Chapter 139: Infiltration

The study door was opened, and an old man in a black robe was seen walking at the front, followed by a strong man named Quinlin, along with two male and one female ghouls.

Although the old man wore a black robe, he somehow appeared transcendent and wise, like a highly accomplished master. However, as soon as he sat down in his chair, one of the female ghouls behind Quinlin complained angrily, “Is this your result? What a load of rubbish. He just turned into a mad dog. If being revived from death means going insane, I’d rather stay the way I am now.”

“Enough, Alice.” Quinlin stopped Alice from continuing. His eyes turned cold as he looked at the old man and said, “Sir Yilezi, we traveled thousands of miles from Yutarn to come here, not to see something like this.

I trusted you so much that I put my own brother in your hands, but you turned him into a lunatic. I need an explanation.”

Fortunately, they were not speaking the language of the Westerners but were using the Great Qi Language to communicate with the old man, so Zuo Zhicheng held his breath and hid behind the bookshelf, carefully listening to the conversation.

The old man called Yilezi shrugged and said, “Quinlin, I told you beforehand that this kind of experiment isn’t easy to succeed. Especially when directly experimenting on you ghouls—it’s far more complicated than testing on small animals like cats and dogs.

Only by obtaining more samples from the ruins will I have greater confidence. You were just too impatient, pushing me to experiment on your brother.”

“But that ruin is impossible to enter!” Quinlin slammed his palm on the table in front of Yilezi. Although he controlled his strength, the table still shook violently, as if it might fall apart at any moment.

“The magic inside is too terrifying. I’ve already lost ten brothers, and if I hadn’t been lucky last time, I wouldn’t have made it out either.” A red glint flashed in Quinlin’s eyes. “And you said that the animals on this island have already been corrupted by the source blood. Relying on them, even without opening the ruins, you were confident you could complete the life-and-death transformation to grant us greater power.”

Seeing Quinlin’s anger, Yilezi just sneered and slowly stood up. His previously transcendent demeanor completely vanished, and instead, it became clear that his entire body was emitting waves of sinister black energy. In particular, his hands gradually disappeared.

No, it wasn’t exactly disappearance; rather, his hands transformed into two black vortices that circled continuously around the desk.

As the black energy from the old man pressed forward, the four ghouls, who had been furious moments before, stepped back cautiously, watching the old man warily, clearly wary of the black smoke transformed from his physical body.

Seeing this, Zuo Zhicheng’s eyes narrowed slightly. It was the first time he had ever witnessed Dao Arts that could transform one’s body in such a way. He thought with caution, “What kind of Dao Arts is this? It’s definitely not an ability at the Refining Life Grove level. There’s no mention in the first volume of the Daoist Canon of any Life Grove capable of this during Refining Life Grove. Is this old ghost at Forging Star River? Or Cultivating Heavenly Palace?”

However, the old man only used the black smoke to force the four ghouls back slightly, without actually attacking them. In a sinister tone, he said, “Quinlin, you must understand that we are in a cooperative relationship, not a superior-subordinate one. Don’t apply the methods you use within your clan on me.

I, Yilezi, keep my word: I will complete the life-and-death transformation procedure, but you must give me time.”

“Alright, Sir Yilezi.” Quinlin nodded grimly, clearly still dissatisfied with the outcome. “But we can’t give you unlimited time. Your lifespan is far longer than ours.”

“I understand. How about this: give me one more year. After a year, I will give you an answer.”

Only then did Quinlin’s expression improve slightly. Meanwhile, Yilezi slowly returned to his original form, the tendrils of black energy in the room withdrawing completely and reforming his physical body.

“Also, a year is neither long nor short. You must ensure secrecy, especially regarding Peter and the others’ recent disappearance and deaths. I suspect there are people from the Great Qi court hiding on that passenger ship. Until you find out the cause, you can’t go out to sea recklessly.”

“If the Great Qi court discovers us, and those Dao Sect monsters take action, we will all die.”

“The Dao Sect of Great Qi?” Alice sneered coldly. “They’re similar to witch hunters, aren’t they? We’re not afraid of them.”

“Do not underestimate the Dao Sect of Great Qi,” Yilezi said calmly. “Witch hunters are merely fanatics, but the geniuses in the Dao Sect are true monsters through and through.”

“Understood. Rest assured, Sir Yilezi. My siblings and I have plenty of experience fighting mages and witch hunters.” Quinlin replied, “And you can be assured about Peter and the others’ incident. We will resolve it properly. Until we finish investigating the true cause, we will not go out hunting again.”

“Very well.”

“Then please focus on your research of the source blood. I do not wish for any more brothers to become sacrifices.”

After speaking, the four ghouls slowly walked out. Yilezi also slowly sat down again, but as he was halfway to sitting, he frowned slightly and looked toward the back of the bookshelf.

“Hmm?”

That soft questioning tone instantly drew the attention of all four ghouls. Zuo Zhicheng looked down and saw a pitch-black insect had crawled onto his chest without his notice. The insect was only a few millimeters long but had a large ghostly face that took up most of its body.

The face resembled that of a newborn baby, wrinkled and scrunched up, perpetually showing expressions of resentment, anger, and fear.

Just a glance at it made Zuo Zhicheng feel momentarily dazed. However, having endured numerous trials, not only was his willpower exceptionally strong and his Power of Mind and Spirit refined, but he was also nearing the Human Aspect level.

So the daze only lasted a moment. By the time Yilezi stood up to look for him, Zuo Zhicheng had already decisively drawn his pistol and fired four consecutive shots, each aimed at the heads of the four ghouls.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Four shots rang out. Aside from Quinlin, the other three ghouls had blood splattering from their foreheads. Unable to react in time, they collapsed to the ground.

Only Quinlin tilted his head slightly, getting his jaw shot off. He let out a furious roar and charged toward Zuo Zhicheng behind the bookshelf.

As for the three fallen ghouls, their Physique Strength was too high—the bullets merely lodged in their foreheads without penetrating. In less than half a minute, they would likely regenerate and rise again.

Meanwhile, Yilezi on the other side sneered and rolled up his sleeves.