Li Wei walked through the small manor.

Though the manor was small, it had all the amenities.

A garden, a small pond, a lawn, a small plaza.

It had everything.

Lair sat on a large mahogany chair. Standing before him was the manor’s owner, a down-on-his-luck nobleman.

"Mage Lair, I’ve really done my best this month."

"People are investigating everywhere. I was almost discovered last time. Luckily, I know the patrolling Guard Captain. I paid him off to cover for me."

The nobleman showed a completely subservient attitude in front of Lair.

Lair didn’t even glance at him. "I’ll give you two more days. Bring me at least three living people."

"I don’t care what methods you use. The ritual must be completed this month."

"You don’t want the Power inside you to spiral out of control, do you?"

Hearing this, the nobleman gritted his teeth and said, "Fine. I’ll find a way."

Li Wei stood outside the door. Hearing their conversation, his eyes narrowed.

’It seems this isn’t the first time Lair has used live sacrifices.’

Li Wei didn’t rush to act.

Acting now would be pointless.

He had to catch him red-handed to solidify the evidence of Lair’s crimes.

Lair stayed in the manor for a little while longer before getting up to leave.

Li Wei followed him, growing more alarmed the further he went.

’Lair has already managed to control so many nobles to do his bidding.’

’This is a major incident.’

After a moment of thought, Li Wei turned and headed back to the Mage Tower.

He found Gu Ze.

Gu Ze was about to leave Maple City soon.

’I’ll give him a grand farewell gift.’

’At the very least, it’ll ensure he won’t have to worry about Cultivation resources for a while after leaving Maple City.’

"Teacher Gu Ze, I’ve made a huge discovery. Come with me."

"Remember to bring a Memory Crystal."

A moment later, Gu Ze found Li Wei, Memory Crystal in hand.

He asked, a little puzzled, "What are you talking about?"

Li Wei said, "I’ve found a lead on some Evil God Cultists involving three noble families."

Gu Ze was astonished. "This is huge. Why didn’t you report it up the chain?"

Li Wei replied, "There are too many eyes and ears. If they have spies in the Mage Tower, the news will leak."

"We don’t have any evidence yet, so we can’t convict them."

"They’ll be holding a wicked ritual within the next two days at the latest. Once the Memory Crystal has recorded evidence of their crimes, we can make our move."

Hearing this, Gu Ze nodded.

"Then we’ll do as you say. What’s the plan now?"

"First, we’ll tail them and see how many others are involved."

"Teacher Gu Ze, you’ll follow Feite of the Jorlsman Clan."

Li Wei produced a portrait created with the Illusion Technique for Gu Ze to see.

This was so he could memorize the target.

Gu Ze glanced at it and said, "I know this man. Don’t worry, you can count on me."

The two parted ways, and Li Wei continued to follow Lair.

Feite was one of the more formidable nobles under Lair’s command.

The other two noble families were destitute.

They had thrown their lot in with Lair to survive.

Feite was different. He was after Power, hoping to lead his clan to greater heights.

The Jorlsman Clan and Lair had something more like a partnership.

Feite also had quite a few subordinates, and they needed to find a way to identify them all.

Then they could catch them all in one fell swoop.

Li Wei was following Lair and didn’t have time to tail Feite, so he had Gu Ze do it.

「August 30th.」

After two days of surveillance, Lair finally made a move.

He headed out of the city.

At the same time, Li Wei received a message from Gu Ze.

The Jorlsman Clan, led by Feite, was transporting some unknown cargo out of the city.

Feite had already bribed the city gate guards.

The cargo wasn’t strictly inspected and was allowed to pass right through.

The other two noble families also began to move.

A few independent individuals recruited by Lair also hurried out of the city.

Li Wei tracked Lair all the way to a cave outside the city.

"So it’s here."

Li Wei was a little surprised.

The cave was just outside the Dark Valley.

Tens of thousands of Half-Beastmen were imprisoned in the Dark Valley.

Over ten thousand of them had already been converted into various kinds of slaves.

But a large number of Half-Beastmen still remained within the Dark Valley.

The moment Li Wei set foot in the valley, he caught the faint scent of blood.

’I can smell blood from out here. I’m afraid there’s already a river of blood inside.’

The corner of Li Wei’s mouth twitched; he had a bad feeling about this.

He thought for a moment. His Illusory Body materialized and hid in the forest outside, ready to meet up with the approaching Gu Ze.

Li Wei himself, meanwhile, followed Lair’s footsteps into the cave.

Deep inside the cave, the ground was littered with corpses.

There were animals, humans, and Half-Beastmen.

All the corpses were desiccated, completely drained of blood.

Li Wei hid behind a rock, quietly watching Lair set up the sacrificial ritual.

A Memory Crystal was placed in a corner, silently recording the scene before him.

Before long, the others arrived with the sacrifices.

"Mage Lair."

Lair didn’t speak, just gave a nod.

The man dragged a victim over, threw them to the ground, and slit their throat.

He let the blood flow freely.

Under the effect of a mysterious power, the wound bled continuously, eventually draining every last drop of blood from the victim’s body.

More and more sacrifices were brought over.

Lair’s subordinates had basically all gathered here.

Li Wei’s eyes narrowed slightly. ’Perfect. I can wipe them all out at once.’

The last batch of sacrifices was brought in.

There were more than thirty Half-Beastmen, and the one who brought them was a military officer stationed at the Dark Valley.

Li Wei was secretly shocked. He hadn’t expected Lair’s corruption to have reached into Maple City’s army.

「Outside the cave.」

Li Wei’s Illusory Body had already intercepted Gu Ze.

Gu Ze looked at Li Wei, not realizing he was a fake.

He said anxiously, "They’ve all gone inside. Aren’t we going in?"

Li Wei said, "No rush. Let’s wait a little longer."

Inside the cave, the real Li Wei was also waiting for the right moment.

He sympathized with those chosen as sacrifices.

However, acting rashly would only put him in danger.

There were too many enemies.

He had to wipe them all out with a single, decisive blow.

Otherwise, he and Gu Ze alone would be no match for so many people.

Li Wei closed his eyes, unable to watch the gruesome deaths.

A red light flared up inside the cave. The sacrificial ritual had begun.

Everyone knelt within the Ritual Array, their foreheads pressed to the ground.

Lair sat in the center of a river of blood, presiding over the sacrificial ritual.

As the ritual proceeded, the participants could feel a Power infusing their bodies.

The sensation was intoxicating and mesmerizing.

Compared to the slow, day-by-day accumulation of strength, this feeling of rapidly increasing Power was an addiction one could not break free from.

Once they started down this path, there was no going back.

As the presider of the ritual, Lair received the most Power.

His figure was completely engulfed in the bloody light.

Suddenly, a strong Magic Fluctuation appeared in the cave.

Lair’s expression changed.

The ritual was halfway through and could not be stopped.

The only thing he could do was accelerate the ritual.

In this moment of crisis, he couldn’t afford to hoard the Power and instead diverted more of it to the others.

Some couldn’t handle it and let out bloodcurdling screams.

"AHHH!"

Unable to bear the Power, their bodies split open, and their blood was instantly drained by the Ritual Array, turning them into desiccated corpses.

Li Wei watched these people with a cold expression.

He threw the Super Fireball in his hand and, without a backward glance, sped out of the cave.