Official Brothel Sector, Shadow Plum Blossom Pavilion.

Xu Qi'an lounged lazily on the brocade cushion, wearing the Nightwatcher uniform draped over the back of his chair.

In the spacious room, six courtesans danced gracefully, their slender waists swaying beneath the light, gauzy skirts.

Behind Xu Qi'an, a maid massaged his shoulders, while another held his leg in her lap, kneading it.

The courtesan wore a gorgeous, intricately-patterned long skirt, her head slightly bowed as she focused on playing the qin.

Occasionally, she glanced up at Xu Qi'an, who was lost in thought.

After a stick of incense had burned down, the music faded away and the courtesans left the room. Fu Xiang rose gracefully, washed her hands in a bronze basin, and said wistfully, "So you're a Nightwatcher, Yang Gongzi."

"Disappointed?" Xu Qi'an replied absentmindedly, playing with his fingers.

The courtesan lifted her skirt and sat on his lap, her hands pressed against his firm chest, her smile alluring. "Do you like it?"

The main reason Xu Qi'an had come to the Official Brothel Sector was its proximity, not because he wanted to spend a lot of money on food and music in the Theater. And here, Fu Xiang gave him free services.

"How did Landlord 6 find out about my conversation with Landlord 9? Fragment 3 is banned, so other fragment holders can't receive messages from it, but can they still see them? Is this ancient book like a QQ group from the past...?"

"If I had known, I would have added everyone as friends after I bound with the blood. At the time, I was a little scared and just wanted to get rid of this hot potato..."

"The Heaven and Earth Society seems to have some connection with the Di Sect... Is the sect splitting?"

Xu Qi'an's train of thought was interrupted as he frowned at the courtesan sitting on his lap, twisting her hips and teasing him with her beautiful face and pitiful eyes.

She had a pair of charming peach blossom eyes.

"If you keep moving like that, this soft cushion will become a hard one," Xu Qi'an said, displeased.

A few minutes later, the maids guarding the outer room heard the creaking of the brocade cushion and the intermittent gasps of their mistress, who was trying hard to hold back.

"Oh my, they're starting in broad daylight."

"Let's go first, it'll probably last until dusk."

...

Guiyue Tower, Phoenix and Phoenix Harmony Room.

A man in black armor sat at a round table, holding a sword in one hand and sitting up straight.

The man had a two-finger-long scar on his cheek, triangular eyes, and his light brown pupils occasionally flashed with a fierce light.

He gave off the impression of a reckless hooligan who would draw his sword at the slightest provocation, with an intense aura.

He was a death row prisoner from the Nightwatcher's office, whose name had been marked by the current emperor, and his execution was scheduled for next autumn.

Today, he was suddenly taken out of the death cell by a man with a golden gong. The man told him that if he could complete a task satisfactorily, he would be released and allowed to take on the identity of a dead prisoner.The credibility of these words was very high. The list outlined by the emperor usually meant certain death and could not be pardoned. Finding someone to replace you was the correct operation.

Such "redeeming oneself through meritorious deeds" transactions were common in the Nightwatcher's office, and he had heard about them from his predecessors in the martial world before he was caught.

His task was simple, he only needed to make a trade.

But the man in black knew that there must be great danger hidden within. Otherwise, why would they need a condemned prisoner for such a simple transaction?

The man in black accepted this task for two reasons: first, he might as well take a chance since he was already as good as dead. Second, this was Guiyue Tower in the inner city, one of the busiest areas.

Ordinary people wouldn't dare to cause trouble in such a place.

At this moment, he heard two knocks on the door of the elegant room.

"The door is unlocked, come in!" The man in black responded in a low voice.

The door of the elegant room was pushed open, and a man dressed as a martial artist walked in, wearing a gray robe. Half of his face was hidden in his hood, and the lower half of his face revealed a shallow beard on his chin, just shaved.

Both sides looked at each other warily.

Ha, with this outfit, he definitely couldn't enter the inner city...he probably sneaked into Guiyue Tower and changed his clothes...there might be weapons hidden in his robe...the man in black thought half-disdainfully and half-cautiously. He heard the hooded man with a hoarse voice ask:

"Where is it?"

The man in black calmly stared at him and said lightly, "I seem to have said that I spent five hundred taels of gold on this mirror."

What kind of mirror costs five hundred taels of gold...he added in his heart.

The hooded man grunted and reached into his chest, taking out a stack of silver bills. The first bill had a denomination of one hundred taels.

Although he knew that these silver bills would eventually have to be handed over, wealth can be tempting. The man in black's eyes shone uncontrollably, and his gaze was glued to the thick stack of silver bills on the table.

"Mirror!" The hooded man placed the silver bill on the table and said in a hoarse voice.

The man in black carefully examined the mirror but did not see any magical properties.

The hooded man raised his head slightly, revealing a pair of sharp eyes like knives, and stared at the mirror on the table for a moment.

"Very well, the deal is done. Once we leave this door, we have never seen each other before."

He picked up the mirror, and the condemned man in black reached out greedily for the silver bills.

Suddenly, the man in black saw the hood of the martial artist's cloak flutter slightly on his left side...not good! His pupils contracted violently, as if exposed to strong light. Without thinking, he rolled to the side to avoid any possible attacks.The mission was not as simple as expected... Luckily, I was on guard the whole time... This is a master, I can't confront them head-on. I'll break the window and escape. I don't believe they will dare to kill in the city center... The thought flashed through the mind of the black-clothed death row prisoner.

At this moment, he saw the seat he was originally sitting in, occupied by a figure dressed in black armor, holding a knife with both hands and a scar the size of a bowl on their neck, spurting blood.

Huh?

A string of question marks appeared in the mind of the black-clothed death row prisoner, and then their consciousness fell into boundless darkness.

The cloaked wanderer took back the silver ticket and sneered before turning and leaving the elegant room.

...

The cloaked wanderer left Guiyue Tower and mounted the fast horse they came on, maintaining a steady speed as they left the inner city, then the outer city, before speeding up on the official road, kicking up a cloud of dust.

They galloped for over an hour until they came across a tea shed with three old tables.

The tea seller was an old man with white hair, sitting at a table drinking tea since there were no customers.

The cloaked wanderer reined in their horse, and the steed neighed and raised its front hooves before coming to a stop.

The cloaked wanderer took out a jade mirror and respectfully presented it with both hands. "Leader, I have fulfilled the mission."

The white-haired old man took the jade mirror and spoke in a low voice. "You have brought back an enemy."

The cloaked wanderer was taken aback, but before they could react, the old man waved a hand, sending them flying.

Bang!

The cloaked wanderer flew back and collided with a sharp aura, exploding into pieces of flesh and blood.

The old man squinted his eyes and looked towards the end of the official road, where a tall and proud figure was slowly approaching.

"Yang Yan, you are Wei Qingyi's lapdog." The old man coldly snorted. "Don't meddle in other people's business."

Yang Yan's face remained expressionless. "I want to meddle."

The old man became furious, and his emotions spiraled out of control. He shouted in a stern voice, "Then don't blame me for being impolite."

Black smoke poured out of his body, emitting a mournful and eerie cry.

Yang Yan furrowed his brow. "The Earth Sect cultivates merit, when did they start using these ghostly tricks?"

The old man's face was covered in black veins, his pupils turned crimson, and his demonic aura was overwhelming. "Heh, I'll send you to ask the Moral Heavenly Lord."

With a sharp scream, the black smoke rushed towards Yang Yan while howling strangely.

Yang Yan remained expressionless and clenched his fists.

Boom!

The violent aura centered on him, creating ripples that spread out, picking up debris and dust along the way before crashing into a thin black film.The sky flashed with black light, revealing a thin, slippery formation that looked like an inverted glass bowl.

"My Hundred Ghost Formation is easy to enter, but difficult to leave. Even if you are a fourth-grade warrior, you will be worn down and killed here." The old man's voice was hoarse, like a devil from hell.

In mid-air, the black smoke that had been dispersed by Yang Yan's aura gathered again.

Yang Yan frowned. This formation was completely different from the ones used by the Bureau of Heavenly Masters.

The Bureau of Heavenly Masters used the power of heaven and earth to create formations that could last a long time. Daoist formations, on the other hand, were set up using human power and could not last long.

This Hundred Ghost Formation was very tricky.

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In various cultivation systems, the Daoists were the masters of the soul realm. The sixth-grade Yin spirits of the Daoists, also known as ghost messengers in ancient times, controlled the life and death of mortals by hooking their souls at night.

This Hundred Ghost Formation was similar in nature.

Although warriors also honed their souls, they only added defense to make their souls stronger, lacking the relevant attack methods in this field.

"I heard that the eighth-grade Daoist is called 'eating qi' and can control magic weapons and summon thunder. Why don't you let me experience it?" Yang Yan's expressionless face was contemptuous.

"Here it comes!" The old man was angry again, and two blood lights sprayed out of his sleeve like blood-colored lightning.

Yang Yan did not dodge or evade, allowing the two blood-colored lightning bolts to attack.

Ding ding!

The two blood-colored lightning bolts only cut through his clothes, then bounced off.

As tough as nails!

"Why don't you fight back?" The old man was furious, his face covered in black blood vessels like spider webs, looking extremely ferocious.

"I'm waiting for my spear." Yang Yan said calmly. "It's here."

As soon as he finished speaking, a bright silver meteor streaked across the sky.

The thin, slippery barrier shattered with a sound, and the black smoke evaporated with a "hiss" as the meteor passed by.

"If you can't break the formation from the inside, then attack it from the outside." Yang Yan reached out and grabbed his spear, a silver spear.

After saying this, his figure suddenly disappeared, as if he had merged with the spear, and with an unstoppable momentum, he stabbed towards the old man.

In the blood-colored pupils of the old man, there was a flash of silver light that was unstoppable and irresistible, a spear intent that had been honed through countless battles.

The spear intent of a fourth-grade warrior.

"No!" The old man opened his mouth and spit out a golden pill that shimmered with blood and black light, and it collided with the spear.

The golden pill turned to dust in the spear intent, and the old man's body was crushed into minced meat in the spear intent. The silver light continued to rush out for hundreds of meters, piercing through a mountain and leaving a hole.

The old man's figure condensed in mid-air, half illusory and half real. He glared at Yang Yan with resentment, then turned into a shield of green smoke and flew away.

Yang Yan bent down to pick up a small jade mirror, carried his silver spear, and turned back towards the direction of the capital.

...

The black smoke flew hundreds of miles and stopped at a village.

The old man's face was faintly visible in the black smoke, staring at the village below.The Yin God cannot stay active for long during the day and without a physical body, its power is greatly reduced, unable to deal with potential crises.

The old man planned to take over a physical body and at the same time devour the souls of the villagers to nourish himself.

With his plan in mind, the black smoke slowly drifted into the village.

The vivid and lifelike village shattered like ripples in the water the next moment, and a multicolored merit bubble rose up, trapping the black smoke.

In the center of the formation, a ragged Taoist priest with distinct features sat cross-legged.

...

In the early morning, Xu Qi'an arrived at the Nightwatcher's yamen on time.

He was waiting for the follow-up to the "Book of Earth" incident.

Without knowing the result, he couldn't feel at ease.

As noon approached, a black-clad official found him in the side hall next to the Chunfeng Hall and respectfully said, "Master Xu, Duke Wei is summoning you."

Finally... Xu Qi'an nodded slightly. "Alright!"

PS: This chapter is longer, so the update is delayed. It was supposed to be updated around 7 pm.