Shi Lang returned to his courtyard and began consolidating his cultivation base. He did not come out of the courtyard until a week was up. He came out, groomed himself, and came to Mei Lingyao. The lady was sitting under the wisteria tree and watching Shi Lang appear, and she said, "Hmmm, your aura has improved."
Shi Lang bowed in greetings, and the lady said, "Do not grow complacent because you have broken through so early. To become an Immortal General, you must develop one hundred eight spirit weapons inside your dantian. All these weapons will be the same as the first one you made."
Shi Lang nodded, and the lady asked, "Why are you here?"
The terran replied, "Two things. First, how is senior sister Wen doing now?"
Mei Lingyao nodded and said, "She has grown calmer and more humble. She spars with the rest of her peers daily to learn from his mistakes."
Shi Lang nodded and said, "Second, I came to ask if updated credentials are in your custody. I need to accept the inner court tasks."
Mei Lingyao nodded, flicked her wrist, and tossed a token saying, 'Inner court' Shi Lang bowed to the lady and left the place.
The peak master did not stop him, and she knew that he was going out to seek some experience and get used to the new strength he had gained. Everyone had a path of their own, and she was also walking alone. Thinking about this, she closed her eyes and sat down in cultivation.
She had yet to reach the peak of her cultivation.
...
Shi Lang came out of the courtyard and rushed down the mountain. This time he entered the city in the valley and came to the mission hall. His speed was quick, but he did not forget to return the greeting of those who recognized him or asked for advice on sword cultivation.
The terran came to the mission hall in the center of the crown valley and was shocked to see the bustling crowd. This was the first time he had seen so many people in the sect gathered together.
He saw men with explosive muscles and people who practiced spears. The sect had no boundaries, as women with muscles were also there. The spirit heart sect advocated free practice. They did not stop anyone from taking any path but guided the disciples to select the most suitable path.
Shi Lang had not come here to accept any tasks when he was in the outer court because the outer court disciples all had a small building at the mountain. The guard disciples saw Shi Lang coming over, and one of them said, "Stop."
Shi Lang paused, and the guard continued, "Your inner sect identification, jade?"
The terran produced the jade, and the guard said, "You may go, but know that if you create a ruckus, the security will evict you from the hall."
Shi Lang nodded with a plain face, though he was thinking if this was how the security would be maintained. He shook it off and entered the building. He looked around and found many cultivators queueing up in front of many desks. The terran picked up a queue and stood there.
He did not talk to anyone but heard all the things that were worth it. The surroundings and the terrain information were the things he caught up to. Soon it was his turn. He presented his token, and the Elder behind the counter said, "This is your first time accepting a task?"
Shi Lang nodded, and the man said, "You gain merit points for every task you complete successfully and a penalty for failing it."
Shi Lang nodded, and the Elder pointed at a dossier. He said, "You can select the task from here."
The terran began to skim through and found a suitable task. He pointed at the task, and the Elder was surprised. He smiled and said, "Out for an adventure, kid? Do you know who they are looking for?"
Shi Lang said, "Tsu Zheng."
The Elder nodded and said, "Tsu Zheng, this guy is wanted for seven murders, and all of them are done with the same method, similar targets, and this guy has never been seen before."
Shi Lang nodded and said, "Thank you for your information, Elder. I will do what it takes to bring this guy to justice."
The Elder smiled and said, "I have seen a lot of people like you, fine kid, go ahead and try your luck. You will be given five silver coins and one spirit sword."
Shi Lang replied, "Elder, I already have the sword. Just five coins will do."
The Elder nodded and gave out the coin. He did not know that Shi Lang was someone who defeated a core disciple. He only thought this guy was a normal disciple who had just been promoted to the inner court.
Shi Lang did not say much and kept a low profile. He was never someone who liked the attention. After he left the mission hall with the relative documents, he appeared at the teleportation formation. He showed the disciples on duty the departure order and left the place.
The terran appeared outside the village where the investigation would be carried out. He walked up to the village gate and sensed the gloom. He found a guard standing with slumped shoulders and asked, "Brother, are you a native here?"
The young man nodded, and Shi Lang said, "I am from Spirit Heart Sect. Can you tell me where I can find the village chief?"
The young man raised his head and directly knelt. However, Shi Lang waved his hand and held the young man up. He said, "There is gold beneath the knees of a man. You should not kneel so easily."
Later Shi Lang learned that the young man was called Xiao Sung. The latter led Shi Lang to the village chief. The old man lived in the village's center, whereas the Village chief lived.
Xiao Sung said, "Village Chief, the Spirit Heart sect has sent an exalted immortal to investigate the plea."
An old voice sounded, "Bring the immortal master inside, Xiao Sung. I am coming."
Xiao Sung led Shi Lang inside, and the terran found that the house was made of mud and stone. Shi Lang sensed some movement behind him and turned his head to find an old man walking over with a cane in his hand. The old man bowed to Shi Lang, who waved his hand and used the spirit energy to stop the old man from bowing and said, "Elder, let us not waste any time. Can you tell me what you know?"
The old man nodded and replied, "Three months ago, one of the young ladies in the village was found dead in her boudoir. The cause of death was undetermined, and the old physician could not find anything either. The same thing happened one month ago. The village was in distress, and so we posted a request to the Spirit Heart Sect."
Shi Lang frowned and asked, "You all posted that you suspect someone, Tsu Zheng. Tell me why?"
The village chief replied, "There have been deaths like the one in our village in the neighboring villages. We tracked this trail of death back to the imperial capital and there have been similar deaths. The imperial investigators told us that the person behind all this could be Tsu Zheng."
Shi Lang frowned and began to ponder of the situation. He could not understand how did the imperial investigators were able to pin it all on Tsu Zheng.
From what he had read in the dossier, Tsu Zheng was a demonic cultivator, he hid among normal people and he did atrocious things to gain power, and when he gained them, he hid.
Till the last decade when he surfaced and now, none of the people has seen him, and expect for his name, not even a single portrait was available. Shi Lang could not understand how he was going to locate this man.
He asked, Xiao Sung, "Can you take me to the spot where the corpses were discovered?"
Xiao Sung cast a look at the village chief. The old man nodded and said, "Xiao Sung, you are to follow the Immortal master throughout this visit. Okay?"
Xiao Sung nodded and replied, "Yes, Village Chief."
...
Shi Lang came to the house a bit further away from the village chief house and Xiao Sung said, "Immortal master, this is the courtyard where the second corpse was recovered."
Shi Lang asked, "Did a lot of people came here?"
Xiao Sung shook his head and said, "No, just the physician, and the relatives of the dead. They cordened off the room where she lived after the funeral."
Shi Lang nodded and said, "Let's go, I will check the situation."
The two people came inside the house, and after a short greeting to the people. Shi Lang stood in the sealed house and scanned the entire place with his spirit sense. He did not find anything of value, so he cast a gaze on the communicator on his wrist and manipulated it to scan the room for any traces of blood.
After a few minutes, he said, "We have blood on the scene."
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