I'll just have to make do with this for now.

"Stop fooling around!"

Looking at the two smug faces, Qi Yuan took a deep breath and said expressionlessly, "Describe the process of completing the mission in detail. If there's any more nonsense, I'll immediately count the mission as a failure."

"Uh..."

Hearing this, the Crouching Dragon and Fledgling Phoenix duo immediately fell silent and began to honestly recount their mission experience.

"It went like this. It'll be Junior Sister Shang's ninetieth birthday soon, and I thought about preparing a surprise for her to improve our relationship..."

Before Zhang Caiqiang could finish, Li Mingwang's expression stiffened, and he quickly pulled on Zhang Caiqiang's sleeve, saying:

"Wait, how did you know Junior Sister Shang's birthday was coming up? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Zhang Caiqiang shook off Li Mingwang's hand with great disdain and said proudly:

"Naturally, my relationship with Junior Sister Shang is beyond your comparison. You're just the most annoying of her many simps. Of course, she wouldn't let you know about such private matters!"

"I suggest you stay away from Junior Sister Shang in the future. What's your level? Her rank isn't something someone like you can simp for. Someone like me is more like it..."

Li Mingwang wilted upon hearing this, his face full of grief:

"I didn't expect Junior Sister Shang wouldn't even notify me of such an important event as her ninetieth birthday. Why... In her heart, am I still an outsider after all..."

While they were talking, the two suddenly felt a murderous gaze shooting toward them, and they both shuddered. Zhang Caiqiang quickly continued the narrative:

"Then I went to the Mission Hall to take a mission, planning to earn some Contribution Points to prepare a gift for Junior Sister Shang. But this mission was also spotted by this kid, Li Mingwang. We couldn't agree, so we decided to find a place to Duel. Only the winner would be qualified to take the mission."

"Unexpectedly, after fighting for hundreds of rounds, we were still evenly matched. The scene at that time was so intense..."

"Stop right there! That's not what I want to know. I'm asking what happened after you arrived in Puzhou City. Get to the point!"

Seeing the topic drifting further and further away, Qi Yuan was almost driven crazy. He was truly afraid that if he continued listening, he wouldn't be able to resist the urge to kill these two bastards.

"Uh..." Zhang Caiqiang rubbed his nose awkwardly and continued, "Considering the mission also required investigating the illegal activities of the Wang family in Puzhou City, we decided to split up and defeat them one by one after we arrived."

"At that time, I was responsible for pretending to be an outsider Cultivator in the Qi Refining Realm, looking stupid and ignorant, to make the culprit think I was an easy target and lure out the mastermind."

"And Junior Brother Li planned to infiltrate the Wang family as an Estate Guard to secretly investigate everyone in the family and collect evidence of their wrongdoings."

This sounds more like it.

Hearing this, Qi Yuan couldn't help but nod. Although these two seemed ridiculous in various ways, they actually had some good ideas when it came to business.

But then Zhang Caiqiang suddenly looked at Li Mingwang with resentment, his voice full of anger:

"To investigate the truth behind the disappearance of the Cultivators, I played the fool for several days. But I never expected that the one who would ambush me from behind would be this big-eyed traitor, Li Mingwang!"

Huh?

Qi Yuan was confused and looked at Li Mingwang with doubt.

"Actually, I didn't want to..." Li Mingwang rubbed his nose sheepishly, his words full of helplessness. "At that time, I hid my cultivation to the level of Qi Refining Perfection and successfully infiltrated the Wang family as an Advanced Estate Guard."

"Perhaps because I'm quite clever and good at socializing, I became familiar with the Wang Mansion's butler within two days."

"Later, that butler pointed out a way for me to earn Spirit Stones. He said that as long as I could kidnap a young and strong Cultivator, I would get two hundred Spirit Stones. The more I kidnapped, the more I would earn..."

Kidnapping?!

Qi Yuan was stunned. Could it be... "Damn it, you son of a bitch Li Mingwang!" Before Li Mingwang could finish, Zhang Caiqiang got anxious and started cursing. "Didn't you say it was a mistake before? So you did it on purpose!"

"Also, am I only worth two hundred Spirit Stones in your eyes?"

Saying that, he pulled Li Mingwang to Qi Yuan and shouted:

"Comrade, come and judge this. We're both from the Holy Land, but this kid knocked me out from behind when I wasn't paying attention and sent me to the Wang family's cellar."

"When I woke up, I found a perverted old man looking at me with ill intent. I was almost scared to death... Tell me, does he count as harming a fellow disciple?"

Li Mingwang shrugged helplessly:

"I, Li Mingwang, come from a prestigious orthodox sect, so naturally, I wouldn't kidnap innocent people. To continue lurking in the Wang family, I had no choice but to temporarily wrong you."

"I originally thought some female member of the Wang family was feeling lonely and wanted a strong man. Who knew the Old Ancestor of the Wang Family was such a scumbag? To prolong his life, he secretly practiced Evil Arts, extracting the flesh and blood essence of living people to feed himself..."

What?

The case of the missing Cultivators happened to be the work of the Wang family?

Qi Yuan was shocked. This was too much of a coincidence!

After coming to his senses, he asked curiously:

"What happened then?"

Seemingly remembering his heroic performance at that time, the anger on Zhang Caiqiang's face faded, and he said triumphantly:

"Although the situation was critical, I, Zhang Caiqiang, wouldn't lose face for the Holy Land. No matter how insane that old pervert was, he was only at the Golden Core Early Stage. I beat him down with just a few moves and let him know what it means for good to triumph over evil!"

While speaking, he pulled out a round head from his Spatial Ring and tossed it onto the ground casually.

"Look, I'm not lying. This old bastard is the Old Ancestor of the Wang Family, Wang Family Ancestor."

Qi Yuan looked down and indeed saw that the head had white hair and beard, with withered skin like dead wood. The eyes were still wide open, and the expression still held the look of shock and horror before death, as if he had died with grievances.

Truly, the net of heaven has large meshes, but it lets nothing through. It seems the Wang family has done so much evil that they deserved this calamity.

After pondering for a moment, Qi Yuan shook his head slightly, put the head of the Old Ancestor of the Wang Family into his Storage Pouch, and asked in a deep voice:

"How were the rest of the Wang family dealt with?"

Hearing this, Zhang Caiqiang gave a cold smile and said with Killing Intent:

"To forcefully prolong his life, Wang Family Ancestor murdered hundreds of innocent Cultivators. His actions were heinous and appalling."

"According to the rules of the Holy Land, those who practice Evil Arts without authorization are always exterminated without mercy."

"For this reason, we brothers did a thorough screening. Including the Head of the Wang Family, all those in the know were executed. They have now gone to the underworld to continue serving their Old Ancestor."

"As for the other Wang family members who were kept in the dark, although they were spared from the death penalty, they are no longer fit to be Cultivators. All those with cultivation Aptitude must have their Spiritual Roots removed and their Dantians destroyed to eliminate any future trouble!"