“Why don’t you three step outside so we can have a private chat?” Tai Xilun asked politely, yet it was evident he wouldn’t take a no for an answer. “Madam, my condolences. Please speak with my Junior Di here for the funeral arrangements."

Being pressured by an expert, Li Lang and his gang had no choice but to obey the man in red and black robes. They exited the house and made some distance before stopping a few houses away.

“So, who are you people and what did you want with Chen Laozu?” Tai Xilun asked in a sharp tone.

The three boys exchanged looks before Li Lang sighed and stepped forward.

“Chen Laozu had been hired by us to perform some tests. We came to find him this morning since he hadn’t come to our scheduled meeting.”

The menacing aura of the demonic cultivator intensified at Li Lang’s words, narrowing his eyes at the boys.

“Oh, you boys are doing some tests? Under which organization?”

“...We aren’t under any group. It’s just us three.”

“Really?” His scrutinizing gaze made another pass at each of the boys. “Just the three of you kids?”

“Yes, I am an alchemist, so I’m just testing out some new recipes.” Li Lang responded and brought out his ring as proof.

“I see…As you have just heard, Chen Laozu is dead. Do you have any ideas why that is the case? Maybe something to do with your little tests there?”

“What?!” Li Lang shouted. “It shouldn’t have anything to do with us! The medicine we were testing shouldn’t have such severe effects. None of our other testers had any issues so far.”

Tai Xilun stroked his chin and put on a thoughtful look.

“That is to be seen. Anyway, do you even have proof that you have hired Chen Laozu? Otherwise, we may have to take you guys in with me for further questioning.”

“H-here, we have c-contracts signed with the merchant g-guild.” Wei Ping interjected, shoving some papers at the man.

The man in red and black robes inspected the documents for a few moments before frowning.

“Payment settled in Qilin silver coins, is it? What are righteous sect kids doing here the in Luminescent Domain?”

“To hone my alchemy skills. I wasn’t allowed to do my tests in Yellow Qilin. That’s why I came here at the advice of Jian Beiyun from the Nightmoon Valley.” Li Lang calmly replied. “Or is that not allowed here as well?”

“...No, it is allowed as long as there is consent from both parties. We aren’t like those uptight, orthodox cultivators.” Tai Xilun replied with undisguised frustration upon mention of the righteous sects. “Anyway, you can go now. We’ll come find you if we have any further questions for you. Thank you for cooperating with us.”

“Understood, then we will part way here, then. We still have matters to attend to.”

Just as the three boys took a few steps, they instantly froze when Tai Xilun called out to them once more.

“Wait! Since you kids are new here, you should come to our headquarters on the northern edge of town if you are serious about continuing to cultivate.”

“...Why?”

“So you don’t know…? In the Luminescent Domain, we don’t have sects that hoard over the resources. We have a sophisticated trade system in place to exchange resources, techniques, and more. In Emberglow City, our Bloodwave Conclave is in charge of such trades.”

“...Understood. We’ll go check it out when we have the time.”

Tai Xilun wordlessly nodded and swiftly made his way back to the house where his junior was.

This allowed Li Lang’s party to let out a sigh of relief. They had all been on their toes when engaging with the demonic cultivator from the Bloodwave Conclave. It couldn’t be helped as they all still remembered when the scene of a cultivator in the same red and black robes had tortured the alleged murderer so publicly when they first arrived.

Stolen story; please report.

Having passed through such an ordeal so early in the morning, the trio rushed back to their inn.

“Do you think we’ll be okay? They’re not going to suddenly show up and arrest us, are they?” Long Yi timidly asked.

“No, I don’t think they’re suspicious of us anymore.”

“Anymore?”

“That man tried to test us in the beginning there. He interrogated us as if we may have been responsible for the death through an accident with our tests, even though he had explained to the madam of the house that Chen Laozu had been murdered. He already knew a murder happened, so it couldn’t have anything to do with our experiments.”

“...You’re right! He even threatened to bring us in!”

“Probably just trying to shake us up. With our explanation and Wei Ping displaying our contract, they would be stupid if they still thought we were involved.”

“A-anyway, we should c-consider what he s-said about visiting t-their headquarters.” Wei Ping changed the topic. “We s-should check it o-out as soon as w-we can.”

New resources I haven’t seen before? I must get my hands on them to analyze!

Long Yi shrugged at the new suggestion.

“Huh, isn’t that just resources for demonic cultivators? I don’t think I want to see what that entails. I mean, they absorb cultivation from others, right?”

“No, Wei Ping is right. We should still check it out. There is probably so much we don’t know about demonic cultivators, thanks to propaganda. We should see for ourselves.” Li Lang decisively declared. “Let’s go in the afternoon after I finish refining a batch of pills!”

----------------------------------------

“So this should be it, huh?” Long Yi muttered.

Standing before the three boys was the entrance to Bloodwave Conclave’s headquarters. There was a massive entrance at the front that appeared like any building, except it was merged with the cliff wall behind it.

There were intricate engravings that decorated the front of the building. The building itself was built by directly carving into the cliff and stretched for as far as the eyes could see.

There was a steady stream of traffic going in and out of the place, and the three boys soon joined it.

When they entered the grand lobby, the first thing they saw was the gigantic signs hanging above each of the passageways branching out from the lobby. While they were overwhelmed at the scene, thankfully, there was an information counter near the front.

“Welcome to Bloodwave Conclave’s bazaar. How may I help you?” A young woman greeted.

“Hey, you don’t think she’s a demonic cultivator, is she?” Long Yi whispered to his companions.

The receptionist chuckled, having overheard his question.

“No, I’m not, but I’m still a member of the conclave and it is my job to be here.”

Both Li Lang and Wei Ping directed an annoyed look at Long Yi’s careless question but quickly ignored him to converse with the receptionist.

“Apologies for our companion. We’re kind of new around here, so he’s curious about everything he sees.”

The lady smiled at the kids as she replied.

“Don’t worry about it. If you’re new here, then do you want me to give you a basic rundown of this place?”

The three kids nodded in unison.

“Well, we try to keep it simple with the signs telling where you need to go. Basically, you can exchange resources you find from the underground expanse here for Qi stones, and buy resources you require as well. However, not everything can be bought with Qi stones, and you will have to barter in some cases.”

The kids glanced over at the signs one by one. From each sign, it was evident numerous types of resources were traded. It ranged from martial arts to crafting materials, but one thing stood out among them all.

The widest path leads to an area for Qi beasts.

“Umm, seems like Qi beasts are quite popular here.” Long Yi muttered.

The reception directed a weird look at the large boy’s words.

“Of course, Qi beasts are vital for any demonic cultivator to progress in their cultivation.”

“I see. Thank you for your explanation.” Li Lang quickly cut in and replied.

The kids then bowed before taking their leave.

“Let’s go to the Qi beast area. I’m curious.” Li Lang announced as he led the group.

“Huh, why? You heard the lady. She said it’s mainly useful for demonic cultivators.”

“Exactly. We’ve always been told demonic cultivators absorb cultivations from other cultivators to progress. But based on what the receptionist said and from our conversations with Jian Beiyun, it seems they can absorb a Qi beast’s cultivation as well. And I want to see that in action.”

“Right…In that case, if their techniques work with Qi beasts, then how come they’re known for absorbing cultivation from other humans?”

“T-there must be s-some drawbacks, then.” Wei Ping answered.

“Exactly what I thought. Let’s hurry. I want to see how it works. Maybe it’ll give me some clues on other ways to progress our cultivation or even practice demonic cultivation myself.”

“What?!” Long Yi couldn’t help but yelp.

His outburst had drawn the attention of everyone around them, but they quickly went about their own business.

“Calm down, Long Yi. I’m just hypothetically speaking. We’ll have to investigate its pros and cons first.”

“Still…To entertain the idea of demonic cultivations. Have we fallen astray?” Long Yi replied as he hung his head.