Record of a Demon's Cultivation-Chapter 595: The Murderer’s Trail

Translator: Cinder Translations

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As the river above changed its course, the waterfall that had existed for thousands of years suddenly stopped flowing.

The deep water pool below also turned into stagnant water.

Because the bottom of the deep pool had been continuously draining, the water level dropped rapidly, visibly decreasing before anyone's eyes.

In less than half an hour, the bottom of the pool was exposed.

The underground river also revealed itself, drying up as well.

Zhu Yin, accompanied by four Golden Core cultivators, landed at the bottom of the pool and entered the dark river channel.

Meanwhile, Song Wen, who was several dozen miles away in the marketplace, observed everything that was happening here through his Shadow Gu.

Among the four people Zhu Yin brought, two were cultivators practicing the "Corpse King Blood Refining Art" — the man and woman who had forcibly changed the river's course.

Both of them were mid-stage Golden Core cultivators.

Song Wen did not take action against them hastily.

Firstly, if he made a move, Zhu Yin would recognize his methods and thereby deduce his identity.

Secondly, although only five Golden Core cultivators had disembarked from the flying ship that Zhu Yin rode, Song Wen could not be certain that there were no other people aboard.

If Yin Shuo or Ye Hua were on the ship, Song Wen would be walking straight into a trap.

Zhu Yin and the others searched the entire complex underground cave system, rescuing those trapped and finding traces left by Song Wen.

From this, Zhu Yin deduced: the entire situation was a plot targeting Pang Kun. Someone had deliberately set a trap to lure Pang Kun out and kill him.

"Someone actually dares to kill an elder from Wu Ji Island on their own turf?"

There was a hint of fury in Zhu Yin's shocked gaze.

She returned to the Hall of Evil Qi with the injured Yin Pan and the disciples of Cold Corpse Valley who had come searching for treasure and were also wounded. There, she used the "Starry Line Formation" in the Hall of Evil Qi to report the events to her master, Yin Shuo.

...

Song Wen looked at the Hall of Evil Qi, which was clearly on high alert, and shook his head.

From the start, he had anticipated this kind of situation.

The movements of Wu Ji Island's Golden Core elders were not easy to track.

Therefore, he had resorted to this tactic, deliberately drawing Pang Kun out. However, this inevitably left some traces behind, which would alert Wu Ji Island.

Song Wen left the marketplace and went to a large mountain several dozen miles away, where he hid in a tree hollow.

Although he didn't know exactly what had transpired within the Hall of Evil Qi, he, being cautious as always, easily guessed that Zhu Yin would definitely report the incident.

Song Wen was concerned that Yin Shuo or Ye Hua might arrive. If they did, they might indiscriminately slaughter all the loose cultivators in the marketplace.

However, his concerns didn't come to pass.

Neither Yin Shuo nor Ye Hua appeared.

Zhu Yin and the other four Golden Core cultivators left the Hall of Evil Qi multiple times to investigate the marketplace and surrounding areas. However, they always moved together in a group, and Song Wen never found the opportunity to act.

Several days later, perhaps thinking that continuing the investigation was pointless, Zhu Yin and the others left Cold Corpse Valley on their ship and returned to Shadow City.

...

Upon entering Shadow City, Song Wen noticed that the patrolling guards had obviously increased.

Among these guards, Song Wen spotted two familiar figures — the man and woman who had altered the river's course.

The male cultivator was named Duan Chuan.

The female cultivator was named Feng Lan.

Both of them were vice leaders of Wu Ji Island's Law Enforcement Hall.

They accompanied Zhu Yin to Cold Corpse Valley to investigate, but found nothing. After returning to Shadow City, the two were responsible for monitoring any disturbances in Shadow City and its surrounding areas.

At this moment, the two were hovering high above Shadow City.

Song Wen looked up at them, a faint smile on his lips.

He had been struggling to find a way to make a move.

However, it was impossible to act within Shadow City; he needed to lure the two outside.

Two quarters of an hour later.

Duan Chuan and Feng Lan received a communication from their subordinates: Pang Kun's defensive artifact, the Dragon Scale Shield, had appeared in the marketplace.

The Dragon Scale Shield was brought to a magic artifact shop in the marketplace and was being sold at a low price. The shopkeeper recognized the shield and immediately reported it to Wu Ji Island's Law Enforcement Hall.

The two quickly rushed to the magic artifact shop and met with the shopkeeper who had purchased the Dragon Scale Shield.

The shopkeeper was a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. When he saw Duan Chuan and Feng Lan, he quickly greeted them.

"Greetings, Hall Master Duan, Hall Master Feng."

"You know us?" Duan Chuan's cold gaze swept over the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper felt his heart race but maintained his composure as he answered.

"Back to Sect Leader Duan, the two of you, as leaders of the Law Enforcement Hall, have long had a great reputation in Shadow City. Although I am a loose cultivator, I've been in Shadow City for many years and have heard your names frequently. It's truly an honor to meet you in person today."

Duan Chuan didn't care for the shopkeeper's flattery and asked directly.

"Where is the Dragon Scale Shield now?"

The shopkeeper hurriedly took a small shield from his storage ring and handed it to Duan Chuan.

After confirming that it was indeed the Dragon Scale Shield, Duan Chuan took it without hesitation.

"How did you recognize the Dragon Scale Shield?" Duan Chuan questioned the shopkeeper.

"Report, Sect Leader Duan, it was Elder Fang who issued a notice mentioning the Dragon Scale Shield."

Duan Chuan turned and looked at a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator standing behind him.

This person was the Elder Fang the shopkeeper had mentioned, who had notified Duan Chuan and Feng Lan about the Dragon Scale Shield appearing in the shop.

Elder Fang nodded, confirming the shopkeeper's words were true.

Duan Chuan turned back and continued, "Describe in detail the appearance of the person who sold the shield."

The shopkeeper replied, "The person was over six feet tall, wearing a black cloak and a bronze mask, with early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation. Judging by his attire, he seemed to be a loose cultivator. He was acting sneaky, like he was afraid of being spotted. He didn't seem to know the value of the Dragon Scale Shield and sold it to me for only seventy thousand spirit stones."

"Since his cultivation was inferior to yours, why didn't you take him down? Could it be you let him go on purpose?" Duan Chuan's voice turned cold.

The shopkeeper's face changed, and he hurriedly explained, "Hall Master Duan, I'm innocent! I only recognized the Dragon Scale Shield after he left. If I had realized what it was when he first presented it, I would never have bought it. Wouldn't that be asking for trouble?"

Duan Chuan continued to press, "Then after recognizing the Dragon Scale Shield, why did you report this to the Law Enforcement Hall instead of secretly handling the shield yourself?"

The shopkeeper looked bitter. "I had no choice! The notice from the Law Enforcement Hall was seen by most cultivators in Shadow City. If I had kept the Dragon Scale Shield for myself, I wouldn't have been able to sell it, and I'd have attracted the Law Enforcement Hall's suspicion."

Duan Chuan nodded. He couldn't find any discrepancies in the shopkeeper's story.

The shopkeeper appeared to be telling the truth.

Duan Chuan asked, "After selling the Dragon Scale Shield, where did he go?"

The shopkeeper replied, "He seemed very hurried. After getting the spirit stones, he quickly went south."

The shop was located in the southern part of Shadow City, and going south was the closest route out of the city.

(End of the Chapter)

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