing. They were always very faint but there was a clear increase in their amount and concentration as they were progressing through the tunnels.

At some point, the tunnels also started to change. The roof was getting lower but the tunnels themselves were getting larger. Cao Yun's head was almost touching the ceiling. On the other hand, Cao Yun and Yong Ke could easily walk side by side with a lot of room still. In fact, it was an improvement as they would be able to use their weapons with way more ease.

Suddenly, Cao Yun stopped Yong Ke. Since he had shown himself to be a good array formation master with his compass, she didn't protest at all and waited for him to talk. He was looking at his compass and trying to align different circles on it. This time though, he was not putting up a show to explain his senses. No, he was sincerely using his knowledge of array formations. Without talking, he stepped forward and waited. Then he looked back to his compass.

After signaling Yong Ke to stay quiet, he made her understand she had to follow in his steps. Yong Ke was not a stranger to array formations. If Cao Yun was acting in such a way, it was highly likely that there was some form of array formation around here. In order not to trigger it, she obeyed his orders without questioning him at all. His first encounter with her had showed that she was a smart young woman. Although she was not as knowledgeable as Cao Yun, she was able to assess the situation very fast and take the right decision.

As they were walking forward, the two of them knew they had officially left the Deep Cloud Ridge. But the mountains and the tunnels were still spreading all around the official borders of that place. Soon, they heard a slow breathing. It was echoing inside the tunnels as though a giant monster was sleeping in front of them. Of course, the noise was deformed by the tunnels but it was obvious that it wasn't human in origin.

The two humans looked at each other. Cao Yun couldn't really see Yong Ke's eyes behind her weimao. Even in that situation, she had kept her concealing hat and her veil. It wasn't optimal but since they were going after something that had probably powerful mental attacks, Cao Yun could understand her. However, he could tell that she was also hiding her true identity. With the way she was talking, he was certain that she was some kind of noble for sure. Besides, her accent showed that she was not from the Subei Province or even the west of the Hongchen Kingdom. In fact, she was speaking like someone from the center of the Hongchen Kingdom, where the Wang Province was, whose capital was the Imperial City.

Her accent was well concealed, but she had some phrases that reminded Cao Yun of the Wang Province. Although he had never been there, he had heard a few disciples of the Wubei Sect who had been born and raised there. Besides, he had read enough to know some patterns in the way people spoke in the Imperial City. But he still wasn't too sure about her identity. However, he was really starting to stop doubting her. She seemed sincere enough in her desire to get to the bottom of things. And she also seemed to genuinely care about the common people of the Hongchen Kingdom, unlike Governor Jiahe.

As they were advancing, their eyes picked up on some faint rays of light. It was hard to know for sure how deep they were. However, it was certain that the sun could not reach them at all. And indeed, the light was not coming from the sun.

They found themselves in front of a large underground lake. All around the lake, there were shining rocks. Those were clearly spirit stones. Spirit stones were specific rocks that were able to absorb the surrounding Qi. As such they were very useful for cultivators. But their value depended on how much Qi they had absorbed and how dense it was. The quality of Qi was also important but the overall quantity was a good indicator of the quality itself.

Those spirit stones were a bit strange. And Cao Yun could immediately tell why. They had not only absorbed Qi, but also Death Energy and even Ghost Energy. This entire place was incredibly Yin. In fact, Cao Yun felt as though he was back in the Yellow Death World. For a moment he even wondered whether they had crossed into the land of the dead. But there was still pure Qi all over the lake so Cao Yun was certain that they were still in the world of the living, beneath the Hongchen Kingdom.

Without the sun to purify this place, those tunnels had gathered more and more morbid energy.

What stopped Cao Yun and Yong Ke though was a large shadow within the lake. That underground lake was shallow but it was extremely large. Under the serene surface of the turbid water, there was a black shadow. It was from that thing that the breathing was echoing through the tunnels. Now that he was seeing the demonic beast with his own eyes, Cao Yun could determine what it was in an instant.

All the clues pointed him in the right direction. This was a Soul Obsidian Nian Fish, also called the Soul-Sucking Catfish.