173: Chapter 172 Chaoju City

Strange legends began to circulate in Chaoju City.

First, a small squad leader from the North District patrol team went missing.

It was a shrimp soldier at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, who usually threw its weight around, embezzled its subordinates' stipends, and forcibly seized weak Yao Beasts, doing all sorts of evil deeds.

On the night it disappeared, someone heard a muffled sound on its patrol route, and then there was nothing more.

The next day, its corpse was found lying in a dark alley; its head was gone, and the Storage Pouch on its body had been turned inside out, with not a single valuable item left.

Everyone applauded and rejoiced, but no one knew who had done it.

Then came the guards of the East District warehouse.

Three crab generals at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, responsible for guarding the supplies levied by the Great Demon Lord.

They died at their posts, their carapaces blown open from the inside by something, shattered all over the ground, and many crates of supplies next to the corpses were missing.

There were no signs of the warehouse door being pried open, and the patrol team outside had not detected any abnormalities.

It was as if the murderer had appeared out of thin air and vanished just as suddenly.

Next was a sea snake at the Early Golden Core Stage in the South District.

It was a true villain, specifically responsible for suppressing weak Yao Beasts that did not submit to the Great Demon Lord's rule, and its hands were stained with the blood of its own kind. Its death was the most bizarre—it died in its own Immortal Cave without a single wound on its body, yet its Divine Soul had completely dissipated.

Its Immortal Cave was protected by a Formation, and outsiders simply could not enter.

But the murderer had gone in, killed it, and left, with the Formation remaining intact.

The most sensational incident was on the sixth day.

A sea snake at the Golden Core Perfection, a capable subordinate under the Great Demon Lord, died on the way back to its residence from the Central Divine Temple.

Its corpse lay in the middle of the road, its body charred black, as if it had been scorched by something high-temperature.

Its Golden Core was gone, and its Storage Pouch was also missing.

It had the highest cultivation level, and it died the most miserably.

The entire Chaoju City was shaken.

These legends spread wider and became more and more outrageous.

Some said the Human Race had sent an assassin to infiltrate Chaoju City specifically to assassinate the Yao Beasts loyal to the Great Demon Lord.

Some said it was a test from the Great Demon Lord himself to see who was sincere and who was fake.

Others said it wasn't an assassin at all, but a Yao Beast that had been bullied for many years seeking revenge in secret, killing only those who were usually wicked.

Regardless of which version was true, one thing was common—the people of Chaoju City were in a state of panic.

Those Yao Beasts who usually relied on the Great Demon Lord's power to bully their own kind were all too scared to go out.

Some hid in their Immortal Caves, turning their Formations to the maximum; some simply fled outside the city, hiding in the crevices of nearby reefs; some even proactively applied to the patrol team for a transfer to leave this place of trouble.

As for those bottom-tier Yao Beasts who were already being bullied, they kept a straight face on the surface but were secretly applauding and rejoicing.

These were all Yun Ming's handiwork.

He had infiltrated Chaoju City for several days, hiding in the shadows during the day and coming out to operate at night.

He specifically targeted those Yao Beasts who committed evil deeds—those who embezzled from their own kind, bullied the weak, and had hands stained with the blood of the innocent.

He did not kill civilians, nor did he kill those Yao Beasts who were forced to work for the Great Demon Lord just to survive.

He was a human, not a beast, and he could not do the same things as these Yao Beasts.

He killed cleanly and discreetly.

The Fuli Heaven-Concealing Record allowed him to move as if in an empty realm, the blood-transforming eerie glow needle let his targets die silently, and the cauldron of all things mother qi left those Yao Beasts at the Golden Core Stage without even a chance to call for help.

He traveled through the darkness like a silent blade, slicing at the throats of those villains one by one.

The news finally reached the Central Divine Temple.

The Great Demon Lord was rarely angered.

The entire Central Divine Temple was trembling; the halls built with whale ribs and giant turtle shells groaned under the terrifying pressure, as if they would collapse at any moment.

The deep blue light flickered uncertainly, and the cracks on the walls spread like spiderwebs.

Several Golden Core Perfection Yao Beasts knelt in the main hall, their heads bowed to the ground, their bodies shaking like chaff sieves.

They dared not look up, dared not make a sound, and even suppressed their breathing to the lightest level.

"Trash! A bunch of trash!" The Great Demon Lord's voice came from the depths of the main hall, deep and resonant, making the ears of the kneeling Yao Beasts ring. "You can't even catch one assassin, letting him kill for so many days—what are you good for?!"

No one dared to answer.

A Golden Core Perfection octopus Yao Beast wanted to say something, but as soon as it opened its mouth, an invisible force grabbed its throat and lifted it up.

Its tentacles flailed desperately, its eyes bulged, and it made wheezing sounds in its mouth.

That force lasted for a few breaths before releasing, and it fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

"I will give you one more chance." The Great Demon Lord's voice turned cold. "If you cannot find that assassin, you don't need to come back."

The several Golden Core Perfection Yao Beasts knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.

A giant old turtle crawled out from the ranks.

Its shell was covered in moss and barnacles, and one could tell it had lived for who knows how many years.

It lay there, its voice slow and deep: "Master, this subordinate has a plan."

The Great Demon Lord did not speak, but the suffocating pressure eased slightly.

The old turtle said slowly: "Chaoju City is covered by Master's Void Water Curtain; outsiders cannot enter, and those inside cannot leave. That assassin must still be in the city. As long as Master permits this subordinate to lead people to search house by house, every household, every corner, searching inch by inch, we will definitely be able to ferret him out."

The main hall was silent for a moment.

The other Golden Core Perfection Yao Beasts secretly looked up, looking at the old turtle, and then at the blurry figure in the depths of the main hall.

The Void Water Curtain was the city-protecting Formation personally set up by the Great Demon Lord, covering the entire Chaoju City; not even an ant could crawl out.

How had they not thought of this before?

The Great Demon Lord was silent for a while longer, then spoke, his voice much calmer than before: "You go and investigate. If you find him, you will be heavily rewarded."

The old turtle kowtowed: "Thank you, Master."

When it retreated, its movements were slow but steady.

The other Golden Core Perfection Yao Beasts remained kneeling on the ground, not daring to move.

The Great Demon Lord's gaze fell upon them, and his voice regained that unquestionable majesty: "Leave the matter of the assassin to the old turtle. As for you, prepare to attack the Human Race. I am not far from a Breakthrough and need a large amount of blood food. You are to take all the forces under your command and launch an all-out attack on the coastline of the Human Race; strike as far as you can and kill as many as you can. I need to accumulate enough Qi and blood before the great war."

The several Golden Core Perfection Yao Beasts were revitalized and replied in unison: "Yes!" They exited the main hall one after another, each going to prepare.

Attacking the Human Race was their specialty.

Killing, eating people, and plundering—they were better at these things than anyone else.

Compared to catching an assassin who came and went without a trace in the city, such things were much simpler.

Yun Ming did not know what had happened in the Central Divine Temple.

He was busy ransacking another treasury.

This was the third treasury he had discovered.

It was hidden in an inconspicuous seashell house in the South District; it looked dilapidated on the outside, but inside, it was a different world.

The main gate was made of a single giant turtle shell, engraved with numerous Restrictions.

Yun Ming lightly sliced with his array-breaking sword; the Restrictions shattered, and the door opened.

The things inside made his eyes light up.

Spirit Stones were piled into a small mountain.

Those Spirit Stones emitted a warm, gentle glow, illuminating the entire secret chamber as bright as day.

A rough count showed at least tens of thousands.

Tens of thousands of High-Grade Spirit Stones; converted to Low-Grade Spirit Stones, that would be billions.

This number even made Yun Ming pause for a moment.

There were also plenty of Medicinal Pills, stacked neatly in crates, with labels stuck on the pill bottles, such as "qi condensing pill", "peiyuan pill", and "barrier-breaking pill", with grades ranging from Tier 2 to Tier 3.

There were also some Heaven And Earth Treasure—corals, pearls, seabed spirit ores, and Materials from unknown Yao Beasts—piled in a corner, covered in a thin layer of dust, clearly having been neglected for a long time.

This Great Demon Lord was truly wealthy.

Yun Ming did not stand on ceremony.

He swept everything away and collected it all into the map of mountains and rivers.

Spirit Stones, Medicinal Pills, Materials—not a single thing was left behind.

He even dismantled that giant turtle shell door and took it with him; good stuff, might come in handy later.

When he walked out of the treasury, it was quiet outside, and no one noticed. The Fuli Heaven-Concealing Record concealed his aura tightly, and he traveled through the darkness like a ghost.