Ning Qi’s expression was somewhat playful.
He originally planned to capture Lei directly, then use the pupil technique to interrogate him, and finally storm their lair.
But now, he had a better idea.
Lei sat upright in the carriage, closing his eyes to rest.
The recent slaughter had drained him somewhat, and for some reason, he constantly felt uneasy, yet he couldn’t locate the source.
"Where are we now?" he asked in a deep voice.
A respectful voice came from outside the carriage:
"Sir, about one more two-hour to the base."
Lei took a deep breath.
He stepped out of the carriage.
He felt the need to relax his tense spirits.
"Take a break, check if any of the bodies are still alive."
he walked alone into the dense forest.
As soon as he entered the forest, his gaze changed. Hiding in the shadows, his sharp eyes continuously scanned the busy men in black, occasionally perceiving his surroundings. He believed firmly in his instincts, which would never mislead him.
If someone truly were spying secretly,
either they would disguise themselves as a corpse or mix with the team, or shadow them from the dark.
He clearly knew that somebody had been secretly investigating them recently, so being overly cautious was never a bad thing.
But after watching for a while,
he found nothing, leaving him somewhat puzzled.
"Could it really be that I was mistaken?" Just as this thought arose in Lei’s heart, his pupils contracted suddenly.
A mysterious voice whispered into his ears:
"Are you... looking for me?"
Lei was instantly gripped with horror, a chill racing to the top of his head, but he couldn’t utter a sound. A large hand was clasped around his neck, terrible pressure enveloping every inch of his flesh and blood, and he even heard the groaning of his own muscles and bones.
No matter how vigilant he was, he couldn’t escape this massive attack.
Ning Qi was too thorough for him.
Ning Qi watched the fierce-looking middle-aged man before him, his gaze as deep as a murky pool:
Lei emerged from the forest once more.
The many men in black greeted him respectfully:
"Sir, the inspection is complete, no problems found."
He got into the carriage.
After the curtain was drawn, Lei’s eyes became somewhat strange. No one knew that the real Lei had died in the forest without a trace, and the current Lei was Ning Qi in disguise.
With his mastery of body shifting and bone changing, even those who spent day and night with Lei couldn’t discern a flaw.
Ning Qi was well-prepared and used the pupil technique to extract many answers he sought. Drawing on previous experiences of interrogating an enchanting woman, Ning Qi skillfully avoided asking certain forbidden questions this time.
Now armed with information about various secret codes, organizational structure, and whether there were masters behind the scenes, he had enough to temporarily disguise himself as Lei.
This was Ning Qi’s new plan.
Killing them one by one would inevitably let some slip through, since these people didn’t usually gather together, and if ’Master Feng’ received word and managed to escape, it would be troublesome to track him down again.
But with Lei’s identity, he could find an excuse to gather everyone together.
it would be delightful to catch them all in one go.
Avoiding the needless waste of time.
"According to Lei, here in Qing State, there are mainly Blood Rain Tower and an unnamed power, and above them, there are two Celestial Human Realm masters, one called Fatty Elder and the other Skinny Elder."
"These two elders each have a Blood King Gu, and when there is a significant gain, one of the elders would usually be invited to bring the Blood King Gu over."
"As for what exactly the Blood King Gu is used for, only these two would know."
Ning Qi’s eyes sparkled.
He had a hunch that the Blood King Gu might be very useful for him, potentially replacing relics in alchemy, not an unfounded suspicion, but inferred from the way the Blood King Gu was cultivated.
"A Gu insect nurtured by absorbing human blood essence must contain extremely abundant vital force."
In an instant, Ning Qi’s interest was piqued even more.
If he could obtain these two Blood King Gu, it might significantly shorten his time to ascend to the Primordial Core.
Since he was already there, Ning Qi wouldn’t miss the chance, seeing it as a side benefit while seeking revenge.
"That Fatty Elder seems a bit weaker, so let’s use this opportunity to invite over Fatty Elder with the spoils, and then, under Fatty Elder’s name, bring everyone else over!"
"Otherwise, directly summoning the others in Lei’s identity might seem abrupt."
Ning Qi had formulated a plan in his mind.
The convoy moved swiftly forward.
They arrived at the base.
The base was deeply hidden within a valley, heavily guarded from the shadows, and the carriages loaded with bodies underwent rigorous inspection, even Ning Qi was checked.
However, Ning Qi’s mastery of body shifting and bone changing was extraordinary, and none could detect any anomalies.
Upon entering the valley,
the group began transporting the bodies into the underground palace.
Subsequently, they reached the deepest part of the underground palace.
Ning Qi looked at the blood pool before him, a surge of killing intent rising in his heart.
It was hard to imagine how many had perished here.
The likes of the Black Wind Thieves being slaughtered hardly mattered, but most of them were likely innocents.
The stench of blood in the blood pool was overwhelming. Besides human blood, many precious herbs were added. Ning Qi only had to sniff lightly to identify a few of them. He watched as bodies were thrown into the blood pool, bubbling as they gradually dissolved, appearing especially sinister.
As powerful martial artist corpses were thrown in, the eerie vitality in the blood pool grew even denser, turning the pool a clear hue.