Translator: CinderTL
Song Wen watched the four women's retreating figures until they vanished completely. Only then did he activate his movement technique, but instead of heading toward the city, he turned and fled in the opposite direction.
After traveling a million miles at top speed, Song Wen finally stopped.
Below him lay a small lake. He dove in and plunged to the bottom.
There, he randomly found a cave and slipped inside.
Song Wen retrieved the storage pouch Bai Wei had given him and took out a high-grade spirit stone.
The moment he held the pouch, he had sensed something amiss with the spirit stone—a divine sense imprint left upon it.
Judging by the imprint's aura, it was likely left by Bai Wei.
He had initially suspected Bai Wei might harbor ill intentions, but she hadn't revealed herself during their journey.
It seems Bai Wei suspects my true identity and fears I might have designs on Xu Mengyu and the other women. That's why she left this divine sense imprint—to investigate my background. If she discovers anything suspicious, she'll undoubtedly strike without hesitation, Song Wen thought to himself.
With this realization, Song Wen's tense nerves relaxed slightly.
While Bai Wei's actions were clearly precautionary, they also revealed her adherence to principles. At least she distinguished between gratitude and resentment, unlikely to repay kindness with treachery.
As for Song Wen himself, he should be safe for the time being.
However, Song Wen would never entrust his safety to the kindness of others. He had to eliminate every potential threat.
After a moment's contemplation, Song Wen summoned a Third-Tier Shadow Phantom Gu, instructed it to carry a spirit stone, and sent it diving into the mud at the bottom of the cave.
Song Wen then soared out of the lake and hovered above its surface.
"Shadow Void, have you sensed Bai Wei's presence nearby?" Song Wen asked within his Sea of Consciousness.
If Bai Wei intended to follow him secretly, Song Wen's divine sense alone would be insufficient to detect her. But Shadow Void could.
Since advancing to the seventh-tier, Shadow Void could perceive everything within a ten-thousand-mile radius within the Primordial Qi Death Zone. Outside that domain, its range diminished slightly but still reached approximately five thousand miles, comparable to a Body Integration Stage cultivator.
To enhance Shadow Void's external perception, Song Wen completely opened his Sea of Consciousness, leaving it exposed and allowing the Sea of Consciousness Black Hole to vanish entirely.
Shadow Void immediately felt an unprecedented sense of freedom. Its narrow eyes swept across the depths of the Sea of Consciousness, focusing on the location of Song Wen's divine soul.
"Shadow Void, focus on scanning the surroundings!" Song Wen's cold voice snapped.
"Master, I'm scanning now," Shadow Void replied hastily, withdrawing its gaze.
A massive surge of divine sense power erupted outward, spreading like an invisible tide in all directions.
His divine sense swept across the lake below, the distant dense forest, and the white clouds high above.
After a moment, Shadow Void spoke.
"Master, I haven't detected any trace of her."
Song Wen nodded, thinking to himself, It seems my guess was correct.
He transformed into a streak of light and flew into the distance.
"Master, you needn't fear that woman Bai Wei. Her cultivation is only at the early stage of Body Integration. With me by your side, the outcome of any confrontation remains uncertain!" Shadow Void glanced at the Black Hole that had reappeared in the Sea of Consciousness, a flicker of guilt and fear flashing in his eyes, as if he were still shaken by some recent thought.
Song Wen didn't respond. After flying ten thousand miles, he arrived at the foot of a towering mountain.
Finding a modest cave, he entered and activated the Phantom Sea Traceless Formation. Then, he retrieved a Soul Bottle.
Within the bottle were the divine souls of Qiu Shan and Zhu Hui.
Though the two had been dead for a month, no one from the Divine Blood Gate had come looking for them, confirming Xu Mengyu's earlier claim that in the Southern Nether Continent, the demonic path was universally reviled, forcing the Divine Blood Gate to operate only in the shadows.
This was why Song Wen dared to carry their divine souls with him.
He directly devoured both souls, then submerged his consciousness into his Sea of Consciousness, appearing before the two men.
The two figures stood in stark contrast: one tall and gaunt, the other short and stout.
"We are disciples of the Divine Blood Gate! How dare you destroy our physical bodies and imprison our divine souls? The Divine Blood Gate will never forgive you!" the tall, gaunt figure declared, his voice trembling with false bravado.
Song Wen's face twisted into a mocking grin. "Know your place," he said coldly. "You've already been reduced to this state. Do you still cling to the delusion of Body Seizing and rebirth? Answer my questions, and I'll grant you a swift end. Otherwise..."
He pointed to the shadow void beside him. "I'll let it slowly torment you, forcing your divine souls to endure the agony of a thousand cuts, day after day."
"Tsk, tsk..." The shadow void let out a series of eerie cackles, eager to play along. "Master, I've been cooped up in your Sea of Consciousness for too long. I'm bored and in need of some amusing playthings. How about I peel away their divine souls layer by layer, then restore them with Soul Source Essence? We could repeat the process endlessly—it would be endlessly entertaining!"
"Sir, we're already fish on the chopping block," the short, stout figure said. "Just ask what you want to know."
"First, state your names," Song Wen demanded.
Though he knew their names from Che Jing, he wasn't sure which name belonged to which person.
"I am Qiu Shan," the stout man replied.
The other tall, slender figure was naturally Zhu Hui, who stubbornly declared, "I'm destined to have my soul scattered and spirit vanish anyway. I'll never answer any of your questions."
A surge of divine sense power erupted from Song Wen, pushing Zhu Hui toward the shadow void. "He's yours now."
"Thank you, Master," the shadow void replied, a flicker of delight in its eyes.
A long, barbed tongue suddenly shot from its mouth, lashing out to lick Zhu Hui's divine soul. Zhu Hui immediately let out a piercing scream.
Song Wen turned his attention back to Qiu Shan. "If you don't want to end up like him, I expect you to answer my questions truthfully."
"I will answer truthfully," Qiu Shan promised.
"Why were you two in the Primordial Qi Death Zone?" Song Wen asked.
"We were ordered by the Divine Blood Gate to monitor the Primordial Qi Death Zone," Qiu Shan replied.
"Why monitor it?" Song Wen pressed.
"We were simply following orders and don't know the reason," Qiu Shan said.
"Then what exactly were you monitoring?" Song Wen asked.
"The fluctuations of Primordial Qi at fixed locations within the Death Zone, the activity patterns of resentful spirits and void fiends, the rate at which Primordial Qi was spreading outward, and so on," Qiu Shan explained.
A puzzled expression crossed Song Wen's face.
These monitoring tasks resembled the inquiries of a curious scholar exploring the unknown.
He couldn't fathom why the Divine Blood Gate would be interested in such matters.
(End of the Chapter)