Chapter 697: Chapter 315: The Azure Thunder’s Shocking Transformation, Devouring the Soul of the Gu Clan
Having reached this point, Lu Anping’s ‘What do you think?’ actually didn’t provide much room for consideration to the others.
Everyone only hesitated for a moment before agreeing to his plan.
After all, without Lu Anping’s channel, it would be impossible for them to find the deeply hidden Gu Clan within the vast Nine Thunder Immortal Domain or even within Canglong Immortal City. Although it cannot be said to be a fool’s dream, it would undoubtedly take a considerable amount of uncertain time.
For Nascent Soul Cultivators, time is equally precious.
When the Gu Clan parasitize cultivators, they absorb their Divine Souls and control their bodies, thereby gaining access to the cultivator’s memories and strength. From the outside, there is no noticeable difference, and it is even more seamless than the most perfect possession in the Cultivation World.
Only by killing the cultivators would the Gu Clan’s true body be separated from the host’s body.
As for the true form of the Gu Clan, it is quite fragile. The strength of a Fourth-stage Gu Clan’s true body is not strong, and a regular Nascent Soul Cultivator can kill it. However, the Gu Clan’s most potent aspect is not its true body but their parasitic ability and the full power that the cultivator can unleash by using this ability.
Therefore.
The hardest part of their mission was finding the Gu Clan, followed by exterminating the cultivators the Gu Clan had parasitized, and finally, the true body of the Gu Clan itself.
These are the three general steps of the entire mission, with the first step consuming ninety-nine percent of their time.
With five hundred Top-Grade Spirit Stones gathered, Lu Anping was relieved while also feeling the weight of the situation. With such a significant sum of Spirit Stones, they could at least obtain more accurate information from Soul Tower, making their efforts more fruitful.
Lu Anping scanned the group and finally fixed his gaze on Han Yi.
“Daoist Han, come with me. The remaining eight of you wait here.”
Han Yi’s eyes narrowed slightly, while the other eight people harbored some suspicions. However, Lu Anping’s words made them temporarily set aside their doubts, and they had no choice but to comply.
“I wouldn’t trust going alone.”
“Although Daoist Han’s realm is not high, his strength is not weak. Going with me will not incur any strong reactions from Soul Tower.”
“This arrangement is perfect.”
Lu Anping beckoned and, with that, stepped onto a secluded street. He walked at a leisurely pace, like an ordinary person, not in a hurry or agitated. Behind him, Han Yi followed silently, maintaining a two-meter distance from Lu Anping.
“Wait for me and don’t say or do anything, just follow me closely, got it?” Lu Anping communicated through his divine sense, and Han Yi agreed.
After walking for about ten minutes, Lu Anping turned into the second-to-last corner at the end of the street, followed by Han Yi.
On the street outside, the eight cultivators who came with them turned their gaze back only after Han Yi had entered the alley. They found a nearby restaurant to wait in.
Meanwhile.
Following Lu Anping through the alleyway, they finally arrived at a small shop with no name. An old man that looked like an ordinary person without any traces of a cultivator was sitting at the front of the shop, busying himself with something.
Lu Anping paused for a moment before walking forward and pushing a folded piece of paper towards the old man. Han Yi did not attempt to inspect the paper with his divine sense, as he followed Lu Anping’s instructions – just watch, don’t speak, don’t act.
The old man picked up the paper, glanced at it briefly, and said, “Six hundred Top-Grade Spirit Stones.”
Lu Anping’s brows furrowed at the inflated price but knew that the Soul Tower’s information would not be arbitrarily increased or decreased, and there must be a reason for it.
After some thought, he asked, “The price is high, is there a reason?”
The old man looked up slightly, his eyes flickering over Lu Anping and Han Yi before answering expressionlessly, “That’s the price. As for the reason, that’ll cost you four hundred Top-Grade Spirit Stones.”
In Soul Tower, everything has a price.
Lu Anping’s expression soured, but after a moment, he chose to ignore the additional four hundred Top-Grade Spirit Stones and pushed a Qiankun Ring towards the old man.
“Six hundred Top-Grade Spirit Stones, I’ll buy it.”
Behind him, Han Yi was slightly surprised. They had gathered five hundred Top-Grade Spirit Stones, but now six hundred were paid. The additional one hundred seemed to have been filled temporarily by Lu Anping.
Han Yi sensed Lu Anping’s eagerness but had no intention of prying into the reason.
The old man took the Qiankun Ring into his hand, sensed the Spirit Stones within, nodded, then turned to go into the back of the shop. A moment later, he returned and handed a Jade Butterfly over to Lu Anping.
Lu Anping gripped the Jade Butterfly tightly and left without hesitation.
Once out of the shop, Lu Anping sent a divine sense message, “Remember this shop. It’s one of Soul Tower’s strongholds. As long as you have money, they can provide you with information, assassins, resources.”
Han Yi acknowledged this as Lu Anping’s goodwill gesture.
A moment later, they left the secluded street and found the other eight cultivators waiting in a nearby restaurant. Seeing the two return, the eight cultivators breathed a sigh of relief.
Afterward.
Lu Anping rented a guest room nearby, and after he and Mu Yuanzhou had set up a tight Formation, he took out the Jade Butterfly. The cultivators looked at Han Yi, wanting confirmation, and Han Yi nodded to confirm that it was indeed the Jade Butterfly.