Deep within the mountains, in a concealed patch of dense forest, the sizzling sound of red-hot iron branding flesh echoed continuously, mixed with the man's muffled cries of agony. Jin Cheng's eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Lin Zheyu with venomous hatred, as if he wished to devour him alive.

Faced with Jin Cheng's resentful gaze, Lin Zheyu showed no reaction at all. He calmly used his crimson true origin to cauterize the man's wounds. If those wounds were not treated, the fellow would soon die.

"All right. From now on, I ask one question, and you answer one. If you choose not to speak, I will let you experience what it means to wish you were dead," Lin Zheyu said calmly.

He picked up the two storage pouches on the ground and toyed with them casually. Including the one taken earlier from the immortal cultivator of the Directorate of Celestial Observation, Lin Zheyu had seized three storage pouches in just two days.

However, the craftsmanship, material, and texture of these two storage pouches were clearly inferior to the one carried by the Directorate of Celestial Observation cultivator. Even someone as inexperienced as Lin Zheyu could sense their poor quality.

"Mmph... Who exactly are you?" Jin Cheng said in a low voice after the gag was removed from his mouth. Even now, he still could not believe that the target he and Ge Qing had been stalking had suddenly turned into a Foundation Establishment realm expert.

"You do not recognize me? If that is the case, why did you attack me?" Lin Zheyu asked curiously.

Has this fellow been frightened senseless to ask such a question? 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Your Excellency is a Foundation Establishment realm expert, correct? The one we were supposed to deal with this time was only a Grandmaster realm youngster. There may be some misunderstanding here," Jin Cheng said in a deep voice as he suppressed the fury in his heart.

He did not want to die. After struggling to cultivate all the way to the Martial Innate realm, he had joined the evil cult precisely to advance further and glimpse the path to Immortality. Jin Cheng refused to die so meaninglessly. He still trusted the priest, who was the spokesperson of the demon god. Since the priest had said their target was merely a Grandmaster, it could not be wrong. There must be some misunderstanding between them.

"Foundation Establishment realm?" Lin Zheyu said with some surprise.

So I am already this powerful. Or is it that the Foundation Establishment realm in this world is merely a minor, insignificant realm?

"Then tell me who you intended to deal with and what your objective was. And how did you locate my position?" Lin Zheyu asked expressionlessly. Since the other party believed they had targeted the wrong person, he was more than happy to follow that line of thinking and extract the information he wanted.

"I am a follower of the Mother of Pain. Under the guidance of the lord, I came to capture a martial artist in the Grandmaster realm," Jin Cheng said, invoking the name of the Mother of Pain as his banner. In the face of such a terrifying existence, even Foundation Establishment realm experts had to maintain reverence.

"The lord's guidance? How could such a powerful existence possibly pay attention to a mere Grandmaster realm martial artist? You are lying to me!" Lin Zheyu said coldly as the long saber in his hand pressed slightly into Jin Cheng's chest.

When he heard the other party admit to being a follower of the Mother of Pain, Lin Zheyu quietly let out a breath of relief. He had truly been worried that this man might belong to the Directorate of Celestial Observation and that the killing of their immortal cultivator had been discovered. That would have been real trouble.

"I would not dare. I truly would not dare. That Grandmaster realm martial artist possesses a rather special fate. The high priest intends to offer him as a sacrifice to the Mother of Pain," Jin Cheng said hurriedly.

As if afraid Lin Zheyu would not believe him, he continued, "Ge Qing's Ink Jade Disk should be in your possession. If you do not believe me, you can inject spirit power into it.

"The high priest has already infused the Ink Jade Disk with that martial artist's aura. Once you inject spirit power into it, his location will appear. Then you will see that everything I have said is true and that this is all just a misunderstanding," Jin Cheng said hastily, hoping that he might somehow escape with his life from Lin Zheyu's hands.

"Oh?" Lin Zheyu revealed a faint, ambiguous smile.

He did not inject his true origin into it. Instead, he showed a hint of belief, which made Jin Cheng quietly let out a breath of relief. He saw a glimmer of hope for survival.

Fate? My fate is special? Could it be that I possess a special fate because I'm a transmigrator?

"What is special about that person's fate that such a powerful existence would take notice of him?" Lin Zheyu asked.

"I do not know," Jin Cheng said. As if worried about displeasing Lin Zheyu, he hurriedly added, "Such matters are handled by the high priest. We only carry out the mission."

Hearing this, Lin Zheyu grew wary. The people of the Yao Heavenly Palace had colluded with the evil cult. The reason he had been targeted by the Yao Heavenly Palace might very well be because of this so-called special fate.

"You tracked the target with this thing, did you not?" Lin Zheyu gestured toward the Ink Jade Disk in his hand and asked, "Is there any way to block the tracking of the Ink Jade Disk?"

"I do not know," Jin Cheng replied. A trace of doubt flickered in his eyes as he looked at Lin Zheyu. After observing him at close range for so long, he had noticed something strange. Lin Zheyu did not possess the unique aura that immortal cultivators had when they communicated with heaven and earth.

Could it be that this man was not walking the path of the Immortal Dao? Jin Cheng wondered.

Ever since yao and demons had appeared and spiritual qi became polluted, the pure path of the Immortal Dao had long since been severed. Most cultivators now continued their cultivation through other methods. As far as Jin Cheng knew, there were no fewer than five such alternative paths.

"You truly do not know?" Lin Zheyu's expression turned cold, and a faint aura of killing intent rose from his body. Jin Cheng's brows twitched involuntarily.

"Spare me, Senior. I truly do not know. The Ink Jade Disk can only be used against weaker martial artists. It is not very useful against an expert like you," Jin Cheng said hurriedly.

After Jin Cheng's explanation, Lin Zheyu finally understood the reason. The Ink Jade Disk required a personal item of the target's. By using the aura left on that item and borrowing the power of the demon god, the disk could locate the person. The stronger the target, the greater the cost of the divination.

Ordinary clothing carried too little residual aura to be used for tracking. It required blood essence or something even more important. Moreover, a powerful expert like Lin Zheyu could simply sweep their belongings with spirit power and remove the lingering aura. Using the Ink Jade Disk to track someone like him through the power of a demon god was extremely difficult and not cost-effective.

"So that is how it is." Lin Zheyu nodded slightly. He took out the Ink Jade Disk and infused it with true origin. Flickering points of light appeared on its surface.

"If the Ink Jade Disk has already been activated and the target's strength suddenly increases, can it still continue to function?" Lin Zheyu asked.

"Yes. The Ink Jade Disk acts as a medium to communicate with the demon god. After offering an item carrying the target's aura as a sacrifice, the demon god will locate the person through the aura on that item. Then, through mysterious power, a marker will be left on the target. As long as the marker remains, the Ink Jade Disk can continue to track their location," Jin Cheng explained thoroughly and cooperatively.

"How can that marker be removed?" Lin Zheyu asked.

"The Ink Jade Disk only remains effective for three days. After three days, the marker disappears on its own. If one wishes to locate the target again, it is necessary to collect another item carrying the target's aura and perform a second sacrifice," Jin Cheng replied.

As he listened to Lin Zheyu's questions, Jin Cheng grew increasingly puzzled. An expert who had reached the Foundation Establishment realm should not be ignorant of the Ink Jade Disk's workings.

So that is how it is. As long as I remain careful in the future, I can prevent them from using the Ink Jade Disk to find my location.

He had unexpectedly obtained quite a bit of interesting information from the bald man. After asking everything he wished to know, Lin Zheyu took out a storage pouch and said, "Open this storage pouch."

"Yes, Senior. Please place the storage pouch on my body. My divine sense cannot extend very far," Jin Cheng said cautiously.

Lin Zheyu nodded and placed the man's storage pouch back onto his body. His right hand lightly gripped the hilt of his blade while true origin circulated rapidly within him. If the bald man showed even the slightest irregularity, he would strike without hesitation. Fortunately, the man cooperated. With a movement of his divine sense, the mouth of the storage pouch opened.

"Not bad. Open this one as well." Lin Zheyu tossed Ge Qing's storage pouch over.

Lin Zheyu had watched the man's actions carefully. It was clear that opening a storage pouch required divine sense.

"Senior, this storage pouch belongs to Ge Qing. It has a restriction placed on it, so only Ge Qing can open it. My divine sense is not strong enough. If it were you, Senior, you could simply force the restriction open with your divine sense."

The bald man spoke respectfully, though his eyes were full of doubt. After their conversation, he had grown increasingly suspicious of Lin Zheyu's identity.

Who exactly is this fellow? A wild immortal cultivator? Impossible. In this era, a wild immortal cultivator could never cultivate to such a powerful level. Could he truly be someone who followed another path of cultivation? Jin Cheng speculated.

"Other than forcing the restriction open with divine sense, is there any other method?" Lin Zheyu asked.

"This type of storage pouch is the lowest grade, and the restriction is not very strong. Senior could also ask an expert skilled in restrictions to remove it," Jin Cheng said.

"Thank you."

"It is my honor to assist you, Senior. This conflict was only a misunderstanding. Please spare me, Senior... Uh... glrk... Se... nior... you..."

Jin Cheng's eyes widened as blood poured from his mouth. He stared at Lin Zheyu in utter disbelief. Even after cooperating so thoroughly, the man had still not spared him.

After finishing off the bald man, Lin Zheyu took the open storage pouch along with the other one and quickly disappeared into the forest. He found a quiet place and began examining the spoils of this encounter.

It seems that if I want to open this storage pouch, I will have to wait until I cultivate divine sense and force it open.

Fortunately, the bald man had cooperated fully and opened his own storage pouch before dying. Lin Zheyu held the storage pouch in his hand and looked inside. It was pitch black, and nothing could be seen. However, his perception told him that something unusual lay within.

Let's see if I can pour it out.

Without spiritual sense, even with the storage pouch open, he could not see what was inside. He considered reaching in with his hand, but worried there might be hidden dangers. Instead, he decided to try pouring the contents out. Grasping the bottom of the bag, Lin Zheyu turned the opening downward and shook it firmly.

"Oh, it actually works!" Lin Zheyu said in surprise.

As he shook the bag, several streaks of light appeared at its opening. Once they left the bag's mouth, they transformed into various items. There were twelve spirit stones, a secret manual, the corpse of a small black insect, four jade bottles, and several miscellaneous objects. When Lin Zheyu saw the items scattered on the ground, his eyes lit up immediately. After nothing more fell out, he eagerly picked up the manual.

"Origin Returning Art... A legendary immortal cultivation secret art?" Lin Zheyu was overjoyed.

He had long coveted a true immortal cultivation secret art. Aside from the Seven Fiend Ghost Manual that Master Liang Song had given him, which somewhat resembled an immortal cultivation secret art, he had never encountered anything similar again. Lin Zheyu eagerly began flipping through the pages.