This Sword Cultivator is Somewhat Dependable

Dantai Qingrun controlled her sword in midair, her divine sense released, enveloping the entire valley.

"We are here only for the two Golden Core Cultivators, Xuan You and Xuan Ming; it has nothing to do with the rest of you.

The Pacification Commissioner will come later to take charge of you. As long as it is determined that you have not committed any transgressions against the laws of Great Xia or the slaughter of mortals, you will be safe and sound,"

Dantai Qingrun's frosty voice spread throughout the valley.

Hearing these words, the expressions of the Xuan Ming Valley cultivators who chose to give up resistance varied.

Some breathed a sigh of relief as if a great burden had been lifted, some looked worried, already thinking about how to pursue their cultivation after their sect had fallen.

Among them were a few cultivators whose faces showed panic.

These were the unclean-handed evil cultivators.

Hearing that the cultivators from the Pacification Commissioner would take charge of them naturally made them extremely nervous.

Yet these cultivators carefully glanced at Dantai Qingrun, who hovered in midair, and dare not make any slight movements.

Facing the scrutiny of the Pacification Commissioner, there was still a slim chance to deceive, to gamble for a glimmer of survival.

But if they tried to make any small movements under the watch of this female sword cultivator, their heads would likely fall immediately.

Not to mention, there were six Golden Core Cultivators from Tiger Squad watching them closely.

So even though they were anxious, they did not dare to act rashly.

…

Dantai Qingrun's brows suddenly twitched, a thought crossing her mind.

Found it!

Dantai Qingrun's figure flickered as she dashed toward the location her divine sense had detected.

There was a barrier set up there, blocking the penetration of her divine sense.

With one sword thrust, she broke the barrier, and a pitch-dark cave entrance appeared in front of Dantai Qingrun.

Dantai Qingrun stepped in.

The damp air carried an almost imperceptible scent of decay.

A chill and viscid breath met her face.

Dantai Qingrun surveyed the dim cave.

What caught her eye were the distinctly separate Corpse Pools.

In the Corpse Pools, there were numerous Corpse Puppets.

The reason she had released her divine sense over the Xuan Ming Valley was to search for these Corpse Pools, essential for the making of Corpse Puppets.

Now the evidence was crystal clear, the two Golden Core Cultivators of Xuan Ming Valley were indeed refining Corpse Puppets in secret.

It is the responsibility of the Pacification Commissioner to capture and kill the evil cultivators who break the law.

Zhenjiang Tower would naturally not go to such lengths just to help the Pacification Commissioner eradicate evil.

It is not strange for evil cultivators to engage in forbidden acts, but if a large number of cultivators were secretly refining Corpse Puppets within the entire region of Zhenjiang Prefecture, the machinations behind it would be undeniable.

The goal of Zhenjiang Tower was to capture those cultivators with ties to the Underworld.

Of course, in the process, by also helping the Pacification Commissioner root out the evil cultivators who committed transgressions in Zhenjiang Prefecture, it was hitting two birds with one stone, an added bonus.

Yet at the sight of the Corpse Pool, a chill ran through Dantai Qingrun's heart.

For just one Xuan Ming Valley, the production of Corpse Puppets was already at an alarming number.

Over the past twenty years, what would be the terrifying number of Corpse Puppets refined across the whole prefecture?

The thought alone was chilling.

After wandering in the cave for a while, a flash of spiritual light crossed Dantai Qingrun's eyes—her divine sense picked up a vast and lively spirit from the outside.

They've come?

...

A colossal wooden boat stopped above Xuan Ming Valley.

The moment the wooden boat stopped, hundreds of spiritual lights leapt out and materialized into over a hundred cultivators after they revealed their forms.

Lu Qingshan glanced at these suddenly appearing cultivators.

The cultivators were uniformly dressed.

Those were the garments of the Pacification Commissioner's cultivators.

…

Dantai Qingrun walked out from the underground cave, showing no surprise at the sight of the hundred-plus cultivators from the Pacification Commissioner.

Because these cultivators from the Pacification Commissioner were precisely the ones she had personally notified to be dispatched by the Pacification Commissioner to take over and wrap things up before she took action.

The Cultivator leading the Pacification Commissioner landed in front of Dantai Qingrun and greeted him with a bow, "Dantai Tower Master."

Dantai Qingrun nodded in acknowledgment, "No need for formalities. Xuan Ming Valley has violated the Great Xia's prohibition, refining Corpse Puppets, and the Corpse Pool is right here within this underground cavern; the evidence is conclusive.

These lower-grade Cultivators from Xuan Ming Valley will be handed over to your Pacification Commissioner for your own investigation and handling."

The Cultivators from the Pacification Commissioner naturally had no objections, "Understood, your intervention was much appreciated this time, Dantai Tower Master."

The conspiracy of the Netherworld is of great significance and, given that many mouths make light work, to maintain secrecy, it's natural that the lower-grade Cultivators of Xuan Ming Valley are unaware of their Sect's collusion with the Netherworld.

As for the Corpse Pool, hidden by the efforts of Xuan Ming Zhenren, these lowly Cultivators are even more oblivious.

Zhishoulou's mission this time was clear and concise, focused solely on the two Golden Core Cultivators from Xuan Ming Valley.

But it's certain that these lower-grade Cultivators of Xuan Ming Valley couldn't just be let off the hook.

As the Sect's high-ranking Xuan Ming Zhenren and Xuan You Zhenren are so cruel and bloodthirsty, it's unreasonable to expect that all the lower-grade Cultivators of the Sect would remain untainted.

Among these people, there must be Cultivators who have disregarded the laws of the Great Xia.

But such matters should be handled by the Pacification Commissioner.

Zhishoulou has never been one to meddle in unnecessary affairs.

...

The many wicked Magic Artifacts of Xuan Ming Zhenren could not have been crafted in a short period of time.
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This shows that Xuan Ming Zhenren didn't start slaughtering mortals only after coming into contact with the Underworld Cultivators.

It is a cause, not an effect.

The Underworld valued Xuan Ming Zhenren's method of crafting wicked Magic Artifacts without detection over the years, despite being drenched in blood. That's why they contacted Xuan Ming Zhenren and collaborated with him, commissioning the crafting of Corpse Puppets.

In fact, the collaborators sought out by the Netherworld are all similarly evil Cultivators, filled to the brim with wicked deeds.

The reasons are simple and two-fold:

First, these evil Cultivators, with their hands stained in blood, once discovered by Great Xia, are beyond redemption.

Therefore, there's no possibility for these practicers of the dark arts to betray—they would only harm themselves and benefit others.

Why would such Cultivators possess the nobility to sacrifice their own wealth and lives to expose Underworld Cultivators?

Furthermore, the creation of Corpse Puppets requires the physical bodies of the Human Race.

This means that a significant number of mortals need to be abducted.

With so many mortals going missing, if the ends are not tied up neatly, it could attract the attention of Great Xia and risk exposure.

These evil Cultivators, who have long operated in the gray areas, slaughtering innocents to refine wicked Spells or Magic Artifacts without being detected by Great Xia, must have their ways and means.

To the Netherworld, these practitioners are undoubtedly excellent partners.

In fact, in the Corpse Puppet Chaos unleashed by the Netherworld in Zhenjiang Prefecture, most of the Corpse Puppets were crafted by the hands of these evil Cultivators. Only a very small portion were actually made by Underworld Cultivators themselves.

Having handed over the lower-grade Cultivators of Xuan Ming Valley to the Pacification Commissioner, Dantai Qingrun was no longer concerned with the matter at hand.

Taking the Xuan You Zhenren and Xuan Ming Zhenren, both bound by Spirit Binding Ropes, Dantai Qingrun returned to the Tower swiftly with the Jiazi Squad and Tiger Squad in tow.

...

Although they had set out almost simultaneously, under the guidance of Dantai Qingrun, Lu Qingshan and his group were the first among the Zhishou Guards to complete their mission.

After returning to the Tower and handing over Xuan You Zhenren and Xuan Ming Zhenren to the Prison Warden Office, Lu Qingshan's mission was considered complete.

Even so, Lu Qingshan and his group were not allowed to leave but had to gather in the Tower, waiting for the next command.

— While the capture mission at Xuan Ming Valley has come to an end, the assignment of Zhenjiang Tower has actually just begun.

The captured evil Cultivators are not considered members of the Netherworld, and they are not the true targets of Zhishoulou.

The reason for taking action against these individuals is simply because the Underworld Cultivators have hidden themselves too well, out of reach.

But with these evil Cultivators apprehended, it becomes possible to interrogate them and extract information about the Underworld Cultivators with whom they've been in contact.

Then by tracking down these leads, they can uncover the actual Underworld Cultivators.

...

As time passed, the dispersed Zhishou Guards gradually returned, one team after another.

Each returning team of Cultivators brought with them a few Cultivators they had personally captured and handed them over to the Prison Warden Office.

Given the distribution of personnel on this mission, it was feasible for the Cultivators dispatched by Zhishoulou to complete their respective tasks.

But there are no guarantees of 100% success in this world.

So, inevitably, one or two teams of Cultivators failed to capture their targets or could not apprehend them alive, bringing back only a corpse instead.

But this didn't affect the bigger picture.

Overall, the surprise capture mission launched by the full force of Zhenjiang Tower's Zhishou Guards went exceedingly smoothly.

What remains is to await news from the Prison Warden Office.