Chapter 684: Blood Mist

The undercurrents of Qian Xue State Boundary flowed even more rapidly.

Meanwhile, Ink Paint, as the "behind-the-scenes black hand," was still completely unaware of this. He was now hungry and only wanted to catch a fish and get some divine remains to "fill his hunger."

Several days later, the fish finally took the bait.

Ink Paint finished class and was eating at the disciple residence when he received a message from Gu Changhuai:

"Over Jiang Long is dead."

Ink Paint said, "Truly dead or falsely dead?"

"Falsely dead."

"Caught the inside ghost yet?"

Gu Changhuai was silent for a moment, then said apologetically, "No..."

Afterward, Gu Changhuai explained the original cause:

"I had limited time and couldn't always watch, so I sent a person from the Gu family to pretend to be a prisoner and mix into Dao Prison, watching secretly from next door to Over Jiang Long."

"At the beginning, everything was calm, and nothing happened."

"But yesterday, close to midnight, the watcher suddenly felt his whole body turn ice cold, as if something had entered Dao Prison. At the same time, he felt dizzy and groggy, and fell into a hazy sleep. When he woke up, Over Jiang Long was already dead, his corpse rotten..."

Ink Paint's gaze slightly congealed. "Rotten?"

"Yes." Gu Changhuai said, "His body had poisonous sores all over it, rotten and festering and stinking. No one in Dao Prison dared to approach."

Ink Paint asked, "Can the identity still be recognized?"

Gu Changhuai said, "As usual, the flesh and blood were eroded by demonic energy, the face was rotten off, the meridians were all destroyed, and the spiritual power was also polluted. But this time the demonic energy wasn't heavy, and most of the physical body remained..."

Gu Changhuai sighed. "You can see that the dead person's height and build are the same as Over Jiang Long's, and he also has a water system spiritual root. There's still a fishy smell on the body..."

Ink Paint nodded.

This meant they had found a "substitute dead ghost" and used demonic energy to destroy the distinguishing features, leaving only the features that were the same as Over Jiang Long, such as height, build, and spiritual root attribute.

They had truly spent quite some effort in scheming.

He also didn't know who this substitute dead ghost was exactly, or where they had found him.

Gu Changhuai continued, "A sudden malignant disease with demonic sores all over the body, died in prison, basic features are the same. The Dao Court Division then closed the case and sealed Over Jiang Long's file."

Ink Paint nodded slightly.

All this was exactly the same as what he had heard from Jin Gongzi's mouth.

"Then what?" Ink Paint asked again.

"There's no 'then'," Gu Changhuai said.

Ink Paint clearly didn't believe it and said affirmatively:

"Uncle Gu, you definitely left a backup plan. You're hiding something from me."

Ink Paint understood Uncle Gu.

Although he was very "weak" in terms of divine sense and arrays, in the Dao Court Division, especially in the area of investigating sin cultivators and criminals, he was a genuine "old hand." How could he possibly let Over Jiang Long escape so simply?

Gu Changhuai saw through him and said silently, "It's no use telling you either."

"If you don't tell me, you won't be able to catch Over Jiang Long anyway."

Ink Paint said with confidence.

Gu Changhuai was startled, his gaze complex. Afterward, he let out a deep sigh.

He always felt that Ink Paint was like a "little fortune teller," able to calculate and predict, with nothing hidden from him...

Since that was the case, Gu Changhuai didn't hide it from him either.

"Outside the Dao Court Division, I also secretly sent people to watch. The next day at Zi hour, there was a corpse transporter who was transporting the corpses of several sin cultivators who had been executed to the extreme punishment out of the Dao Court Division to be incinerated. Over Jiang Long was among them..."

"Is there a problem with this officer?"

"No, he was unaware," Gu Changhuai said.

"Then... Over Jiang Long was incinerated?"

Gu Changhuai shook his head. "He was swapped halfway..."

"A funeral procession intersected with the corpse transport carriage. Someone took advantage of the officer not paying attention and swapped two identical coffins."

"Afterward, the officer transported the corpse to the incinerator, and the funeral procession took Over Jiang Long's coffin away to bury it..."

"After it was buried, I again secretly had people dig open the coffin and discovered that the coffin was empty. Over Jiang Long had also disappeared..."

Ink Paint was somewhat surprised.

This "stealing the beam and changing the pillar" method was indeed somewhat clever.

He silently remembered it. Perhaps he could use it later.

"Where was the coffin buried?" Ink Paint asked.

"On the bank of the Yan Shui River."

Ink Paint was startled. "So, this Over Jiang Long still returned to the Yan Shui River?"

"Should be..."

"Can we still investigate?" Ink Paint asked.

Gu Changhuai sighed. "A water system cultivator like him entering the river is like a fish returning to water or a bird returning to the forest. The forest is deep and the water is vast, leaving no trace."

"Moreover, he must have changed his appearance. No one can recognize him."

"There are many water system cultivators in the Yan Shui River, not a few. I could investigate them one by one, but doing so would definitely alert the snake and make it impossible to cast a long line to catch a big fish..."

"Oh..." Ink Paint nodded.

He also didn't waste words and said eagerly, "Uncle Gu, I'll help you find him!"

Gu Changhuai's gaze narrowed, detecting something not quite right. "Do you have some conditions waiting for me?"

Ink Paint pretended to be sad. "Uncle Gu, am I that kind of person? Punishing evil and promoting good is the duty of a righteous cultivator. I, as a grand Tai Xu Gate..."

"If you don't say it, then forget it."

"I'll say it!" Ink Paint said immediately, then sent out the pile of words he had already prepared:

"Just three small conditions: one clue about the human traffickers; support me with manpower and time;... and lastly, next time I can do the bounty first, and you can then issue a bounty based on the task content. This way, the process on the Dao Court Division side will be faster and won't delay merits..."

Fire Buddha's merits still hadn't come down!

The Dao Court Division's organization was bloated and the processes were redundant. Ink Paint harbored deep resentment.

Gu Changhuai inhaled slightly.

Are these three *small* conditions?

Which condition is small?

The person isn't big, but the tone isn't small.

"Impossible!" Gu Changhuai refused.

"Don't be like that. I didn't say I couldn't bargain..." Ink Paint said weakly.

Gu Changhuai's forehead ached slightly.

He felt like this child was haggling with him, a Dao Court Division officer, like buying and selling, starting high and offering low...

Gu Changhuai: "I can only promise you one."

"Two?" Ink Paint said tentatively.

"Just one, impossible."

"Sigh, one it is then."

Ink Paint reluctantly accepted.

Gu Changhuai said, "The matter of the human traffickers is a secret. I can't tell you. The matter of the bounty concerns the Dao Court Division system. I also can't promise you. But if you encounter danger or need support, I can help you with that..."

Protecting Ink Paint's safety was also his cousin's intention. In some sense, it could be considered for Yu's sake.

Gu Changhuai gave himself a reason in his heart.

Gu Changhuai continued, "During the next ten-day break, come to the Gu family. I will give you a secret order from the Gu family. This secret order can command the Gu family cultivators in the nearby two-grade small immortal city Dao Court Division..."

Ink Paint was dumbfounded.

Gu family secret order?

Commanding the Gu family cultivators of a two-grade Dao Court Division?

Ink Paint was somewhat embarrassed. "This... isn't it a bit too precious..."

"If you don't want it, then forget it."

"I want it!" Ink Paint said hurriedly.

It would be foolish not to take a bargain.

He just happened to want to grab the evil god's tail and also needed manpower.

Although Cheng Mo and the others would help, there were only four or five of them after all, and the manpower was insufficient.

Moreover, their cultivation was really low. They needed more training to be useful.

Gu Changhuai reminded him again, "This Gu family secret order is used for 'commanding' in my hands, but in your hands, it is only for 'saving your life.' Don't misuse it, and don't think of using the secret order to point fingers, coerce Gu family disciples, and make them do something excessive. They won't agree..."

"If I find out you're using this secret order recklessly, I will take it back!"

Gu Changhuai's face was serious.

"Mhm mhm! Rest assured!" Ink Paint guaranteed. "Absolutely won't do anything excessive!"

Gu Changhuai relaxed a breath after getting Ink Paint's guarantee.

"I'll tell you the other clues about Over Jiang Long. If you can find him, that's best. If you can't, don't force it."

"Good!" Ink Paint nodded.

Afterward, Gu Changhuai told Ink Paint all the clues, including where Over Jiang Long's buried body was, and where he disappeared again afterward, as well as the clues the Dao Court Division found while investigating the Yan Shui River.

During the ten-day break, Ink Paint impatiently ran to the Gu family.

Looking at Ink Paint's bright eyes, Gu Changhuai felt some regret in his heart, but thinking that he had already promised Ink Paint and couldn't go back on his word, he gritted his teeth and handed Ink Paint a jade secret order engraved with the character "Gu."

"Can only be used for seeking help and support. Don't act recklessly!"

Gu Changhuai admonished him again.

"Mhm mhm!"

Ink Paint pledged.

Gu Changhuai relaxed a breath and then gave the secret order to Ink Paint.

Ink Paint took this "Gu family secret order" and felt it was smooth, cool, and heavy in his hand, looking very precious at first glance.

Uncle Gu is a great good person!

Ink Paint thought in his heart.

Then he put the secret order into his storage bag but felt it wasn't respectful enough, so he turned around and put it in his own ring.

With the Gu family secret order in hand, moving around in the nearby two-grade small state boundary near the sect was equivalent to having "backing." His actions were more convenient, and his confidence was also fuller.

Ink Paint felt his waist straighten even more.

But after getting benefits, he had to be even more careful in his actions.

He wanted to help Uncle Gu... which could also be considered helping himself, by pulling out the "fake dead" Over Jiang Long.

He couldn't disappoint Uncle Gu's trust.

Especially not this precious Gu family secret order!

Ink Paint's expression was solemn, and he nodded.

After bidding farewell to Gu Changhuai, he went to see Aunt Wan again, ate a meal with Yu, and then Ink Paint set off, heading downstream along the Yan Shui River.

He was alone on this trip.

Because he was secretly watching and there were no merits to gain at the moment, he didn't bring Cheng Mo and the others.

Arriving at the Yan Shui River, Ink Paint found the grave where Over Jiang Long had been buried after his fake death.

There was no stele on the grave, just an earth mound, with some protective feng shui arrays symbolically arranged around it.

Near the river bank, the soil was half-wet.

Ink Paint didn't even need to dig. With a sweep of his divine sense, he knew the coffin inside was empty.

But the coffin still contained some remaining breaths, which Ink Paint could clearly distinguish as Over Jiang Long's.

His gaze was deep, and the heavenly mechanism appeared.

A wisp of causal traces extended from the coffin, floated into the river, and then disappeared in the vast river water.

Ink Paint again remembered the other clues Uncle Gu had mentioned, concealed his body, and checked along the Yan Shui River one by one.

There were indeed traces of Over Jiang Long in the river, as well as some faint white causal virtual lines, but they were all very faint.

Although faint, this also meant that Over Jiang Long was still active nearby.

Over Jiang Long cultivated water system cultivation methods and depended on water to live. This river was his second life, and the water paths within were his life path. It was impossible for him to go far.

Moreover, the most dangerous place was the safest place.

Ink Paint calmed his heart, found a place with the deepest causal line, concealed himself, and prepared to wait for the rabbit.

At the same time, he took out the several cultivation method secret books he had obtained from Over Jiang Long's body and quietly flipped through them.

First was the 《White Wave Art》 cultivation method.

Ink Paint couldn't learn this cultivation method, and there was no need to learn it, but the circulation routes, key meridian points, drawbacks, and shortcomings within all needed to be carefully researched.

Knowing yourself and knowing your enemy, you will not be in danger in a hundred battles.

Knowing Over Jiang Long's cultivation method would allow him to better restrain him.

Next was the White Wave Art body technique.

This was a water system body technique, but it was completely different from Ink Paint's Evasion-focused Passing Water Step.

The White Wave body technique emphasized the unity of man and water. When displayed in water, the person is like a fish, swimming freely without restrictions.

Ink Paint felt that this might be useful in the future, so he just learned a bit.

Time was limited, and there was no need to be too proficient. Being able to use it somewhat was enough.

There was also one, a secret technique to avoid demons in water, called the Drive Water Avoid Demons Method, which could allow a cultivator to avoid water-born demons in the water, as well as poisonous plants, whirlpools, and other unknown dangers.

In some sense, it was more like a "demon hunter" experience and technique.

Only this demon hunter wasn't in the mountains, but in the water.

Ink Paint was instinctively very interested in demon hunter things.

So this was also worth learning.

The cultivation world was vast, and learning was endless.

Ink Paint was just like this, flipping through these several cultivation methods and dao methods on one side, and splitting his mind to pay attention to the movements in the water on the other side.

The more he looked, the more he understood the Yan Shui River.

Just like when he first entered Da Hei Mountain, from strange to familiar, and then to knowing every blade of grass and tree in the mountain like the back of his hand.

Now the Yan Shui River was gradually becoming clear in Ink Paint's eyes.

The flow of the river water, the floating water grass, the swimming spirit fish, and the dangerous water demons lurking in the turbid mud, waiting for an opportunity to move...

Suddenly, Ink Paint felt a subtle connection born between himself and the Yan Shui River.

This section of river water also seemed to gradually connect with Ink Paint's divine sense.

The originally dangerous and turbulent Yan Shui River also gradually became "亲切" (intimate/kind) and familiar, just like the pond at his home...

This feeling was very mysterious.

Just at this moment, Ink Paint's divine sense moved slightly.

From far away in the familiar river water, a more familiar breath suddenly swam over.

Over Jiang Long!

Ink Paint could instantly perceive it even without looking.

The Yan Shui was vast, and the waves sparkled.

Over Jiang Long submerged himself in the Yan Shui River, following the water flow, like a big fish, swimming freely.

This gave Ink Paint an illusion.

It was as if he had released a fish, which leisurely swam back into his own "pond"...

Ink Paint's eyes brightened slightly.

In the Yan Shui River, Over Jiang Long followed the water flow and swam forward.

Ink Paint continued to conceal himself and followed Over Jiang Long in the water, walking along the river bank.

He walked like this for a long time. Over Jiang Long always stayed in the river, swimming with the flow, and never went ashore.

Ink Paint followed patiently.

He didn't know how much longer passed until night fell and there was no light on the water surface. Over Jiang Long then turned his head in the water and swam towards the shore.

Near the shore, Over Jiang Long first floated at the edge of the river and stopped for a while. After confirming that there was no one around, he安心地 (calmly) jumped ashore.

Borrowing the faint moonlight, Ink Paint clearly saw his figure.

The previous Over Jiang Long had a beardless face and a snow-white body, like a white fish.

Now he had the appearance of a man, with a dark and rough face, long sideburns, the same bare upper body, but with thick body hair, and knotted, dark muscles, like a big black fish.

On the surface, he was fundamentally not the same person as before.

Ink Paint hummed inwardly:

"Little one, you've changed your 'vest.' Do you think I can't recognize you?"

A person's appearance could change, but the essence of spiritual power remained unchanged.

This shallow change in the physical body couldn't hide from Ink Paint's divine sense at all.

"However, the big fish has finally surfaced..."

Ink Paint's heart was slightly happy.

After Over Jiang Long came ashore, he again looked around vigilantly for a bit, then took out several dead fish from his storage bag and put them in a fish basket.

Afterward, he carried the fish basket with the dead fish and walked towards the shore.

Ink Paint quietly followed behind him.

On the shore, the moonlight was slightly brighter, and clear light sprinkled on the small path.

The rough-faced Over Jiang Long walked forward with a single purpose, completely unaware that from the moment he left the river bank, an invisible figure, a small cultivator like a "water ghost," had been following behind him.

He walked for a long time, and the road gradually widened. A small fishing village appeared in front of him.

The fishing village was dilapidated, with old fishing nets and fish baskets placed everywhere.

A faint fishy smell permeated the air.

At this time, it was already night. In the quiet fishing village, only a few points of dim yellow light flickered.

Ink Paint was startled. He calculated the position in his heart and suddenly discovered that this small fishing village was the place the several fishing cultivators he had encountered earlier had pointed to when they invited him home as a guest.

Over Jiang Long walked straight into the small fishing village.

Ink Paint thought for a moment and also walked in behind him.

The small fishing village was poor, quiet, but peaceful.

Over Jiang Long was still walking in front, and Ink Paint followed behind him step by step.

Walking and walking, Over Jiang Long turned into a narrow, secluded small house and then the whole person disappeared.

Ink Paint frowned and released his divine sense to scan the surroundings, but found nothing.

"Where did he go?"

Ink Paint's expression was puzzled. Then he thought of using the heavenly mechanism to deduce and look at the causal lines.

His pupils were deep, and heavenly mechanism patterns appeared in his eyes as he looked around.

A stock of ice-cold evil energy suddenly appeared.

The originally quiet, dimly lit small fishing village was suddenly covered by a layer of faint red blood mist.

(End of this chapter)