106: The real mastermind emerges

The capital, West Ward.

A small antique shop named "Jubao Firm" had an elegant facade rarely seen in ordinary homes.

Li Dong stood at the street corner, his gaze lingering on the shop's sign for a moment. According to the intelligence from Mr. Xu and the System's continuous tracking of abnormal spiritual essence fluctuations in the capital, this was a crucial overt stronghold of the Shadow Council.

"Jubao Firm... a lucky name indeed. I wonder whose treasures it gathers, and whose lives it takes," Li Dong muttered to himself.

His target tonight was this place.

As night deepened, pedestrians on the street had long since thinned out. Li Dong changed into an inconspicuous short-sleeved outfit. The Thousand Illusion Mask adjusted his appearance to be unremarkable, and the Aura Concealing Jade Pendant perfectly concealed his aura, making him blend into the night like a wisp of breeze.

Circling to the back alley of Jubao Firm, with his keen Spiritual perception, he easily found several hidden Formation nodes. These Formations were not of high grade and were virtually useless against Li Dong, who was now at the peak of the Late Foundation Establishment Stage and possessed a barrier breaking pearl.

He silently infiltrated the backyard, which was empty save for a few withered plants swaying in the night wind.

System: Detecting high-concentration spiritual essence reaction underground, with abnormal energy fluctuations.

"It's indeed below."

Following the System's guidance, Li Dong quickly found a cleverly disguised secret door in a woodshed piled with miscellaneous items.

Pushing open the secret door, a strange smell, a mix of herbs, blood, and dense spiritual essence, assailed him.

A deep stone staircase wound downwards.

Li Dong didn't hesitate, flashing inside.

At the end of the stone staircase was a spacious underground secret chamber. In the center of the chamber, dozens of bronze cauldrons, each taller than a person, were arranged in a row. Underneath the cauldrons, eerie blue flames burned, and the cauldrons gurgled and bubbled, emitting a cloyingly sweet and nauseating aroma.

Dozens of Cultivators, dressed in prisoner uniforms and with numb expressions, mechanically added various Materials to the cauldrons or activated faint spiritual power to maintain the operation of the Formations. Their eyes were hollow, as if they were Puppets without Souls.

In a corner of the secret chamber, several black-clad overseers coldly watched everything. The strength of these overseers was roughly at the seventh or eighth layer of Qi Refining.

"Soul-Devouring Demon Flower's spiritual essence crystals..." Li Dong recognized at a glance that what was being refined in the cauldrons was the evil substance extracted from the Soul-Devouring Demon Flower. This was, astonishingly, a small spiritual essence refining workshop!

"These old dogs from the Shadow Council are truly insane! They're using living people as laborers to refine this harmful stuff!" Li Dong's heart burned with anger. These controlled Cultivators were probably either abducted by various means or were simply failed products of their "special selection" plan.

He quietly approached, preparing to gather some evidence before apprehending all the overseers.

Just as he was about to act—

"Buzz!"

An indescribable terrifying pressure, like Mount Tai pressing down, suddenly descended!

The air in the entire underground secret chamber seemed to instantly solidify. The Cultivators who were working all let out a muffled groan, collapsing to the ground, trembling. The overseers directly prostrated themselves, not even daring to lift their heads.

Li Dong felt an invisible immense force lock onto him. His entire skeleton creaked, and breathing became difficult.

"Golden Core! And not an ordinary Golden Core!" His heart pounded. This pressure far surpassed any enemy he had encountered before, even several times more terrifying than that Golden Core Puppet!

An ancient and hoarse voice, as if from the netherworld, echoed in the secret chamber: "Heh heh, a rather bold mouse has arrived."

As the voice fell, an old man dressed in an ancient black robe, with a withered face and eyes flickering with eerie green light, appeared silently in the center of the secret chamber. He seemed to appear out of thin air, yet also as if he had always been standing there.

System: Highest level warning! Target detected: Qiankun Zi, one of the core Elders of the Shadow Council! Strength: Golden Core Late Stage! Extremely dangerous!

"Qiankun Zi? A core Elder of the Shadow Council?" Li Dong's mind buzzed. He never expected that merely investigating a stronghold would lead him to directly confront an old monster of this caliber!

This truly was... stirring up a hornet's nest!

Qiankun Zi's eerie green eyes fell on Li Dong, or more accurately, on "Mu Feng," Li Dong's disguise.

"Was it you who destroyed the Cold Moon Palace's mother plant?" Qiankun Zi's voice held a hint of contemplation. "I was wondering who had such ability to silently break the Restriction I laid down, and even prevent those little ones from sending out an alarm."

He stretched out his bony, withered finger and pointed at Li Dong across the air: "The Spirituality in your body... is very special, extremely special. It's much purer and more delicious than the impure Spirituality in those wastes. No wonder, no wonder it can restrain the demon flower."

Li Dong felt a cold aura spreading from the opponent's fingertip, trying to penetrate his body.

"Hmph!" Li Dong forcefully activated the Spirit Transformation Demon Suppression Seal. A golden glimmer flashed across his body's surface, fending off the cold aura.

"Oh?" A hint of surprise flashed in Qiankun Zi's eyes, quickly turning into deeper interest. "Interesting, truly interesting. It seems you are that so-called Perfect Dao Body? That fool He Tianzheng, by sheer coincidence, delivered a great gift to the Council."

"Old man, you know quite a lot!" Li Dong gritted his teeth, his mind racing. Golden Core Late Stage! This was not an existence he could contend with now! Run! He must run immediately!

"Trying to run?" Qiankun Zi seemed to see through Li Dong's thoughts, a cruel smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. "In front of this Venerable One, do you think you can escape? Obediently surrender and become part of the 'Holy Grail,' it is your supreme honor."

Before he finished speaking, Qiankun Zi's withered palm gently lifted, and a powerful suction enveloped Li Dong.

"Dream on!" Li Dong roared, activating the Puppet without hesitation!

This was his life-saving trump card, which he had exchanged for in the Demon Suppression Division's treasury and had been reluctant to use. He never expected to use it here today.

"Bang!"

The Puppet instantly appeared in front of Li Dong. A flash of light, and it took the seemingly casual grab from Qiankun Zi for him. The Puppet let out a mournful cry of unbearable strain, countless cracks appearing on its surface, but it ultimately blocked this fatal blow.

Taking advantage of this critical gap, Li Dong's figure moved like lightning, fleeing desperately towards the stone staircase entrance he had come from!

"Hmm? A Puppet?" A hint of surprise flashed in Qiankun Zi's eyes. "Little fellow, you certainly have a lot of good things on you. However, in front of me, all these are futile."

He didn't seem to be in a hurry to pursue, merely slowly lifted his foot and took a step forward.

With a single step, his figure blurred.

Li Dong had just rushed to the staircase entrance and hadn't even had time to catch his breath when he felt the surrounding space suddenly freeze!

Qiankun Zi's figure appeared like a ghost in front of him, blocking his path.

"Little mouse, the game is over," Qiankun Zi chuckled hoarsely.

The next moment, an even more terrifying pressure erupted from Qiankun Zi, transforming into an invisible cage that firmly trapped Li Dong!

"Domain!" Li Dong's heart sank. This was a signature ability that only Cultivators in the Golden Core Stage could master!

Within the Domain, twisted, viscous spiritual essence power permeated. This power, like maggots clinging to bones, frantically eroded Li Dong's Divine Soul, carrying an evil will that sought to assimilate and devour everything.

"Tsk tsk, this pure Spirituality is truly a top-grade tonic!" Qiankun Zi looked at Li Dong, who was struggling to hold on in his Domain, his eyes filled with greed and ecstasy. "With your Perfect Dao Body as a vessel, the power of the Evil Dragon Vein can be guided faster, and the arrival of the 'New Order' is just around the corner!"

"Old man, stop daydreaming!" Li Dong roared, fully activating the Spirit Transformation Demon Suppression Seal. Golden runes flowed across his body, emitting a pure and vast aura, struggling to resist the erosion of the evil power within the Domain.

Although his Spiritual Domain could also affect spiritual essence, compared to Qiankun Zi in the Golden Core Late Stage, it was like a firefly against a bright moon, utterly unable to contend.

"Resist, struggle! The more you resist, the more delicious your Spirituality will become!" Qiankun Zi was unconcerned, instead showing an even more excited expression.

He began to form profound hand seals, and black runes flew from his fingertips, merging into the Domain, beginning to set up some powerful Restriction.

"Little fellow, don't waste your energy. To become part of the Council's great plan, to become the initial medium to carry the Ancient Forbidden Power, is the destiny of your Dao Body," Qiankun Zi said leisurely while setting up the Restriction, as if Li Dong was already in his grasp.

Li Dong felt sharp pains in his Divine Soul, and the light of the Spirit Transformation Demon Suppression Seal began to dim under the suppression of the opponent's Domain.

He knew he had fallen into an unprecedented desperate situation.

This old monster was a true core high-ranking member of the Shadow Council, with unfathomable strength. Once captured alive, he would inevitably become that so-called "living Holy Grail," and his fate was self-evident.

"No! I absolutely cannot be captured like this!" A hint of madness flashed in Li Dong's eyes.

He still had a trump card!

In the core experimental data chip, that high-risk method for refining the Divine Soul using a small amount of spiritual essence, and the incomplete method to restrain spiritual essence... Although the risk was extremely high, now, there seemed to be no other choice!

"Old dog, if you want to catch this young master, you'll have to pay a price!" Li Dong thought fiercely.

He must escape! Not just for himself, but to stop these madmen's world-destroying conspiracy!

The night in the capital seemed even deeper than usual.