The worries of the two disciples were unfounded.
Ji Buwang and Elder Qingfeng knew the situation was strange and had no intention of blaming them.
After nodding slightly at their disciples, the two of them entered the dungeon with Elder Su.
The moment they stepped into the dungeon, a strong smell of blood mixed with a nauseating odor of decay assaulted them, as if the very air exuded an ominous presence.
Ji Buwang's brows furrowed slightly.
Given the circumstances, one could imagine how tragic the situation inside would be without even looking.
After a few more steps, the scene within the dungeon came into view, and Ji Buwang's eyes were immediately filled with a dark red hue.
As Elder Su had said, there were no traces left of the demon spies' presence in the dungeon; only piles upon piles of foul-smelling rotting flesh could be seen.
Beneath the decaying flesh, white bones were faintly visible, creating a grim and terrifying scene.
For a moment, Ji Buwang and the two elders remained silent.
After a while, Elder Qingfeng was the first to break the silence, asking Elder Su, "Besides us, has anyone else been here?"
"Absolutely not," Elder Su stated with absolute certainty. "The dungeon is protected by a formation arranged by the Nine Palaces. If anyone else enters, it will emit a warning sound to let me know."
Since the dungeon held demon spies, Elder Su naturally dared not let his guard down.
In addition to the formation, there were also many traps within the dungeon, all designed to prevent the demon spies from being rescued.
Yet, despite all precautions, an accident had occurred.
Elder Su's old face drooped considerably.
He had truly been negligent this time.
Elder Qingfeng muttered to himself, looking down, "No one else entered, and these demon spies had their demonic energy sealed, so they couldn't even commit suicide. Then how did they end up like this?"
It was strange, truly strange.
Ji Buwang's gaze swept around the dungeon, finally settling on a pile of decaying corpses.
Although the rotting flesh was no longer recognizable, based on the lingering scent, this pile of decaying flesh likely belonged to a spy named Ma Tao.
Ma Tao was the person in charge of this operation, so Ji Buwang had a clear impression of him.
He stared intently at the mass of decaying flesh, constantly scanning it with his divine sense. Finally, even employing the divine sense secret art of the Xuanji Sect, he discovered something amiss.
With a flick of his right hand, Ji Buwang dislodged a piece of flesh no larger than a sesame seed from the decaying mass. It floated towards him.
A hint of disgust flashed across Elder Qingfeng's face as he asked with a frown, "Sect Master, have you discovered something?"
Although he was asking, he already felt that Ji Buwang must have found a clue, otherwise, he wouldn't have acted this way.
Indeed, Ji Buwang's answer confirmed his thoughts.
"Besides the scent of that demon spy, there is also a trace of a divine soul imprint fluctuation left here," Ji Buwang replied coldly.
If he wasn't mistaken, this should have been left by a Demon Lord.
"Divine soul imprint?"
Elder Qingfeng and Elder Su exchanged a look. Their expressions did not improve; instead, they grew considerably grim.
When they had imprisoned these spies in the dungeon, they had searched them from head to toe, confirming they had no other abnormalities.
Now, it seemed, they had been careless and overlooked the details.
Ji Buwang waved his hand, using his spiritual energy to crush the piece of flesh. He turned and walked out, "Dispose of this decaying flesh and notify the other sects about what happened today, so they can be vigilant."
"Yes."
Elder Qingfeng and Elder Su responded in unison, each going to complete the tasks assigned by Ji Buwang.
After Ji Buwang returned to his Sect Master's hall, his first instinct was to inform Xu Yi about what had happened today.
However, as his fingers touched the communication disk, he paused, then shook his head.
Xu Yi was currently handling Bei Xinghan's affairs, and it would be inconvenient to distract her.
Ji Buwang rubbed the communication disk with his fingertip, beginning to ponder the mysterious deaths of the demon spies.
The demon spies had been captured for several days, and it was only today that they had died under strange circumstances.
Ji Buwang suspected that the demon realm had finally received news that the righteous factions of the Kyushu Continent had joined forces to deal with them.
Knowing their plan had been exposed and fearing that the spies might leak secrets, the demon realm had activated the contingency plans embedded within the spies, causing them all to die without leaving any survivors.
Ji Buwang lamented inwardly. If he had known this would happen, he should have tortured the spies severely after capturing them to see if he could extract any useful clues. Now, a valuable opportunity had been lost.
However, this also served as a reminder for Ji Buwang.
The demon realm was cruel, ruthless, and highly suspicious. Even their own people could not be entirely trusted.
In the future, if he captured any demon race members, he would need to be more cautious and ensure no wind escaped to alert others in the demon realm.
If there was a way to remove the divine soul imprints from the demon spies, or to block the control of the imprint's owner, things would be much simpler.
With this thought, Ji Buwang suddenly stood up and headed towards the cave dwelling of True Man Jiugong.
Perhaps he would have a solution.
...
Bang! Bang!
Two dark figures shot out like lightning, finally landing on the soft sand with two dull thuds.
Bei Xinghan endured the pain and raised his arm.
A red, swollen scratch marked the back of his hand.
And this scratch was visibly turning blue and swelling at an alarming rate.
Bei Xinghan dejectedly lowered his arm and looked in the direction of True Man Canghai, happening to catch sight of identical marks on True Man Canghai's hand.
He couldn't help but sigh faintly.
He had failed again.
This was already the fifteenth day he and True Man Canghai had teamed up.
Still, there had been no progress whatsoever.
They couldn't even get within a foot of True Man Ba Tian, let alone destroy his branches.
True Man Ba Tian's offense and defense were both impeccable.
Bei Xinghan shakily stood up and then voluntarily jumped into the sea.
The injury on his hand was not minor, nor was it severe.
With spiritual energy, it would recover completely within an hour.
However, there was no spiritual energy here. And to avoid affecting his subsequent actions, he could only rely on the peculiar power of the seawater to heal his wounds.
Not long after, another figure appeared in the sea.
Bei Xinghan floated on the surface of the sea, looking up at the sky, and suddenly thought of Xu Yi, whose whereabouts were also unknown.
He wondered where Xu Yi was now and if she had managed to contact anyone else.
Could it be that she, like him, was trapped in some secret realm undergoing a trial set by a powerful being?
Bei Xinghan remembered his previous worry for Xu Yi, and his sense of urgency grew stronger.
His disappearance must also be causing his friends great concern.
Therefore, he had to leave this place in the shortest possible time, and it would be best to do so together with True Man Canghai.
If his master saw them appear together, he would surely be overjoyed.
Bei Xinghan imagined the look on Sect Master Qinglian's face when he saw them, his eyes brightened. He felt a surge of energy fill his body, and his resolve grew even firmer.
He would definitely be able to leave this place.
Absolutely!