"This old servant has not yet asked, but it is said that the ancestors all came out of seclusion in a hurry and did not leave any words behind."
The butler answered cautiously.
"There are very few forces in the world that can infiltrate Zhou Tian City to assassinate a Nascent Soul level expert. They are the three major forces: the Demon Realm, the Demon Domain, and the Netherworld Palace."
The most likely location is the Netherworld Palace.
After calming down, the middle-aged woman began to analyze the situation.
She had a deep understanding of the power of the Netherworld Palace.
She had offered a bounty for the assassination of Nangong Yuanwu of the Nangong family. Later, the old man was almost assassinated in the Nangong family's territory, and it is said that he is still seriously injured to this day.
From that moment on, the middle-aged beauty became acutely aware of the horrors of the Underworld Palace.
Now that old man Gongshu Lian has been assassinated, the most likely explanation is that someone has put a bounty on his head in the Underworld Palace.
Only assassins from that place could infiltrate Zhou Tian City silently and carry out such an assassination.
Unfortunately, she is now under house arrest on Xiaoyou Peak and is not allowed to go out. She can no longer interfere with her many previous businesses and is no longer able to offer a bounty.
Otherwise, she would definitely issue another assassination mission to kill that old bastard Nangong Yuanwu completely and avenge her Yu'er.
Just as the middle-aged woman was filled with resentment, a voice suddenly rang out: "You do have some knowledge, knowing that it is the Netherworld Palace that is carrying out the assassination."
"who?!"
The middle-aged woman was taken aback upon hearing the unfamiliar voice.
The butler beside her changed his expression drastically and tried to stand in front of the lady.
However, just as he moved, he felt a sword aura filled with killing intent rushing towards him.
That sword intent was incomparably sharp, seemingly capable of cleaving even heaven and earth, making it utterly unstoppable.
The steward was shocked. His magic power had barely been activated when the sword energy pierced his brow, annihilating his soul and causing his complete demise.
The middle-aged beauty was taken into the Fire Cauldron before she could even see Lu Qing's face clearly.
After sealing the middle-aged beauty into the Fire Cauldron, Lu Qing looked at the steward whose eyes were dim and whose vitality had vanished.
The reason he killed this man was because he gleaned some information from the soul of the maid at the foot of the mountain, realizing that this man was also a worthless fellow, so he dealt with him as well.
After collecting the steward's corpse, Lu Qing did not leave immediately, but instead sent a wisp of his mind into the Fire Cauldron.
When he killed the steward, he had already sealed off the surrounding space, so that not a trace of his aura would leak out and he would not attract the attention of the outside world for the time being.
This secluded peak is usually deserted, making it a safe place for the time being.
Inside the Fire Cauldron, the middle-aged beauty was trapped in a spatial cage, feeling the endless darkness and nothingness around her, her face filled with panic.
However, she quickly calmed down.
As the direct descendant of the Gongshu family, although her cultivation level was only at the middle stage of the Golden Core realm, her knowledge was quite impressive.
They realized that they were currently inside the space of some kind of magical artifact.
"Not bad, as expected of the second wife, she has quite a bit of self-control."
Lu Qing's figure suddenly appeared in the void.
Of course, the image he presented was not his true face, but rather the one draped in a black cloak and wearing a ghost mask.
"Your Excellency captured me here instead of killing me outright, which clearly indicates that you have something to discuss. Why should I be alarmed?"
The middle-aged woman's expression grew increasingly calm as she looked at Lu Qingdao.
"Then guess why I brought you here?" Lu Qing asked with great interest.
"If I'm not mistaken, you must be the mysterious expert who assassinated that old man Gongshu Lian, right?"
"Yes, it's me." Lu Qing did not deny it.
"Your Excellency assassinated Gongshu Lian, so your cultivation level can be described as extremely profound. However, those old guys in the Gongshu family are not to be trifled with either."
They have now activated the Zhou Tian Star Array, making it difficult even for senior Nascent Soul experts to break through the city and leave.
"You've infiltrated the inner city, presumably to find a way out?"
The middle-aged woman stared intently at Lu Qing.
He appeared calm on the surface, but was actually extremely nervous.
She never expected that this incredibly terrifying assassin could evade the senses of so many patriarchs and infiltrate the inner city.
Unfortunately, she is currently trapped in the magical artifact space, and even if she wanted to secretly send messages, she would not be able to do so.
Now she could only pray that her guess was correct, otherwise she would still be of some use to this mysterious assassin.
"So, can you help me?" Lu Qing asked calmly.
“Of course I can. If you want to get out, I can help you!” the middle-aged woman said without hesitation.
Whether she can or not, she must save her life right now.
However, to her surprise, Lu Qing revealed a half-smile in his eyes: "You are very clever, but unfortunately, I did not come here to find a way out of the city, but specifically to find you."
"You came here specifically to see me?"
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman felt a sudden surge of fear.
She was about to say something, but it was too late. A surge of spiritual energy had already landed in the acupoint between her eyebrows.
Instantly, endless illusions began to engulf her.
Time passed extremely quickly in the illusion space. With the middle-aged beauty's soul and will only at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, she was completely unable to resist the erosion of Lu Qing's illusion technique.
So in less than ten breaths, he already knew the information he wanted to know.
Lu Qing withdrew the illusion and suppressed the middle-aged woman's spiritual power, but still did not kill her.
The main reason is that this woman also left a soul lamp in the Gongshu family's ancestral hall. If she dies, it is very likely to immediately attract the attention of the Gongshu family.
Lu Qing has an important task to do right now. If he succeeds, he may not need to take on so many assassination missions in the future.
Thinking of the information he had just obtained from the soul of the middle-aged beauty, a glint of light appeared in Lu Qing's eyes.
Without hesitation, his figure vanished again, merging into the surrounding atmosphere, and quickly stealthily moved in a certain direction.
With his ability to perfectly conceal his presence, coupled with the fact that the inner city was currently undefended.
Lu Qing soon arrived at his destination.
Returning to Xingfeng Peak.
This is one of the largest spiritual peaks in the inner city, and also the spiritual peak where the direct descendants of the second branch of the Gongshu family reside.
Qiao Rong, the middle-aged beauty in the Li Huo Cauldron, had been living on Xiao You Peak before she was placed under house arrest there.
Lu Qing came here for no other purpose than the treasure trove of the second branch of the Gongshu family.
He learned from Qiao Rong's memories that the direct line of the Gongshu family was divided into eight branches.
Although most of the clan's resources are controlled by the clan leader, each branch of the direct line actually has its own businesses, and the second branch is no exception.
Before Qiao Rong was banished to Xiaoyou Peak, she not only managed many of the second wife's businesses.
She even owns several private properties, which are her own private assets.
The Tianji Workshop in Canglan City of Xiaocang Realm was actually her private property.
Lu Qing also learned a very important piece of information from Qiao Rong's memories.
That is, besides the fact that most of the second wife's property income is in the hands of her husband, who is also the head of the second wife's family, a considerable portion is kept in a treasure vault on Huixing Peak.
Lu Qing's purpose in this trip was to find that treasure vault.
They stealthily made their way back to Xingfeng Peak. Although the peak was the residence of the second branch of the family, it was covered with many formations.
But this was no challenge for Lu Qing at all, and he already knew the location of those formations and how to pass through them from Qiao Rong's memories.
In addition, Qiao Rong's husband, who is also the head of the second branch of the family, is one of those dozen or so figures in the outer city.
Therefore, Lu Qing can now move freely around Xingfeng as if it were his own territory, and no one can detect him at all.
He quickly arrived at the treasure vault, and even took care of the visible and hidden sentries around it.
After that, Lu Qing began to cast various hand seals, which landed on the treasure vault door.
Immediately, the array's light began to flicker.
Just as Lu Qing opened the treasure vault, on the other side, in the sky above the outer city, the faces of the dozen or so Gongshu family patriarchs were extremely grim.
"Why can't we find him? Fourth brother, are you sure the assassin was still in the city before the Zhou Tian Star Array was fully activated?"
The white-haired, youthful-looking old man asked in a deep voice.
“Of course I’m certain.” The old man in black robes said with certainty, “Father, would I lie? Besides, I arrived in less than ten breaths after the assassin killed the seventh brother. There was no way he could have escaped from the city in such a short time.”
“But we have already searched the outer city three times, and we have not found any trace of the assassin. Under the detection of the Zhou Tian Star Array, even a primordial spirit master who has comprehended the Dao of Space would find it difficult to completely hide his figure without revealing a single clue!”
The white-haired, youthful-looking old man spoke solemnly.
The old man in black robes also fell silent.
To be honest, he couldn't understand it either. He clearly sensed that the assassin had disappeared nearby, so why couldn't he find his hiding place now?
Where did that assassin go? Could it be that his secret weapon for concealing his presence is a high-grade spiritual artifact?
“Father, there’s still one place we haven’t searched.” At that moment, another figure suddenly said.
"where?"
"The inner city," the figure said seriously. "Do you think the assassin might have sneaked into the inner city while we weren't paying attention?"
"Impossible!" the white-haired, youthful-looking old man said decisively. "When we came out, we didn't sense anything unusual in the inner city."
After they came out, they completely sealed off the inner city, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving.
Tell me, how could that assassin have broken through the defenses of the Zhou Tian Star Array and infiltrated the inner city right under our noses?
The figure was speechless.
He knew that what he was saying was very unrealistic, but apart from that, he really couldn't think of any other possibility that could make the assassin disappear into thin air.
The other figures were also puzzled, not understanding what went wrong.
At the same time, his face looked extremely pale.
If they can't find the assassin, doesn't that mean they can't avenge Lao Qi?
That would be a tremendous disgrace to the Gongshu family!
Just as the group of Gongshu family elders were pondering countermeasures with grim expressions, one of the figures suddenly trembled, and his face revealed annoyance.
"Second brother, what's wrong?"
The white-haired, youthful-looking old man immediately noticed his change and asked him.
"No, it's nothing," the figure said hesitantly.
"Why do you look so pale? Tell me honestly, what happened?" the white-haired, youthful-looking old man scolded.
"Father, the array protecting our manor's treasure vault has been broken! It must be that wretched maidservant causing trouble for me at this crucial moment!"
When the second head of the Gongshu family saw that his father was angry, he had no choice but to tell the truth.
"Your wife is causing trouble again. I told you to keep a close eye on her... Wait, wasn't she under house arrest at Xiaoyou Peak? How come she can still access the treasure vault?"
The white-haired, youthful-looking old man first gave a reprimand as was his habit, but quickly realized something was wrong.
A flash of lightning seemed to strike his mind, and he suddenly felt a jolt.
"Oh no! That assassin might really be inside the inner city. We need to get back right away!"
Having said that, he had already dashed out, rushing back to the inner city at top speed.
The others then realized the meaning behind their father's words.
As I subconsciously followed my father toward the city, a sense of absurdity arose in my heart.
The assassin really managed to infiltrate the inner city right under their noses. How did they manage that?
A group of people rushed back to the inner city in a great hurry. At this moment, they felt that the Zhou Tian Star Array was an obstacle.
Under the cover of the formation, the space of Zhou Tian City was extremely stable. Even a Nascent Soul expert who was proficient in spatial power could not unleash too much speed, let alone use spatial teleportation techniques.
Otherwise, they could have gotten back to the inner city even faster.
Damn it!
Among them, the second branch of the family was the most anxious.
If the assassin triggers the treasure vault's formation and destroys the treasures inside, it would be a significant loss for him.
"We must race against time."
On the other side, Lu Qing, who had already opened the treasure vault, immediately rushed in.
He knew that the array above the treasure vault was connected to the mind of the second branch of the family head.
Once it's turned on, it will inevitably alert him.
Therefore, the time he has left is very limited.
Upon entering the treasure vault, one is immediately greeted by a dazzling display of precious light.
But Lu Qing didn't have time to identify them one by one. He directly summoned the Fire Cauldron and the Universe Qi Bag, and used both of these magical artifacts to frantically absorb the contents of the treasure vault.
Many treasures in the vault were originally protected by arrays, but how could they withstand the power of the spiritual artifacts to collect them?
Suddenly, a fierce wind arose within the treasure vault, and various treasures flew towards the two magical artifacts.
A few breaths later, Lu Qing had looted the entire treasure trove, leaving not even a single piece of wood behind.
After doing all this, Lu Qing's figure transformed into a streak of sword light and flew away at high speed.
He could already sense more than a dozen incredibly powerful auras rapidly approaching.
