Chapter 110: Clues

"Jiao Twenty-Five, did you find anything underground?" Jiao Eight's eyes lit up as he quickly asked.

"Everyone, please sense the area a hundred zhang below us," Jiao Twenty-Five said as he stood up.

Hearing this, the group released their divine sense to scan underground, and soon their eyes brightened.

Deep beneath this spot, there was a large underground cavity, clearly man-made.

"Good thing you were observant, or we might have missed this suspicious place." Jiao Eight narrowed his eyes and praised.

"Not at all. My cultivation technique is special, so I have a keener perception of underground conditions." Jiao Twenty-Five smiled modestly.

"Let's go check out that underground palace." Without further ado, Jiao Eight was the first to dive underground.

The other two members of Jiao Eight's team immediately followed, and Jiao Twenty-Five also went underground.

Soon, only Han Li and the other two remained on the surface.

Jiao Nine looked displeased and did not immediately follow underground.

Jiao Sixteen exchanged a glance with Han Li and also stood still.

Although the seven acted together, due to the earlier assignment, they had subtly formed their own circles.

"Let's go too." Jiao Nine hesitated for a moment, then his body glowed with blue light as he also dove underground.

Han Li and Jiao Sixteen also cast spells to enter the ground, and soon they arrived at the underground space.

The underground space was vast, at least several thousand zhang in radius.

The ground was very flat, paved with dark cyan stone slabs, forming a circular underground plaza that seemed quite empty, as if no one had been there for a long time.

Seeing this, the group looked at each other in bewilderment.

Han Li looked around the stone chamber and sniffed lightly.

The stone chamber was heavy with moisture and faintly emitted a bloody smell, surrounded by a very faint yin-cold aura.

He crouched down, and with a soft sound, his five fingers pierced a stone slab and pulled it out, revealing the dark red ground beneath.

However, this dark red soil was stained with a faint layer of black.

Han Li grabbed a handful of soil, looked at it for a moment, and then tossed it away.

"Jiao Fifteen, have you found something?" Jiao Sixteen walked over and asked.

"Not really. I just find this stone chamber somewhat eerie, with a bloody and yin aura lingering, as if many people have died here. The soil under the slabs has almost turned into yin soil." Han Li said thoughtfully.

"This should be where they disposed of their enemies," Jiao Sixteen said.

Han Li slowly shook his head. If one wanted to kill, anywhere would do; why specifically bring them underground and build a stone chamber?

Although he felt that something was off, he couldn't figure it out for the moment.

Meanwhile, Jiao Eight and the others were also discussing the purpose of this underground space.

"No need to worry. If you want to know why there's an underground space here, just grab someone and ask." Jiao Nine suddenly spoke, waving his hand to release a yellow light, which was a small yellow flag that flashed and disappeared into the top of the stone chamber.

At a certain spot outside the Red Moon City square, a middle-aged Nascent Soul cultivator in a blue robe of the Blood Moon Sect was patrolling the city, maintaining order.

Just then, the ground beneath his feet flashed with yellow light, and a large yellow hand shot out like lightning, grabbing his feet and pulling him downward.

Ripples of yellow light appeared on the ground under the middle-aged man, and the hard ground seemed to turn into mud.

With a "whoosh," the middle-aged man's body instantly sank into the ground and disappeared, and the yellow ripples on the ground vanished as well.

The surrounding people were focused on the pilgrimage, and no one noticed what had happened.

At the top of the underground plaza, yellow light flashed, and a yellow glow enveloped the middle-aged man as he fell, landing on the ground with a thud.

Seeing Han Li and the others, the man's expression changed.

However, he was bound by the yellow light around him, unable to move or make a sound.

Jiao Nine grabbed the man's head, and black light burst from his palm, turning into strands of black threads that directly entered the man's head.

The middle-aged man's facial muscles twisted, and blood oozed from his orifices.

Jiao Nine's expression was cold, and the black threads from his palm continued to pour out.

But at that moment, the middle-aged man's body trembled violently, and a muffled sound came from inside his head, as if something had exploded.

The light in the man's eyes then faded, and he lost his breath.

Jiao Nine's face darkened.

This man's situation was the same as that of the combined-stage cultivator captured in Tianshui City—his soul had been sealed with a restriction, and once the soul search touched certain memories, it would automatically explode.

"Even if we could search his soul, these low-level Nascent Soul cultivators wouldn't know much. There's no point in staying here. Let's head to the next Red Moon City as soon as possible." Jiao Eight said with a hint of sarcasm.

With that, his figure shot upward, and the three beside him immediately followed.

"Hmph, let's go too." Jiao Nine snorted, turned to Han Li and Jiao Sixteen, and the three also shot upward.

The group of seven quickly left the city and hurried to the next Red Moon City without stopping.

……

A few days later, the seven arrived before a city shrouded by a massive blue prohibition, adjacent to a huge lake.

Though called a lake, it was actually connected to the sea, an inland sea of considerable size.

Outside the city, one dock after another lined the shore, with hundreds of boat silhouettes coming and going, a magnificent sight.

This city was none other than the Red Moon City of Feng Province.

As it happened, this was the sixth Red Moon City they had visited in the past few days.

Yet each city was just like the previous Red Moon City of Lan Province—though there were islanders' pilgrimages and underground spaces, there was nothing else out of the ordinary.

The seven landed outside the city and blended into the crowd.

Within the city, two main roads connected the four gates, and at the center lay a huge circular plaza.

At this moment, the city was also packed with people; the plaza was filled with pilgrims who had come from all around.

Han Li swept his gaze with his Ming-Qing Spiritual Eyes and narrowed his eyes slightly.

Like the previous Red Moon Cities, there were no high-level cultivators here. It seemed this trip would be in vain—this was just another ordinary city.

Jiao Ba opened his mouth as if to say something, but a light breeze stirred beside him, and Jiao Jiu had already taken Han Li and Jiao Shiliu toward the city.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes, but he said nothing more and led the other three down another path.

After a moment, Jiao Jiu and his two companions arrived at a secluded corner.

Just as they were about to split up, Jiao Jiu suddenly said to Han Li and Jiao Shiliu, "There's an unwritten rule in the alliance's missions: those who play a key role will receive extra rewards afterward, often very generous. Though we have few leads so far, you must not let your guard down, and don't let Jiao Ba and his people get the best of this."

Han Li and Jiao Shiliu were taken aback, then cupped their hands to Jiao Jiu and said,

"Thank you for the advice, fellow Daoist."

Jiao Jiu nodded and headed off in one direction.

Jiao Shiliu greeted Han Li and quickly strode off in another direction, looking eager.

Han Li turned and walked down another street, his eyes scanning the shops on either side as if searching for something.

At this moment, the pilgrimage in the city seemed almost over, and many people were moving about, so he did not conceal his presence.

After a moment, Han Li quickly stepped into a shop on the street—it turned out to be a bookstore.

The shop was quite large, with four floors in total. The first floor had three rooms, each four or five zhang wide, filled with bookshelves.

Because of the pilgrimage, business was slow, and there were few customers.

"Sir, what kind of texts are you looking for?" A fat middle-aged man with a curled mustache under his nose greeted him with a beaming smile, apparently the shopkeeper.

"Do you have any ancient maps or geographical books? The older, the better," Han Li said, glancing at the bookshelves.

"Maps... we have some, but none very old," the fat man said, a flicker of something unusual in his eyes that quickly vanished as he replied calmly.

Though the flicker was fleeting, it did not escape Han Li's notice.

His heart stirred, and a layer of crystalline light appeared in his eyes.

The fat man stared blankly at Han Li's eyes, his expression turning dazed.

"Bring out your oldest maps and geographical texts," Han Li said flatly.

"Yes," the fat man replied woodenly, turning and walking inside.

Han Li followed.

After a moment, he walked out of the shop, flipping through a brown-covered book whose material seemed to be some kind of animal hide, looking extremely ancient.

"As I thought..." Han Li murmured to himself, a gleam of excitement in his eyes.

Half a day later, the seven gathered again, all looking displeased.

In this city, they had still found nothing; the underground space remained empty, with no clues.

"Where the hell is Gongshu Hong hiding? Do we True Immortals have to keep searching this island forever?" Jiao Ba's subordinate, Jiao Ershiyi, couldn't help complaining.

"No need to rush. Though Gongshu Hong is hiding, this is his lair. There are only a little over twenty Red Moon Cities. If we search them one by one, we're bound to find some clues. Next, we'll go to the Red Moon City of Cang Province," Jiao Ba said, turning to leave.

"Fellow Daoist Jiao Ba, wait. Regarding the whereabouts of the Red Moon Island Lord, I may have found some clues," a voice suddenly spoke up—it was Han Li.

Hearing this, everyone was startled and turned to look at Han Li.

"Really? What clues?" Jiao Jiu asked eagerly.

Han Li pointed with his finger, and a patch of watery light emerged, coalescing into a water mirror that displayed an image.

"Everyone, please take a look," Han Li said.

All eyes fell on the water mirror, which showed a map of the island. It was largely similar to the map of Red Moon Island that Jiao Ba had shown them earlier, but more detailed.

"Isn't this the map that Fellow Daoist Jiao Ba supplemented earlier? We've already seen it," Jiao Ershiwu snorted disdainfully.

The others also showed puzzled expressions.

"Eh!"

"Eh!"

At that moment, two exclamations of surprise came from Jiao Ba and Jiao Jiu.