Lao Ge's pupils shrank slightly. He seemed to realize something, and his face changed. "Young master, you mean…"
"This kind of method," the young woman said with a smile that reached her eyes, "is usually only used when killing demons, especially the low-ranked demon soldiers. Demons have ridiculous vitality, and ordinary wounds won't kill them. Beheading is the most effective and thorough way to end them. And…"
She paused. Her smile didn't fade, but her gaze pierced through the void as if she were seeing a battlefield soaked in endless blood.
"Those who get used to this method of killing aren't the cultivators hiding in the rear. They're the ones who've spent years at the very front, the ones who've gone deep into demon disaster zones to slaughter and scout, the very best of the battle cultivators."
The secret chamber fell into silence. Only the faint tapping of her fingers on the table echoed, along with that unfathomable smile on her lips.
Lao Ge's face twisted between realization and shock. Before, he'd only paid attention to the matter itself and the complicated source of the items. He'd overlooked the most obvious yet most easily ignored clue—the killing details that revealed shocking information.
"A female cultivator with a mysterious background, with rare spirit herbs suspected to come from the Demon Realm, with killing methods identical to frontline elites, and with a ruthless decisiveness…" The young woman's smile deepened.
"And more than that," she shifted the topic, her fingertip tapping lightly on the table, "Lao Ge, think about the goods she brought out. Marks from Xunyang Sword Sect, Hehuan Sect, Medicine King Valley… even from smaller sects. All jumbled together, but every single one of them valuable.
Ordinary cultivators might come across one or two such treasures in their entire life. Having this much variety mixed together on one person? Not likely."
Lao Ge's brows furrowed tighter as he followed the young master's line of thought. His expression grew heavier. "Young master, you mean…"
"To gather this many items belonging to the core disciples of different sects, even rival factions, not to mention Demon Realm goods," the young woman lifted the spirit herb and gave it a shake, "there's really only one place recently where all that could've been picked up."
She paused, then said slowly, each word landing heavy with certainty, "The Fusang Secret Realm."
"The Fusang Secret Realm!" Lao Ge's eyes went wide with shock. "Yes! That's the only place! In the secret realm, elites from every sect gathered, fought, and fell. Their belongings would've been scattered. If someone looted on a large scale…"
"Not only that," the young woman added with her usual lazy smile, "I remember hearing from Hehuan Sect a while ago. In the Fusang Secret Realm, there was a certain cultivator who made quite the mess.
A black-robed figure, who robbed Hehuan Sect's young sect master of a Purple Cloud Ginseng right in front of everyone, and even framed him afterward. Caused a huge stir."
Her eyes fell back on the demon plant. "They say that person was a demon cultivator. But who says that's true? This thing might just be one of the spoils from back then."
The air in the chamber turned suffocating.
Lao Ge finally understood. "Young master, you're saying… that cloaked woman earlier, she might be… that mysterious black-robed person from the Fusang Secret Realm?!"
"Or at least someone very close to them." The young woman still smiled, but her eyes had grown deep and unreadable. "Otherwise, how do you explain such a mix of items? And her style of action, so much like those battle cultivators. Now, such a person suddenly appears here in Tianxing City. Isn't that interesting?"
Lao Ge gave a bitter smile. His young master was good at everything, except when she got interested in something, her obsession was frightening.
"Young master is wise. This old servant was too shallow-sighted. But… with a woman like that, with such deep background and ruthless methods, I fear she'll stir up no small trouble."
Instead of worrying, the young woman curved her lips in a faint smirk. "Trouble? Ha. Her showing up here is already the biggest trouble."
Her long fingers tapped the shopping list Xie Zhaolin had left behind. She tapped precisely on several entries. "Take another look at what she wanted."
Her fingertip traced the lines. "Flowing Cloud Ribbon, Illusionary Light Veil, Seven Emotions Silk…"
Lao Ge's eyes followed and his face changed slightly.
Those items, especially the Flowing Cloud Ribbon, weren't top-ranked treasures, but their form and use were special. They weren't things mainstream cultivators often used, more like… preferences of a very particular style or inheritance.
"She deliberately buried them among rare goods to confuse us."
The young woman analyzed with her ever-present smile. "But when you combine that preference with everything we've guessed—someone who fights like the elite battle cultivators, who had a grudge with Hehuan Sect's young sect master, and who favors ribbon-type artifacts… Lao Ge, who comes to mind?"
Lao Ge's breath stopped short. His face went pale with horror. "Y-young master… you mean… Shi Yue Zhēnjūn?! That's impossible! Didn't she already fall?!"
The shock was so great that even someone as experienced as Lao Ge lost his composure.
The young woman's smile didn't fade, only curved further. "Fallen? Who really knows? Maybe she had some unknown life-saving secret art, some way to shed her skin like a cicada and escape."
She paused, her tone playful. "Or maybe… this woman isn't Shi Yue Zhēnjūn herself, but a direct disciple she took in secretly. Someone who inherited her techniques, her artifacts, and even… her grudges and her style."
"Either way," she concluded, tapping the table again, "we've just hooked a far bigger fish than expected. Lao Ge, do you still think giving her a Yellow Star Card is breaking the rules?"
Hearing this, Lao Ge's last doubts vanished, replaced with awe and barely concealed excitement.
The young woman nodded in satisfaction, still smiling. "Tianxing City's been too quiet. So quiet it's suffocating. She's like a stone thrown into still water. Who knows what waves she'll stir up.
And besides—" she bit into a spirit fruit, "I think she'll give me at least ten thousand top-grade spirit stones worth of fun."
Lao Ge's lips twitched. His young master's habit of measuring "interesting" in spirit stones was… unique as ever.
"Alright." The young woman set down the fruit core and waved with a grin. "Lao Ge, get things ready. You know what to do, right?"
At this very moment, Xie Zhaolin had no idea about any of this. She never imagined that the young woman she'd never even met could unravel so much from such small details. Right now, she was completely focused on studying the map of the Endless Beast Plains.