Chapter 579: Good and Useful Person

More or less understanding her meaning, Alain responded, "Yes."

After that, the plan was executed.

Once the eight people arrived in Yaoshan City, Alain, following the original pattern, stationed some of them around the inn and directly placed the others inside the inn where the ring was located, renting two adjacent rooms for close monitoring.

Shi Chun, staying in his room, had been observing the area around the inn where the ring was. As humans and demons coexisted in the city, he knew that without understanding the existing residential situation, he wouldn't be able to deduce the results he sought.

Once the additional eight demon cultivators were in position, Shi Chun knew for sure that his judgment was correct and that there was indeed something wrong with that ring.

He did not stay there long, but left the inn immediately and exited the city.

The woman in red, who had been carefully sensing with her eyes closed, soon detected that he was about to leave the city. She abruptly opened her eyes, which were filled with doubt. "How did he know they were already in position?"

Alain, waiting by her side, was puzzled and asked, "My Lady, what's wrong?"

The woman in red said, "Shi Chun has left. It seems he's leaving the city."

Alain was surprised. "So fast? Our people just got into position, and he already found out?"

The woman in red pondered, "This is the reason. I've sensed the environment in this area. His eyesight couldn't have directly observed the arrival of the eight. It seems there are indeed accomplices nearby assisting in observation. Someone must have tipped him off. This is probably also why we were exposed last night."

Alain immediately reminded her, "My Lady, if someone tipped him off, his accomplices must also be observing near the target inn. With your magical power, can you discern them through your senses? If you can, our people can follow them."

The woman in red pondered, "Let me try. Anyway, that fellow has left the ring, so he can't be pinpointed anymore. It's virtually impossible to track him again."

With that, she closed her eyes and personally began to carefully discern the area around the ring...

After leaving the city, Shi Chun directly rode his Wind Scale to fly away and temporarily landed in the vast green wilderness, where he met Wu Jinliang.

Upon meeting, Wu Jinliang immediately asked, "How is it? Are you sure?"

Shi Chun nodded. "That's right, we fell into that woman's trap. It's the ring's problem. We were caught off guard."

Wu Jinliang patted his chest. "That was close, so close. Luckily, your eyes have special abilities..." He paused suddenly, his expression turning serious. "Chuntian, since they can pinpoint our whereabouts, won't Granny Qi's people be tracked after the previous Soul-Reversion Tree handover? We need to quickly contact Granny Qi's side and tell them to suspend their operations. They need to find a way to separate themselves from the Soul-Reversion Trees we painstakingly found. I'll contact Bai Qiru right away."

Shi Chun, however, reached out and pressed down on his hand, shaking his head as a sign. "No need to stop. If we're being watched, we're being watched. Don't let Granny Qi's side know. Let them continue. If the Soul-Reversion Tree handover is truly exposed, we'll have to pretend we don't know."

Wu Jinliang asked in surprise and suspicion, "Over a hundred trees, that's the largest batch of Soul-Reversion Trees. The manifesting substance from the Soul-Reversion Trees left by Axun is almost gone. Who knows if we'll ever find more? Since they've already discovered us, why should we still pretend to be reserved?"

Shi Chun released his hand and tapped his chest, his expression showing a rare solemnity. "Damage to the Soul-Reversion Trees is no longer important. What I'm more concerned about now is whether our entry into the Underworld has been pinpointed and discovered. That's the real big trouble.

Why are they only observing and not acting? What are their intentions? We have no idea.

We need time to figure out their intentions, to figure out if that woman is targeting us for personal or official reasons, to figure out if we're overthinking things, to find out if there's room for compromise, and to find out if there's room for cooperation.

If the Soul-Reversion Trees truly are exposed, then don't tuck our tails in. Only by making them feel they still have us by the tail and can pull us out anytime will they have the patience to continue observing.

Once they discover any sign of us escaping, the situation might instantly fall apart.

Are we to hide for the rest of our lives? Even if we have to hide, we should at least wait until we complete our experiments on traveling to and from the Underworld, and until we are sure we can use the Underworld to escape. It won't be too late to show ourselves then."

After hearing this, Wu Jinliang sighed. "If the Soul-Reversion Trees really are being watched, and we don't let Granny Qi's side cut ties immediately, if the other party follows the trail, Granny Qi's side will likely be exposed."

Shi Chun: "It's still unclear how much that woman in red knows. If things truly reach a point where a price must be paid, the Bai clan will have to face it. No one intentionally harmed them. Before Granny Qi decided to get involved, she should have known that once things couldn't be controlled, she would have to face the consequences."

Wu Jinliang: "Will this implicate Huang Yingying, and thus implicate the entire Golden-Furred Rat clan?"

Shi Chun looked at the swaying Heart-Wrapping Grass around them. "We ourselves are at the mercy of circumstances, and even need to be prepared to be trapped in the Underworld for life."

Wu Jinliang sighed. "Alright, let's find a place to continue the experiments first. Damn it, they won't follow us again this time, will they?"

Shi Chun: "It's still unclear if that woman is acting for personal or official reasons. The ring might still be useful. You can discuss with Xiao Sheng later how to handle the aftermath."

With that, he unfurled his Wind Scale, sweeping up Wu Jinliang and a large sack, and flew away.

They dared not go to their old testing ground. This time, they wandered around and went quite far, exiting the sphere of influence of Divine Mountain.

They found a remote, sparsely populated place. After investigating and confirming it was safe, Wu Jinliang then cast an earth-burrowing technique and sank underground with everything.

Deep underground, another unfortunate earth wolf died. Its only privilege was being left a whole corpse.

Using their old method, Wu Jinliang cremated it, and Shi Chun gathered the smoke and directed it to the earth wolf's corpse.

Soon after, the void black hole opened again, and Shi Chun flashed and entered it once more.

Upon landing, he was already in that eerie, shadowy world, with darkness all around and no one in sight.

Shi Chun quickly took out his parent-child talisman to contact Lao Changtai: "Where are you?"

Lao Changtai immediately replied: "Boss, I'm still waiting for you where you entered last time. I haven't left."

Shi Chun understood. To wait for him, he had been waiting until the next day. He also didn't know where he was currently, and the lighting conditions were indeed poor for observation.

However, his right eye's special ability allowed him to faintly perceive a figure on the mountain diagonally opposite. He immediately replied: "Make some light so I can see."

Soon, a beam of sandalwood gold flame energy appeared in his left eye's vision, emanating from the figure on the opposite mountain.

Shi Chun immediately sent a message: "I see you. Look at the light on my side."

He then put away his parent-child talisman and took out a sandalwood gold flame energy stone for illumination.

The light on the opposite mountain peak quickly vanished, and the figure swiftly flew towards him.

When the person landed in front of him, it was none other than Lao Changtai, dressed in white.

To be able to meet again, though they hadn't been apart for long, Lao Changtai still showed some excitement. He cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Boss..." Catching sight of the dazzling flame energy light, he urgently reminded him, "The Underworld Envoys have been a bit sensitive to this area recently. This light might attract them."

Shi Chun: "It's fine. Come out with me first."

His method couldn't sustain a prolonged stay here, so this wasn't the place to talk.

As he spoke, he was about to grab Lao Changtai's arm to take him away.

Lao Changtai, however, grabbed his wrist instead and said earnestly, "Boss, are you still coming in? If you are, I'll notify Miao Xi first and have him arrange a suitable time to avoid running into the Underworld Envoys who might be searching here when you enter. Now that you've just entered, the Underworld Envoys will definitely come to search later. I've encountered them before."

Shi Chun understood his meaning. He looked around and said, "How about three hours from now?"

"Alright." Lao Changtai immediately took out his parent-child talisman, sent a message to Miao Xi, and after receiving a reply, he nodded and said, "It's done."

Shi Chun dared not linger. He immediately pulled Lao Changtai and soared away, entering the inter-realm passage in the void together.

After returning to the underground cave on the other side, Shi Chun instinctively drew his blade and with one strike, cut through the bundle of golden threads, causing the void hole to vanish immediately.

He then quickly used his right eye's special ability to check the surroundings for any problems, fearing that they were being watched again.

"Hehehehe." Wu Jinliang's joyful voice rang out, as he tugged at Lao Changtai, examining him up and down. "Granny, why are you dressed like this? Like you're in mourning."

This nickname was what their old acquaintances privately called Lao Changtai, derived from the homophone 'Old Lao'.

Lao Changtai was stretching his limbs, enjoying the comfort of the mortal realm. Upon hearing this, he also chuckled, and immediately pulled at his headscarf to explain, "This isn't ordinary cloth. It can mostly block Yin energy from invading the body."

Shi Chun, who had finished tidying up the site, motioned for them to sit and talk. After taking the lead and sitting down, he asked, "From the looks of it, that Ping Xi is still useful?"

Lao Changtai immediately nodded repeatedly and said, "Very useful! Boss truly has sharp insight. The person you introduced has been a great help. As long as the money is in place, he's truly daring! I've never seen anyone more practical in the Underworld than him."

Recalling that dark face, Wu Jinliang chuckled, and then couldn't help but ask curiously, "Are you saying others aren't greedy, only him?"

Lao Changtai: "It's not that others aren't greedy, but he's the most daring. However, there's a reason for it. His family of nearly twenty suffered a great calamity, and only he, who was on duty outside, survived. To prevent his family from hastily reincarnating, he has kept their souls from being released. This requires money to facilitate. He borrowed a lot of money for this."

Wu Jinliang was suspicious. "What does it mean 'not letting family members reincarnate after they die'?"

Lao Changtai tightened his headscarf with both hands and said, "It's exactly as it sounds. It's not that he's preventing them, but he doesn't want his family to hastily reincarnate. He said his family didn't have a good life with him in this lifetime, and he wants them to be born into a good family in their next life to enjoy prosperity. But this kind of thing really costs money. Think about it, even in the Underworld, it's akin to defying fate and altering destiny. It's not something just anyone can afford. Last time, Boss gave him one million, right?"

Shi Chun nodded. "That's right."

Lao Changtai couldn't help but pat his forehead and shake his head with a chuckle. "You two truly are something – one dares to give, the other dares to ask. Meeting Boss, he really hit the jackpot.

Here, they call that kind of money 'Liang'. Ping Xi's salary is already considered quite high, just over a thousand Liang per month. However, to arrange a good reincarnation, it costs nearly one hundred thousand Liang for a good birth. Given his salary, it's only natural he'd try to scrounge for money everywhere. When luck came and he met Boss, it instantly solved the reincarnation problem for ten people in his family.

That's why he really likes Boss. He often asks when you'll come again and if there's anything else he can do to serve. He also asked me to tell Boss not to be polite and to command him freely if there's anything needed. He can't help it; there are still seven souls in his family waiting for him to resolve their reincarnation."

Shi Chun was somewhat speechless at this. At the time, he had gathered from Miao Xi's reaction that the Six Realms Universal Exchange currency was very valuable, but he never expected it to be so valuable that a ground immortal-level Underworld Envoy's monthly salary was only a mere one thousand Liang. Giving him eighty years' worth of salary at once was indeed quite lavish.

Wu Jinliang also couldn't help but chuckle, and asked again, "As far as we know, the Six Realms Universal Exchange currency is all ancient money. The Underworld didn't even use this kind of money before it was sealed off. Why are they using ancient money again now?"