The courtyard was quiet.
Lou Feng sat beneath an old tree, slowly circulating his Qi-Blood while refining the injuries left behind from his recent journey. His spear rested against the wall nearby, its surface carrying several faint cracks from the battles in Qingshan County.
Although the weapon was damaged, he had not thrown it away.
It had accompanied him through too many fights.
Besides, replacing it would attract unnecessary attention.
A sudden cry came from the sky.
Lou Feng opened his eyes.
A dark-feathered bird descended rapidly before landing upon the edge of the courtyard wall. A small envelope had been tied securely to one of its legs.
He immediately recognised the emblem stamped across the envelope.
The Demon Suppression Division.
Lou Feng reached out and removed it before feeding the bird a small piece of dried meat. The bird immediately spread its wings and disappeared into the sky.
He opened the envelope.
There were only a few lines.
"We have investigated the movements of the Incense Fire Cult's sub-sect. Come to the East Street Inn in Dongtai Prefecture City to meet your partner."
"Signed, Jiang Shuying."
Lou Feng's eyebrows rose slightly.
"Partner?"
He folded the letter and stored it away.
Apparently, the Demon Suppression Division had finally found something important.
He had already been staying in Dongtai Prefecture City for nearly a month.
After arriving, he had taken the recommendation given to him by the Mingyuan Division and formally joined the Demon Suppression Division's intelligence division. Because his external martial cultivation had already reached the Innate Realm, the division had no difficulty arranging him into a position suitable for investigation and field operations.
The arrangement suited Lou Feng perfectly.
He could continue cultivating while receiving information about the Incense Fire Cult, and he didn't need to expose anything concerning the strange cultivation method his master had secretly taught him.
However, his peaceful arrangement had apparently ended.
Lou Feng stood and adjusted his clothes.
"I wonder what they've discovered this time."
He left the courtyard.
East Street was located within the outer city of Dongtai Prefecture City, and its scale was far beyond anything Lou Feng had seen in Qingshan County. The street alone was wider than the entire eastern district of his former county town, with shops standing shoulder to shoulder along both sides.
Weapon shops.
Medicinal pill shops.
Teahouses.
Restaurants.
Carriage stations.
Cultivation supply stores.
Even martial arts academies could be seen throughout the area.
The signboards crowded together beneath the bright afternoon sunlight while streams of cultivators moved continuously through the streets.
Lou Feng followed the address given in the letter until he arrived at an ordinary-looking inn.
He didn't immediately enter.
His Spiritual Sense spread outward for only a brief instant before he withdrew it.
Nothing unusual.
He stepped inside.
The inn was considerably more crowded than expected. Several martial artists occupied the tables on the first floor while merchants discussed business in low voices.
Lou Feng didn't look around for Jiang Shuying.
Instead, he walked directly toward the counter.
"One room."
The attendant nodded.
"One silver."
Lou Feng placed a silver coin on the counter.
"Room twelve."
The attendant handed him a wooden token.
"Second floor."
Lou Feng accepted it and walked upstairs.
The moment he reached the second floor, a familiar voice came from the end of the corridor.
"You're late."
Lou Feng turned.
A woman dressed in ordinary blue robes stood beside one of the rooms.
Her appearance was unremarkable, but her eyes carried the sharpness of someone accustomed to gathering information.
Jiang Shuying.
Lou Feng walked toward her.
"I came as soon as I received the message."
She glanced around before opening the door.
"Come inside."
The room was simple.
A table.
Two chairs.
A bed.
Nothing more.
Jiang Shuying closed the door and activated a small soundproofing formation.
Lou Feng's expression became serious.
"What's happened?"
Jiang Shuying didn't immediately answer.
Instead, she took out a jade box and placed it upon the table.
"This concerns Luoshi Village."
Lou Feng's eyes narrowed.
"Luoshi Village?"
She nodded.
"After the incident there, our people conducted a deeper investigation. We discovered that Night Owl wasn't the only important member of the Incense Fire Cult operating in that region."
She opened the jade box.
Inside rested a small crystal fragment.
Its surface was dark and faintly translucent, with strands of gray-black energy slowly circulating within.
The moment Lou Feng saw it, his expression became solemn.
Even without using his hidden cultivation, he could sense something deeply unpleasant coming from the crystal.
"This is..."
"A Yin Soul Crystal."
Jiang Shuying's voice became heavy.
"Night Owl attempted to use the power of this object to break through his realm and enter the Object Control Realm."
Lou Feng's eyes narrowed further.
"Object Control?"
Jiang Shuying nodded.
"Fortunately, our people arrived before the ritual was completed."
"The saber-wielding executive inside the altar was killed alongside Night Owl. The altar's core formation was also completely destroyed, so there is no possibility of restoration."
She paused.
"But the ritual itself was far more serious than we initially thought."
Lou Feng remained silent.
Jiang Shuying continued.
"What the Incense Fire Cult established in Luoshi Village was a Blood Soul Crystal Sacrificial Ritual."
"Blood Soul?"
Lou Feng frowned.
"Yes."
"The ritual required living sacrifices to continuously feed the Yin Soul Crystal. If the formation had been allowed to operate until completion, the resulting Yin energy would have been enough to transform the entire area into a ghostly domain."
Lou Feng's expression darkened.
He remembered Qingshan County.
The ghosts.
The tear in the earth.
The people fleeing through the streets.
The corpses drained dry.
It seemed the Incense Fire Cult had been using similar methods across different locations.
Jiang Shuying pushed the jade box toward him.
"This fragment was recovered after the ritual was interrupted."
Lou Feng looked at it carefully.
"You want me to investigate where it came from?"
"Not exactly."
Jiang Shuying shook her head.
"Your next assignment is Thunderbolt Martial Hall."
Lou Feng's expression stiffened.
"Thunderbolt Martial Hall?"
She nodded.
"We suspect the Incense Fire Cult has connections within the martial hall."
Lou Feng slowly frowned.
"How strong is the evidence?"
"Not enough to arrest anyone."
"That's why you're going undercover."
She produced another document.
"You'll enter the martial hall under a fabricated identity as an external-arts instructor."
Lou Feng took the document.
His eyes moved across the information.
A new name.
A new background.
A fabricated place of origin.
Even his cultivation history had been prepared.
"An Innate Realm instructor..."
Lou Feng rubbed his forehead.
"I've already become involved this deeply?"
Jiang Shuying smiled faintly.
"You've performed well in previous investigations."
"More importantly, your external martial cultivation is genuine."
"Nobody will question why the Demon Suppression Division recruited you."
Lou Feng sighed.
That was true.
His greatest advantage was that the strength everyone could see was real.
No one knew that beneath his external martial cultivation lay another completely different path.
And that secret had to remain hidden.
His master had already warned him repeatedly.
Immortal cultivation was not something that could be casually revealed.
Not his cultivation realm.
Not the techniques he practiced.
Not even the existence of the Immortal Continent.
Everything concerning that path had to remain concealed.
Lou Feng folded the document.
"When do I enter?"
"Within three days."
"Your identity has already been prepared."
Jiang Shuying then took out another small pouch.
"These are your investigation resources."
Lou Feng accepted it.
Inside were several communication talismans, a concealment talisman and a few emergency items.
He quietly inspected them.
Over the past month, he had also improved his own talisman knowledge.
The Yin Scattering Talisman could suppress the influence of ordinary Yin Qi.
The Lightning Bolt Talisman possessed considerable destructive power against ghosts.
The Light Body Talisman could greatly increase his movement speed.
And the Fireball Talisman was perhaps the most straightforward.
Its explosive power was enough to threaten ordinary True Essence martial artists if used unexpectedly.
However, none of these things could be casually displayed.
Especially the talismans.
Their existence alone could raise questions.
Lou Feng closed the pouch.
"I'll be careful."
Jiang Shuying nodded.
"Good."
She hesitated briefly before adding,
"One more thing."
Lou Feng looked at her.
"Don't investigate too deeply."
"The Incense Fire Cult has existed for far longer than we initially believed."
"We've already discovered traces of them in several counties."
"Some of those traces disappeared decades ago."
"Others..."
"Lead toward forces we aren't prepared to confront."
Lou Feng's expression became serious.
"Even the Demon Suppression Division doesn't know their full background?"
Jiang Shuying shook her head.
"No."
"That's what worries the higher-ups."
Lou Feng fell silent.
After everything he had witnessed, he already understood.
The Incense Fire Cult wasn't merely a group of ordinary cultists.
They had hidden themselves among different forces, used strange rituals to manipulate Yin energy, possessed talismanic methods that shouldn't have appeared in their hands and even attempted to create ghostly domains.
Something much larger was hidden behind them.
Lou Feng stood.
"I understand."
Jiang Shuying opened the door.
"Remember."
"You're only an external martial artist."
"Your assignment is to investigate."
"Nothing more."
Lou Feng nodded.
"Understood."
He stepped out of the room.
The moment he reached the street, the noisy atmosphere of East Street returned around him.
People laughed.
Merchants shouted.
Martial artists discussed techniques.
Nothing appeared unusual.
Yet Lou Feng's expression remained thoughtful.
Thunderbolt Martial Hall.
He had heard of the three great martial halls of Dongtai Prefecture before.
Thunderbolt Martial Hall.
Mountain River Martial Hall.
Heavenly Saber Martial Hall.
Now he was about to enter one of them.
He couldn't help wondering what exactly he would discover.
More importantly...
If the Incense Fire Cult truly had someone inside Thunderbolt Martial Hall, then the investigation might become far more complicated than the Demon Suppression Division expected.
Lou Feng looked toward the distant skyline.
"I'll just have to see for myself."
He turned and disappeared into the crowd.
Behind him, East Street remained as lively as ever.
Nobody noticed that an ordinary-looking young external martial artist had just received an assignment that might eventually uncover a much deeper connection between the Incense Fire Cult and the martial world of Dongtai Prefecture.