Qi Zhiheng was both amused and exasperated by Yang Yitian's antics. In any case, he wasn't the one consuming the fasting pill, and he thought with a hint of schadenfreude.

That night, they did not rest. Yang Yitian knew that a group of people would disappear every few days in this town. So far, about a hundred people had disappeared. There was no fixed number of missing persons. Sometimes it was one person, sometimes two, three or four. There was no regularity in the timing. Sometimes they would disappear every other day, and sometimes it would be two or three days.

According to the normal procedure for cultivators, they would definitely enter the mountain range to check the situation. However, Yang Yitian did not do so immediately. Last time, their sect went in twice and expanded the scope both times. If they continued to go in this time and expanded the scope to the entire town, it would not be good.

Yang Yitian turned his gaze to a woman in the group and asked, "Are you called Wu Yinyin?"

“Uncle, I am Wu Yinyin,” the woman replied quickly.

Yang Yitian nodded and said, "I heard that you were in the group when the sect sent people last time?"

Wu Yinyin admitted, "Yes, Martial Aunt, besides me, there's also Sun Zhong. We came along this time mainly to follow the Ancestor's orders."

Yang Yitian felt a little awkward. Why was he being called "Uncle-Master" by someone older than himself? It felt strange. He asked, "You came here before. Did you have any clues? Or did you find anything unusual? Why did the hunting range expand after you entered the valley?"

Wu Yinyin was also somewhat at a loss for words. She was one of the last three people to return, along with Sun Zhong. He recalled the situation at the time and said, "Uncle-Master, we don't really know why this happened, but I do remember what happened when we came in."

"Then tell me the specifics first," Yang Yitian said, thinking it would be good to hear the details first.

After receiving instructions, Wu Yinyin recounted the situation, starting from when they first received the mission.

When the ten disciples received the mission, they all assumed it was a simple task of hunting demonic beasts. Well, before hearing the town chief's description, Yang Yitian also thought it was a simple mission—killing a Golden Core stage demonic beast. It wouldn't be difficult for him; a set of talismans would make it a piece of cake. He had no idea there were so many complicated relationships involved, and he didn't even know what a demonic beast was!

When the disciples of the Slaughter God Sect arrived at Liuxi Town, some time had already passed since the incident. During this period, quite a few people had entered the valley, and even if they had gone in, they shouldn't have caused any trouble. Moreover, they were only active on the outskirts. Wu Yinyin expressed her dissatisfaction with the locals. Despite so many people entering the mountains, these residents felt that it was the fault of their Slaughter God Sect that the incident had affected the town.

After entering the mountains, they were attacked by an unseen opponent who severely injured them. However, they had no idea how it happened and couldn't sense any presence from the attacker.

Yang Yitian interrupted for a moment, then took out an invisibility talisman and a concealment pill. After using them, he disappeared from everyone's sight, but everyone could hear him speak.

"Is this what you're saying?" Yang Yitian said, then gently patted Wu Yinyin's shoulder and flicked out an ice spike, which lightly hit Wu Yinyin's body.

"Yes! That's pretty much it!" Wu Yinyin said excitedly.

Yang Yitian removed the talisman, revealing his figure. The talisman's power was not high; it wouldn't be enough to impress a Golden Core cultivator, but it was enough to fool a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"Judging from this, the other party may have used such methods. Could it be that this was done by someone?" Yang Yitian speculated.

The disciples of the Slaughtering God Sect exchanged bewildered glances. They hadn't considered this possibility before. Sun Zhong flattered them, saying, "Uncle-Master is brilliant! You've deduced the conspiracy so quickly. It seems someone wants to oppose our Slaughtering God Sect! They deliberately set up a trap to make the people in these towns distrust us, making them think that we're the ones who lured those monsters outside!"

Yang Yitian rubbed his nose: "Actually, I'm just guessing. It might not be true. We've only been in the sect for a short time, and you know more about it. Tell me, if there really is someone who is hostile to the God of Slaughter Sect, who could it be?"

One of the disciples of the Slaughtering God Sect thought for a moment and then said, "Uncle-Master, I think it might be the Divine Wood Pavilion that has always been suppressed by our sect."

Like the God-Slaying Sect, which has been second for thousands of years, the Divine Wood Pavilion has always been third. The Divine Wood Pavilion's combat strength is not very high, but their alchemists are very famous. Almost all the top alchemists are in the Divine Wood Pavilion, and most sects treat the Divine Wood Pavilion with great respect.

Qi Zhiheng had to interrupt, saying, "This might not be reasonable. Shenmu Pavilion and Lushen Sect are both major sects. There's no need to target them for such a small task. It's not like we're competing for resources in a secret realm. Such minor frictions are usually insignificant and won't have any effect."

"Uncle-Master is right! I was mistaken!" Sun Zhong finished flattering Yang Yitian and then flattered Qi Zhiheng.

Qi Zhiheng said, "Why don't we take a look around the town first? Since so many people have disappeared from the town, there should be some traces left behind."

Qi Zhiheng also wanted to take a look to see if there was anyone hiding here. Even if there was, he should be able to see it with his divine sense.

Yang Yitian also agreed with one of the statements.

The town wasn't very big, and Qi Zhiheng's divine sense was so vast that it could encompass the entire town. If anything unusual happened outside, he would be able to detect it immediately.

When Yang Yitian and ten disciples of the Slaughtering God Sect went out, Qi Zhiheng did not go out; he stayed in the house to spy on the town.

He didn't look into other people's houses; he mainly checked the streets. If it really was man-made, then he should be able to tell something from the streets.

Yang Yitian has already investigated the situation. If something really happens, then those who previously tried so hard to stop them should take further action.

Qi Zhiheng's divine sense enveloped the entire town, and his spirit was extremely high. Even if someone were to become invisible, he should be able to detect them immediately.

Under such a high level of spiritual power, Qi Zhiheng's soul power seemed to have become more acute, and he could observe things more meticulously than before.

In an instant, the chirping of insects and the gurgling of the stream calmed his mind. It was as if the world had become peaceful, and the sounds he had just heard seemed like illusions. Only the babbling water continued to flow, and layers of material energy flowed into his consciousness with the water. Seeing that his mind was somewhat full, this soul power that did not belong to him unknowingly strengthened his own soul power. Without any restraint, he swallowed it in large gulps, just like when he bit off the bodies of those remnant souls.

These experienced dry coughs were unlike the chaotic and hungry remnants of the Ten Thousand Souls Forest. They were pure and clean, making Qi Zhiheng feel exceptionally satisfied when he swallowed them. His soul power even had a feeling of fullness as if he had taken a Foundation Establishment Pill.

This description may be somewhat exaggerated, but it truly expresses Qi Zhiheng's current feelings.

I don't know how much time passed in this state of mind.

In the instant that Qi Zhiheng was in his mind, it was as if stars were falling, and a meteor shower was falling. In that instant, his sea of ​​consciousness exploded, turning the original river into a vast ocean!

His soul power has broken through again. He had a very obvious sense of breakthrough when he entered the Golden Core stage, and this time he has advanced to another level!

Qi Zhiheng never expected that this trip would yield such a reward.

When Qi Zhiheng opened his eyes, the once pitch-black sky had already brightened.

Yang Yitian and the disciples of the Slaughtering God Sect have returned after searching outside.

Upon seeing Qi Zhiheng awake, Yang Yitian quickly asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

Qi Zhiheng shook his head: "I'm fine. Did you find anything last night?"

Yang Yitian said with some surprise, "It wasn't last night."

"Huh?" Qi Zhiheng didn't understand what he meant.

Yang Yitian explained, "Today is the third day. We went out to check the situation the day before yesterday."

Qi Zhiheng was somewhat surprised. He felt like not much time had passed, but it had already been the morning of the third day. However, given that his soul power had broken through to a higher level, the passage of time was to be expected.

Qi Zhiheng asked, "Did you check anything unusual when you went out earlier?"

Yang Yitian shook his head and said, "It seems not. No one seemed to have gone missing the night before last."

Wu Yinyin said, "Could it be that those people are wary of us? Because they know that our two senior uncles are also coming, they dare not make any rash moves."

Qi Zhiheng nodded and said, "It's not impossible."

Yang Yitian said, "Nothing happened last night." Although they went out last night, one disciple remained at the residence to keep watch because Qi Zhiheng was there. Yang Yitian wasn't comfortable leaving him alone; Qi Zhiheng's condition didn't seem right, so it was no wonder he was worried. They were only out for a short time yesterday.

Qi Zhiheng thought for a moment. What happened when he broke through? It seemed that his soul power saw the entire town as if it were frozen in place, with only the stream flowing. Could his breakthrough be related to that stream?

Qi Zhiheng fell into deep thought. Yang Yitian noticed that something was wrong with him and asked him again.

Qi Zhiheng said, "I'll go out with you guys to take a look later."