Duan Rong moved swiftly, and as he neared the wall of that mysterious courtyard, his Divine Sense suddenly expanded.

Once he reached near the wall, Duan Rong’s Divine Sense swept over it, chose a spot, and leaped over.

Not far behind the wall, there was a tall mulberry tree that perfectly concealed his figure.

Duan Rong’s feet lightly touched the ground, and just as he was about to dash forward, his figure suddenly paused.

Although his eyes couldn’t see, under the cover of his Divine Sense, he could "see" clearly that there was a very thin line hanging about half a foot above the ground on the grass not far ahead!

The material of this thin line was unknown, exceptionally slender, such that even in daylight, it would be hard to see with the naked eye, let alone now at night.

Duan Rong stood there, his Divine Sense carefully scanning; this extremely thin line was hanging from here, through the weedy undergrowth, around a hidden pulley, then along the trunk of the mulberry tree, and at a point covered by leaves, at the end of the line, was tied a rather large bell.

Duan Rong’s expression turned grim.

If he had been slightly careless and triggered this thin line, the hidden bell on the mulberry tree would have rung immediately.

He would have been exposed!

Wei Yutian is a formidable force in the True Qi Realm; any exposure would mean not only failing to rescue Xiao Yu, but he would also have a hard time escaping unscathed!

Duan Rong took a deep breath, slightly slowed his pace, and advanced while performing a Divine Sense Investigation, trying to avoid any slight anomalies.

Duan Rong quickly used his Divine Sense to investigate several houses, but all these rooms were empty, and until now, he hadn’t detected a single person in the entire backyard.

However, there were many traps around, which Duan Rong bypassed one by one, but his expression grew increasingly anxious. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Could it not be here?"

This mysterious courtyard’s backyard was like a haunted house, not a soul in sight, yet filled with traps, evidently hiding a great secret.

Just then, as Duan Rong turned around a corridor, he saw from afar, near a rockery, a secluded room’s outer door where someone was holding a lantern, standing there, the lantern like an eye in the dark night.

Duan Rong’s figure flickered as he detoured to the back of that room, his Divine Sense sweeping through and immediately discovering a hole in the corner of the room.

That was obviously the entrance to a secret chamber.

Duan Rong’s expression hardened as he simultaneously noted another thing: the woman holding the lantern with a Yanling Saber at her waist guarding the room’s door—he knew her.

He had once saved her life. This woman was the very one who had almost died under Shen Mizi’s sword in a dispute in front of his painting stall on West Main Street when he was still a painter.

At that time, Duan Rong, fearing a murder would occur in front of his stall, intervened to save her, which had led to disagreements with Shen Mizi.

But those were old matters, and Duan Rong had no time to dwell on them now.

But just as Duan Rong’s Divine Sense had scanned, a woman in white emerged from the secret chamber’s entrance.

Bai Ai stepped out, stood by the room’s door, looking at Su Di holding the lantern in the night wind, her eyes smartly twinkling, testingly asking, "Su Di, why does the master perform the Five Deities Sacrifice two nights in a row? Such a thing hasn’t happened before?"

Su Di glanced back at her, saying, "How would I know? Did you see the woman the master brought into the secret chamber just now?"

"Who is that woman?" Bai Ai asked, her eyes full of curiosity at Su Di. They had all noticed the woman’s beauty.

"How would I know?" Su Di’s eyes flickered, almost telling Bai Ai that when she first went to the bedroom, the master was still wearing his night suit, but she stopped short, swallowing her words.

Deep inside, Su Di always had a fear of Wei Yutian, a trauma left by his long-time control over her.

Duan Rong, at the back of the room, heard their conversation clearly.

Wei Yutian brought a beautiful woman into the secret chamber. That woman must be Xiao Yu.

Duan Rong stood there, suddenly redirecting his Divine Sense downwards.

The range of his Divine Sense was a hundred meters; everything in the underground secret chamber suddenly appeared before him like an open book.

Xiao Yu lay unconscious on the high platform of the strange secret chamber mandala, with Wei Yutian kneeling beside her, gazing at her with infatuation, saying, "Little beauty, if it weren’t for needing to practice the Filthy Blood Divine Skill, I would’ve ravished you now... Wait for me... after I finish sacrificing to the Five Deities... we’ll enjoy bliss together..."

Wei Yutian had to suppress his passion because there were complex rituals to undergo for cultivating the Filthy Blood Divine Skill.

Duan Rong, behind the room’s wall, received this through his scanning of the eerie secret chamber mandala, hearing Wei Yutian’s words, was greatly shocked.

"Filthy Blood Divine Skill? Wei Yutian is actually a cultist of the Filthy Blood Sect!" Though Duan Rong had read many rumors and anecdotes about the Filthy Blood Sect in miscellaneous books, this was his first real-life encounter with a cultist of the Filthy Blood Sect.

There were rumors in the city saying that Wei Yutian was exceedingly wealthy but never married due to being a eunuch.

Now it seemed that those rumors were completely false. Wei Yutian’s refusal to marry was entirely for the convenience of secretly cultivating the Filthy Blood Divine Skill.

Duan Rong had read extensively about the Filthy Blood Sect and Filthy Blood Divine Skill in miscellaneous books before.

He knew that when cultivating the Filthy Blood Divine Skill, complicated rituals involving a lot of time were required. Now, with his Divine Sense sweeping over, the secret chamber where Wei Yutian was in had a bizarre design and many complex offerings; coupled with Wei Yutian’s words about sacrificing to the Five Deities, all corroborated what the books mentioned.

This was good news for Duan Rong because if true, it would buy him some time to rescue Xiao Yu.

Duan Rong stood there, his expression flickering, his mind racing, formulating a plan.

Wei Yutian is a Martial Artist of the True Qi Realm; with his current martial arts, he is no match. Reckless adventuring is pointless, as it would not save Xiao Yu and would get himself caught as well.

But he could not stand by idly and watch Xiao Yu be debased to death.

To deal with Wei Yutian, he must leverage the power of Martial Artists of the True Qi Realm.

Ruan Fengshan was not available.

Duan Rong suddenly thought of someone—the County Magistrate of Xianggu County, Shen Yanliu.

Shen Yanliu is a Martial Artist of the True Qi Realm Second Level. With him around, there would be no fear of Wei Yutian.

Moreover, he was sure that Shen Yanliu would take action, as this was a major case concerning the Filthy Blood Sect. Obsessed with power, Shen Yanliu would not pass up such a significant merit.

But he had to convince Shen Yanliu that Wei Yutian was a cultist of the Filthy Blood Sect.

Duan Rong knew that Wei Yutian and County Magistrate Shen Yanliu had a good private relationship, and Wei Yutian always sent lavish gifts during holidays.

Words alone were not reliable; what if Shen Yanliu didn’t believe him? After all, he was just a low-ranking Escort Master in the Yuan Shun Escort Agency; how would he know such secrets?

Although Shen Yanliu needed political achievements, he was not a fool. Would he act against a local despot on just the word of someone as insignificant as him?

Duan Rong’s brows furrowed; suddenly, his eyes brightened, his Divine Sense sweeping towards Su Di, who stood by the room’s door holding the lantern.

Duan Rong then stood there, sensing the wind direction, and moved to the upwind place behind the room, suddenly flicking his sleeve, scattering a cloud of Medicinal Powder into the night breeze.

Su Di stood by the room’s door, her gaze occasionally sweeping around. The night wind brushed her face, and strangely, she suddenly felt her vision blur, and her consciousness began to fade.

Su Di’s legs went weak, about to fall!

Just then, a silhouette darted from the side of the room, catching her waist.

Duan Rong hoisted Su Di, using his Minor Success Realm Cloud Serpent Step with full force, vaulted over the wall, and left...