199: Chapter 199 Finding Clues to the Demonic Cult

A small bird circled twice above the dense forest and landed on the extended index finger of Lin Tian.

It had gray feathers and red claws, its black eyes rolling around, looking no different from the water birds in Yunhai Fishery that pecked at bait.

The only difference was the occasional flash of pale purple light in its eyes, which was the Mental Energy imprint planted by the Wanling Seal.

When he was blocked outside the dense forest by the Woman in Black Dress earlier, he knew that regardless of the outcome of the fight, the other party would eventually retreat to their lair.

Therefore, in the gaps while fighting and retreating, he separated a strand of Mental Energy to control this gray-feathered bird that happened to fly overhead.

With the Wanling Seal at the Minor Achievement Realm, controlling a common wild bird that didn't even count as a Vicious Beast took almost no effort.

The bird flapped its wings and flew away, silently trailing behind that group of The Black-Robed Men.

They carried the still-unconscious Young Miss of the Situ Family, walked for over an hour along an extremely hidden ancient riverbed deep within the Taixuan Mountain Range, and finally disappeared into the entrance of a valley between two mountain walls.

The bird paused for a moment on an old pine tree at the valley entrance, confirmed they had entered and not come back out, then turned around to fly back, passing through layers of dense forest, and returned to Lin Tian's fingertip.

Lin Tian closed his eyes, and his Mental Energy established a brief resonance with the bird through the imprint of the Wanling Seal.

The scenes seen by the gray-feathered bird flashed back one by one in his Sea of Consciousness—

The deep ancient riverbed, the steep mountain walls, the stone pillar carved with a tiger-head totem at the valley entrance, and the few dark sentries near the stone pillar who hid back into the shadows after the group of The Black-Robed Men disappeared into the valley.

"Situ Family, so you were hiding here."

He opened his eyes, the corners of his mouth slowly curling into a cold sneer.

The Demonic Cult had spent half a year staking him out; this "gift" was certainly not light.

"Courtesy demands reciprocity."

He turned and left, but this time he did not return to Yunhai Fishery, instead darting directly toward the direction of the Qixia Sect.

Qixia Sect, Zixia Peak.

Peak Master Su Hanyan was sitting in the Peak Masters Hall, reviewing the cultivation progress records for this month, the twilight outside the window casting flickering light and shadow on her profile.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up and saw Lin Tian walking into the great hall, dusty and tired, his robes still stained with fallen leaves and mud from the forest, and her brows arched slightly.

However, she didn't ask anything, just closed the booklet and leaned back in her chair, her tone carrying a rare gentleness: "Lin Tian, why are you back so suddenly? Is everything going smoothly at the fishery? How has your cultivation been progressing lately? Have you had any Breakthroughs in martial arts?"

"It's alright."

Lin Tian stood still in front of the long table, his voice steady.

"Peak Master, I have an important matter to discuss this time."

"Oh?"

Peak Master Su Hanyan sat up straight.

"What is it? Is there a problem at the fishery?"

"It's not the fishery. It's the Demonic Cult."

Peak Master Su Hanyan's expression changed instantly.

She pressed both hands on the long table and stood up, the gentleness in her tone swept away, replaced by an eagerness that had finally found an outlet after being suppressed for half a year: "You discovered traces of the Demonic Cult again? Where are they hiding?"

Lin Tian said quickly: "This Disciple accidentally ran into a few Demonic Cult Martial Artists deep in the Taixuan Mountain Range, followed them secretly all the way, and found their foothold."

Peak Master Su Hanyan was completely stunned.

After several breaths, her voice squeezed out from her throat, with obvious trembling: "You found the Demonic Cult's foothold? Where is it? For the past half year, we have united with seven or eight families and Sects, organized countless demon-hunting teams, and turned the Taixuan Mountain Range upside down, but we haven't even touched their shadows."

"At the last Elder Council, several Peak Masters even started to suspect that there was no such thing as the Demonic Cult remnants at all, and it was just a natural riot of Yao Beasts. I was almost shaken myself."

She took a deep breath, the excitement in her tone impossible to suppress.

"And now you tell me that not only did you discover the traces of the Demonic Cult, but you even found their foothold?"

Lin Tian nodded: "Peak Master, do you have a map?"

Peak Master Su Hanyan walked around from behind her seat, went to the bookshelf on the side of the great hall, opened a carved sandalwood cabinet, and took out a map wrapped in brocade.

This map was a detailed map of the entire Yunzhou Prefecture that she had treasured for many years, covering the mountains, rivers, cities, and roads within a thousand miles around the Qixia Sect.

Every ridge and every canyon of the Taixuan Mountain Range was outlined one by one with extremely fine brushstrokes.

Lin Tian borrowed the light of the copper lamp, his gaze slowly scanning the map.

From Yunzhou Prefecture northward, along the ridge line on the outer edge of the Taixuan Mountain Range, heading west, the ancient riverbed, the cliff, the three-forked creek, and then—his finger tapped on a small valley circled with red ink.

"It's right here."

Peak Master Su Hanyan leaned over to take a look at the position of his finger, and her brows furrowed tightly.

"Are you sure?"

"What's wrong? Is there a problem with this valley?"

Lin Tian asked.

Peak Master Su Hanyan straightened up, her expression becoming unprecedentedly solemn.

"It is very problematic. This valley is not an ordinary place—this is the valley of the Situ Family."

"The Situ Family has lived in seclusion deep in the Taixuan Mountain Range for generations and rarely interacts with the outside world, so it is not strange that you have not heard of them."

"But their name is very famous among the upper levels of the Sect and the higher-ups of the major families in Yunzhou Prefecture—because they are a Beast-Taming Family."

"Unlike the single-line inherited beast-taming techniques of the Han Family, the Situ Family uses the Blood Pact to control Vicious Beasts. Their Family has been experts in taming and controlling beasts for hundreds of years."

When Lin Tian heard the words "Beast-Taming Family," his pupils shrank slightly.

He immediately replied: "Haven't many Martial Artists been attacked by Yao Beasts recently? Could it be related to the Situ Family?"

Peak Master Su Hanyan was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"It should be. I didn't expect the Demonic Cult to join forces with the Situ Family."

"The Blood Pact secret art of the Situ Family can control Vicious Beasts in large quantities. With this power, the Demonic Cult can turn the entire Taixuan Mountain Range into their hunting ground."

"Attacking herb gatherers, ambushing Disciples on training missions, and intercepting demon-hunting teams—it was all the Situ Family acting on behalf of the Demonic Cult. It's just not clear whether their target is the Yunhai Fishery or other families and Sects in Yunzhou Prefecture."