"Heh, I’ll be waiting."

A cold smirk appeared on Song Changsheng’s face. He reached out with his right hand and annihilated the small figure, which dissipated into motes of light...

In a remote mountain hollow in Yang Province, a tragic wail rang out. A middle-aged man, identical to the leader of the Demon Hunting Team, was seen clutching his head and writhing on the ground in agony.

He only calmed down after a long while. His body still trembled slightly, but the knife-like pain in his mind had subsided somewhat.

"Who? Who destroyed my clone! I will tear you to pieces!"

A roar like that of a Fierce Ghost echoed through the hollow, startling countless birds into flight...

"It seems your master isn’t very reliable. Not only did he abandon you, but he also wanted to kill you." After confirming the man was truly dead, Song Changsheng squatted down beside Chi Huo Old Ghost and said with feigned sympathy.

Chi Huo Old Ghost’s eyes were filled with venomous hatred. He sent a voice transmission to Song Changsheng: "Spare my life, and I’ll tell you the secret of why he came to the south!"

"As I thought. You know it too. If your information is valuable enough, sparing your life isn’t out of the question."

Song Changsheng’s interest was piqued. The other party was willing to let his clone die rather than speak. ’This secret shouldn’t be a disappointment,’ he thought.

"No! I need your guarantee that you won’t kill me. Otherwise, I’d rather die!" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Seeing the determination in his eyes, Song Changsheng frowned imperceptibly before a smile appeared on his face. "Alright. As long as you tell me, I promise I won’t kill you. I swear on my path of cultivation."

Hearing this, Chi Huo Old Ghost finally relaxed and said, "He’s looking for a treasure. A treasure that would move the heart of even a Purple Mansion Cultivator!"

"A treasure? Tell me more." Song Changsheng’s eyes lit up. He was most interested in things like treasure.

"I don’t know much. He’s very wary of us. I only know that the treasure is somewhere in the south and is related to a few Jade Tokens."

"Jade Tokens?" Song Changsheng’s heart skipped a beat. ’Could it be such a coincidence? I have a Jade Token related to a treasure as well.’

His face remained impassive as he asked, "What do the Jade Tokens look like?"

"It’s a Jade Token with a pattern carved on it. I only caught a glimpse of it. According to that bastard, there are four tokens in total. The one he has is only a quarter of the set."

"But he has a special Secret Technique that allows him to use his token to divine the location of the others. He calculated that one of the Jade Tokens would pass through Yang Province, which is why he had us wait here to intercept travelers."

"There are very few Flying Ships in the Daqi Cultivation World, and their owners are never simple. I didn’t want to attack you, but he sent his clone to watch over me, so I couldn’t refuse."

Chi Huo Old Ghost spilled everything he knew, like beans from a bamboo tube, not forgetting to make an excuse for himself at the end.

’So that’s how it is. No wonder I could never find the location of the Blood Demon Treasure from my Jade Token. There was another piece out there all along. Leader of the Taotie Demon Hunting Team, this time, you’re dead whether you like it or not!’

A surge of excitement rose in Song Changsheng’s heart. After so many years, there was finally a new clue about the treasure.

"Do you know where his real body is?"

"I only know he’s in Yang Province, but he never told anyone his exact location. Besides, now that you’ve killed his clone, he’s definitely gone into hiding."

"So, in other words, you’re worthless now," Song Changsheng said darkly.

Terror flooded Chi Huo Old Ghost’s eyes. "You said you wouldn’t kill me! You made an oath!"

"Hahaha, I’m just joking with you. I said I wouldn’t kill you, and I won’t."

Song Changsheng beamed, but the sight made Chi Huo Old Ghost’s hair stand on end.

"I’ll give you two choices. First, hand over your Divine Soul Seal and pledge your loyalty to me. Not only will I heal your wounds, but I’ll also provide food and shelter."

"Second, I’ll cripple your Cultivation, and then... let you go!"

Song Changsheng’s face wore a gentle smile, but in Chi Huo Old Ghost’s eyes, he was no different from a demon.

"I... I submit..."

After a fierce internal struggle, the will to survive finally overwhelmed his pride as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Even becoming a servant was better than being crippled and eaten by wild beasts, wasn’t it?

He separated a sliver of his Divine Soul from his Sea of Consciousness and it materialized as a mote of light, floating before Song Changsheng.

"A wise choice. Don’t worry, if you perform well, I’ll consider giving you back your freedom." Song Changsheng made an empty promise, then separated a sliver of his own Divine Soul, formed a Restriction within the mote of light, and finally merged it back into the other man’s Sea of Consciousness.

From now on, Chi Huo Old Ghost’s life was completely in his hands. If he ever had a rebellious thought, Song Changsheng could detonate his sliver of Divine Soul and blow the man’s Sea of Consciousness to smithereens.

This was a very reliable method of control. Unless the man surpassed Song Changsheng by a Great Realm or his Sea of Consciousness was so powerful that he wouldn’t fear the detonation of that sliver of Divine Soul, escape was impossible.

Furthermore, if Song Changsheng were to die, Chi Huo would be taken down with him!

’What a great technique. It’s a shame I can’t use it often.’ Song Changsheng sighed inwardly. Using this method was also risky.

If the controlled person died, he would also lose a sliver of his Divine Soul. The more people he controlled, the greater the risk.

Normally, controlling three people was already very dangerous. If someone were to kill them all at the same time, Song Changsheng’s Divine Soul would be severely damaged, not only affecting his Cultivation but potentially even ending his cultivation path!

"[Light of Resurgence]"

Chi Huo Old Ghost felt a boundless life force surge from Song Changsheng’s palm. The injuries inside his body immediately began to heal at a visible rate.

When Song Changsheng withdrew his hand, Chi Huo was astonished to find that nearly half of his injuries had already healed. This deepened his reverence and fear of Song Changsheng by another layer.

He climbed out of the crater, knelt before Song Changsheng, and touched his forehead to the cold ground. In a hoarse voice, he said, "I... this old slave pays his respects to Master!"

Song Changsheng nodded. "From now on, you’ll be called Chi Huo. No need to call me Master. Just call me Young Master."

"As you command, Young Master." Chi Huo felt slightly better.

"Clean this place up, then get yourself cleaned up, and meet me on the Flying Ship." Song Changsheng glanced at him with some disdain before flying toward the Flying Ship hovering in the air.

Song Changsheng had deliberately shifted the battlefield, so the Flying Ship hadn’t been caught in the fighting.

He put away the [Luwu Bell] and said to the two youngsters, "Alright, it’s been taken care of."

"Are you injured?" Song Qingxi asked worriedly, looking at the bloodstains on Song Changsheng’s clothes.

"This is all from the enemy."

He hadn’t really clashed head-on with his opponent in this battle, so there was no opportunity to get injured.

"I felt a very powerful force just now," Song Qingxing said, glancing at the large crater nearby.

"That was the [Mountain-Flipping Seal], one of the clan’s three great Little Divine Techniques. There’s another one called the [Xunfeng Finger], which is very suitable for you. When the time is right, you can try to cultivate it."

Hearing this, Song Qingxing nodded lightly, his thoughts unknown.

"You two should focus on your cultivation. I’m going to inspect the damage to the Flying Ship."

Song Changsheng went to the stern of the ship. His heart sank with just one look. Chi Huo’s strike had been extremely precise, directly damaging the propulsion system. Without major repairs, the Flying Ship could fall from the sky at any moment.

’We’ve only just reached the border of Yang Province, and we’re still a million li from the Celestial Sword Sect. Traveling by Sword Control would not only take more time, but my Spiritual Power wouldn’t hold out. I have to find a place for repairs.’

Although Song Changsheng was an Artifact Refiner, he didn’t have the skills to repair a Flying Ship. He needed to find a professional Celestial Artisan.

Celestial Artisans were a branch of Artifact Refiners who specialized in crafting large-scale artifacts, such as Flying Ships and Warships.

There were very few Celestial Artisans in the Daqi Cultivation World, and Tier Two ones were even rarer. Fortunately, there was a qualified Celestial Artisan in Xiang Province who could repair the Flying Ship’s propulsion system.

Just then, Sword Qi suddenly erupted on the Flying Ship.

Song Changsheng hurried over to see Song Qingxing holding a sharp sword, shielding Song Qingxi behind him as he faced off against a red-haired old man.

Facing the two little ones, Chi Huo looked completely innocent.

...