They knew full well that time was pressing. Once all the demon souls rushed out, the consequences would be unimaginable.
In this investigation, they not only had to retrieve the Leiyin Bell, but also to root out the mastermind behind it, completely cutting off the demon clan’s conspiracy.
After leaving Leiyin Mountain, Chen Ping and Hu Mazi headed straight for Qingfeng Town.
The token previously given by Xiao Cui was still in Chen Ping’s bosom. The information building corresponding to that token was one of the rare intelligence hubs in the Sixth Heaven that dared to delve into the secret news of various forces. As long as one could afford the price, there was almost no information they could not find.
The two landed in the alley at the east end of Qingfeng Town. Deep in the alley was an inconspicuous wooden house, with a subtle gear pattern carved on the door lintel, which was the mark of the information building.
Hu Mazi was just about to push the door when Chen Ping raised his hand to stop him, condensing a strand of spiritual energy at his fingertip, pressing out the same pattern as Xiao Cui’s token on the door knocker.
With a “creak”, the wooden door automatically opened inward. The room was filled with a faint ink fragrance. A woman dressed in cyan tight-fitting clothes, her face veiled with light gauze, was sitting at the desk sorting through dossiers.
She looked up and glanced at the two, her gaze pausing on the token in Chen Ping’s hand, her tone flat. “The information building recognises only the token, not the person. What do you two want to inquire about? Let me say first, if it involves secrets of the Divine Kingdom or core plans of the Divine Temple, it requires payment in top-grade immortal stones, and the information is not guaranteed to be complete.”
“We want to investigate the theft of the Leiyin Bell from Leiyin Mountain three days ago.”
Chen Ping placed the token on the desk. “Including all traces of forces appearing near Leiyin Mountain that night, abnormal spiritual energy fluctuations, and recent transaction records related to ‘demon souls’ and ‘seals’.”
The woman picked up the token and rubbed it for a moment, then took out a crystal ball from the drawer, pasting the token on the ball’s surface.
The crystal ball instantly lit up with blue light, reflecting a line of small characters. “Token personally granted by the master of the Fifth Heaven information building, first-class authority, can access intelligence from the eastern part of the Sixth Heaven within three months.”
She put away the crystal ball, turned around and pulled out three yellowed dossiers from the bookshelf, placing them in front of the two. “On the night the Leiyin Bell was stolen, the spies of the information building on the periphery of Leiyin Mountain recorded a total of three abnormal auras.
The first is the ‘bone-eroding black qi’ of the Sixth Hall of the Divine Temple. The spies discovered traces of black-robed people on the north slope of the mountain, they seemed to be restraining the patrolling disciples of Leiyin Temple.
The second is the ‘sacred pattern divine power’ of the Divine Kingdom. In the stream on the south of the mountain, remnants of silver sacred patterns were detected, consistent with the patterns on the divine guards’ armour. The third…”
The woman paused, her tone becoming a bit more grave. “Is the ‘heart-corrupting evil qi’ of the Evil Path Hall. In the grass near the bell pavilion, half a corner of a talisman painted with a skull pattern was found, the material of the talisman is completely consistent with that used by the branch hall of the Evil Path Hall in the Fifth Heaven.”
Hu Mazi suddenly slapped the desk, shaking the dossiers so they jumped up. “Damn it! Aren’t these three bastards always at odds? The Divine Kingdom looks down on the evil arts of the Sixth Hall of the Divine Temple, and the Divine Temple hates the Evil Path Hall for robbing their alchemy resources. How could they team up to steal the bell?”
Chen Ping did not rush to speak, but picked up that half talisman corner to examine it carefully.
The edge of the talisman still had a faint trace of evil qi remaining, identical to the aura encountered in the branch hall of the Evil Path Hall in the Fifth Heaven. But what was even weirder was that the back of the talisman was engraved with a faint sacred pattern, the style of that sacred pattern was seventy percent similar to the golden pattern seen on the Divine Kingdom princess’s skirt hem previously.
“This talisman is not right.”
Chen Ping condensed spiritual energy at his fingertip, gently tapping on the talisman. “The talismans of the Evil Path Hall never engrave sacred patterns, unless… someone deliberately grafted the Divine Kingdom’s aura onto the Evil Path Hall’s talisman, or these three parties are indeed colluding.”
Upon hearing this, the veiled woman handed over another dossier. “If you two do not believe it, you can look at this transaction record.
Half a month ago, a person wearing a bronze mask posted a task in the information building, offering a high price to acquire the seal rune structure of Leiyin Mountain, and the person who took the order had financial dealings with the Sixth Hall of the Divine Temple, the dark department of the Divine Kingdom, and the Evil Path Hall at the same time.
It’s just that the person’s identity is concealed, we have not yet found out his true face.”
