410: Chapter 410 What a boastful tone!

An hour later, the battle around the altar subsided.

Blood dyed the river red, and many corpses had already floated downstream.

On the riverbank, the Black Dragon Cavalry interrogated the captured cultists one by one.

Lin Xiao used his Eye of God to scan them, selecting a group of cultists who seemed to have some seniority in the Moon Worship Cult based on their titles, and ordered the Black Dragon Cavalry to focus their interrogation on them.

Lin Xiao didn't need to handle the subsequent matters personally.

Taking the two women with him, Lin Xiao drank tea with General Leng Duo in the "luxurious cave dwelling" where the Leader of the Moon Worship Cult had previously resided, chatting about everything that had happened over the past year.

Seeing her father after more than a year, Leng Bingyan, who was now a married woman, naturally had a lot to talk about.

From when Leng Bingyan went north to Stone Fortress and met Lin Xiao, starting with a fight before becoming friends, to her recent victory as the champion of the Tianwu Grand Tournament, General Leng Duo listened with rising emotions and great sentiment.

"Prince, thanks to meeting you, Yaner has achieved such success. It can be said she has brought honor to our ancestors. Leng Duo... is eternally grateful!"

General Leng Duo stood up and prepared to bow solemnly.

Lin Xiao quickly stood up to support him. "General, there is no need for this. This Prince rose from humble beginnings, and it is thanks to my wife and Yaner staying by my side through thick and thin that the Zhenbei Princes Mansion exists today."

"That the General was willing to entrust her to me makes me the one who should be grateful."

General Leng Duo said with emotion, "To be honest, Yaner's mother passed away early, and I was busy with military affairs, often away from home. I was somewhat indulgent with her."

"Prince, you are still young and are the Emperor's husband. In the future, there will surely be many outstanding women by your side."

"My Yaner is not exactly a delicate or refined woman. Her temper isn't great, and she might make you angry."

"If the day comes when she no longer pleases you, please... do not hurt her..."

Hearing General Leng Duo say this, Leng Bingyan could no longer hold back, feeling both embarrassed and anxious.

"Dad, what are you saying! My husband is not that kind of person!"

"I'm just afraid your careless nature might offend the Prince..."

"Am I really that stupid?!"

Lin Xiao could understand and nodded seriously. "General, rest assured. If I were that kind of person, may heaven strike me down with lightning and may I die a horrible death!"

"That won't be necessary. If the Prince grows tired of her, just let her return to the Leng family to keep this old man company," General Leng Duo chuckled.

"Oh, Dad... you're so annoying!"

Leng Bingyan had been quite moved a moment ago, but now she felt like hitting someone. Was there any father who undermined his own daughter like this?

Xiao Qingxuan watched the father and daughter bickering from the side with a smile, but a hint of melancholy appeared in her eyes.

"Wife, are you still thinking about your Father Emperor?"

Lin Xiao naturally noticed the change in the woman's expression.

"Husband saw through me."

Xiao Qingxuan did not hide it, saying, "I truly cannot understand. Even if Father Emperor isn't dead, why would he be involved with the Moon Worship Cult?"

"If he was coerced, has he suffered a lot? If he wasn't forced, then what exactly does he plan to do..."

"Does he know that General Leng and the others have been fighting so hard for Western Shu?"

Lin Xiao squeezed the woman's hand. "Thinking too much is useless. When we see him, everything will naturally come to light."

As they were chatting, General Zhang Tao ran in excitedly.

"General! We have something!"

"The Prince has a keen eye. Those people he picked out really did have some inside information!"

Upon hearing this, the group hurriedly stood up to ask what was happening.

It turned out that among these cultists, some provided information involving a place called "Golden Wind Stronghold."

In their words, Golden Wind Stronghold was very mysterious. Every time they went, they could only stop at the mountain pass and had to wear black hoods before they could enter.

The scenery inside the stronghold was picturesque, and on nights with a full moon, there would be a grand Moon Worship Ceremony.

Only the most "pious"—those who had provided enough offerings—could participate.

"Offerings? What does that mean? Sending money?" Leng Bingyan asked.

General Zhang Tao got angry just hearing it and said, "Sending money would be the better option. The Moon Worship Cult also accepts 'people' as offerings!"

"People? How do they send them?"

"Usually, they abduct children from ordinary families, especially the original inhabitants of the mountains. When the adults go out to work during the day, they steal the children."

"The mountain residents are far from the reach of the law, and no one comes to look after them. If they lose a child, they can only accept their misfortune."

General Leng Duo slammed the table in anger. "Outrageous! No wonder there are so many young people blindly following that Moon God and why the cultists of the Moon Worship Cult keep appearing in endless streams. It turns out they've been grooming followers since they were children!?"

Lin Xiao also felt terrible hearing this. It reminded him of the chaotic and backward regions in his original world that had child soldiers; it was much the same.

Looking back at the Blade Emperor training the Child Ghost into a killing machine, it really fit the style of the Moon Worship Cult.

General Zhang Tao continued, "Among these people, many have been once or twice. As long as they can go five times, they can join a group called the 'Temple of the Moon God.'"

"According to them, the members of the Temple of the Moon God are all powerful and influential figures who discuss big plans together."

"These people are only here because they didn't provide enough money or enough 'heads' over the past few years, so they could only participate in the ordinary Moon Worship Ceremonies."

General Zhang Tao sighed, "Unfortunately, they can only give the approximate location of Golden Wind Stronghold and don't know how to enter."

"Knowing there is such a place is enough."

Lin Xiao wasn't worried. Ordinary people couldn't get in because they feared traps or getting lost.

But for him, even if Golden Wind Stronghold was a mountain of blades or a sea of fire, it wouldn't stop his footsteps.

After some discussion, Lin Xiao continued leading the two women toward the mountainous area where Golden Wind Stronghold was located according to those people.

As for General Leng Duo, he first led the Black Dragon Cavalry to station themselves on the spot.

Although he was very worried about the Retired Emperor, he had no way to follow.

A large force of over three thousand people, even if they could travel by boat for a stretch, could not keep up with Lin Xiao and the others.

Lin Xiao led the two women, leaping high and far, almost flying as they traveled. Covering a thousand miles in a day was exactly like this.

"We're here. According to what those people said, along the Wumei River, past Shallow Water Bay, about twenty miles to the east, it should be this area."

Two days later, the three arrived at an area filled with mountain mist.

"Those people said that the vicinity of Golden Wind Stronghold is shrouded in mist year-round, and it really is so."

"Husband, this area isn't small. Should we split up to search?" Xiao Qingxuan asked.

Lin Xiao directly performed Dragon Seeking and Point Locating. Soon, a coordinate with soaring treasure aura appeared before his eyes.

One didn't even need to think to know—how could the Moon Worship Cult's old nest not have treasures?

"No need, just follow me." Lin Xiao smiled with an expectant look.

The two women naturally had no doubts and followed immediately.

Lin Xiao led the two women through a quiet mountain path with splashing waterfalls to the foot of a towering cliff.

Sunlight filtered through the lush mountain forest, spilling onto the mottled mossy stone walls like an otherworldly paradise.

In the middle of the cliff, there was a narrow passage like a slit in the sky. At first glance from the outside, there didn't seem to be a single soul.

"To think such a soul-refreshing valley would house an evil cult that commits countless crimes. It's truly a shame," Leng Bingyan lamented.

Lin Xiao laughed. "This place is indeed not bad. When the world is at peace in the future, how about I bring you both here to live in seclusion?"

"Then this concubine will look forward to it," Xiao Qingxuan and Leng Bingyan were both full of anticipation.

Just then, from the depths of the canyon, a woman's seductive laughter rang out:

"What a bold claim... You haven't even entered, yet you dare say you'll destroy my Moon Worship Divine Cult?"