Chapter 157 Sleeping Place of the Underworld

"The sleeping place of the Underworld..."

His lips moved, whispering as if chanting a spell. The starry sky seemed to respond to the summons. A certain star trembled and collided with its neighbor, which in turn collided with another, creating a domino effect.

The starry sky began to swirl as the stars collided.

Zhang Yuanqing's pupils shone with starlight. He stared unblinkingly as his brain, like a high-speed computer, processed the feedback and began to deduce.

In a dense forest, a tall, sturdy man cautiously trod through the mountain terrain covered in decaying leaves and withered branches.

He had a typical Western face with a high nose and blue eyes, deep-set eye sockets, and short, light brown hair. A circle of neatly trimmed stubble framed his mouth, adding to his mature masculine charm.

Dressed in practical hiking gear, the man wasn't aimlessly wandering. He followed the markings he had left in the previous days and soon found an abandoned mountain cave.

After his last sleeping place was nearly discovered by the local indigenous forces, the Underworld realized that ordinary deserted places weren't safe enough.

He needed a true forbidden zone, a no-man's land that ordinary people wouldn't dare to enter, and that indigenous practitioners would avoid like the plague.

After several days of scouting, the Underworld had pinpointed the Shiwan Mountains where the Qinghe branch was located.

The Shiwan Mountains were vast, and tourists only visited designated areas. Practitioners from the Order and Freedom factions didn't dare to explore the mountains, making it perfect for his needs.

Even the Lingjing Xingzhe of the Qinghe branch had a fixed living area. The Shiwan Mountains were so large that they couldn't possibly wander around aimlessly.

They couldn't even explore it all in a few days. The only hidden danger was the exotic beasts living in the mountains. The Mu Yao of the Qinghe branch raised many combat-type exotic beasts in the mountains.

But after several days of observation, the Underworld realized that these exotic beasts weren't allowed to venture into the outer areas. After all, if these creatures were seen by tourists, it would cause quite a stir.

The exotic beasts' activity area was in the central region of the Shiwan Mountains. The Underworld had chosen a location at the junction of the outer and central regions. This place had no water source, no fruit trees, and only vast pine forests. The pine forests were relatively barren, so even animals were scarce; even squirrels were rarely seen.

Crushing the dry, yellow pine needles underfoot, the Underworld entered the shallow cave. He looked around, chose a dry, flat spot to sit down, and then took out essential oils, candles, silver charms, rose hydrosol, and other materials, performing a simple magic ritual to hide his aura and sound.

After packing away the materials, he took out a solitary, jade-like sculpture of a blindfolded ghost child.

He knelt, clasped his hands together, and prayed to the ghost child. This was a consumable he had purchased from the black market in Southeast Asia. It combined some characteristics of the Night Wanderer and the Spiritualist. The sculpture housed a powerful infant spirit with the ability to grant blessings.

By praying to the infant spirit, one could receive its blessing and have their wishes fulfilled. Search for @ on Bing or Baidu.

The illusory galaxy perfectly replicated the movement of the stars in the night sky. Likewise, a star fell in the southeast direction.

This star plunged into his consciousness, conjuring a vision of the future.

In the vision, the mountains rose and fell, covered in dense forests.

As the vision zoomed in, it finally focused on a pine forest.

"Found the Underworld's sleeping place!"

Zhang Yuanqing suddenly opened his eyes. Sure enough, with an item that had been in long-term contact with the Underworld, pinpointing his location was easy.

"The Underworld is indeed hiding in the Shiwan Mountains. Under normal circumstances, his chances of being discovered would be very low, but now that the Qinghe branch has thousands of people searching every inch of the mountains, they'll find his sleeping place within a day at most. I have to act quickly; I can't delay."

He immediately took out his phone and dialed the Tracker's number, saying, "Prepare to depart for the Shiwan Mountains."

Then, he took out Little Red Riding Hood and shook out Silver Maid Yao, acting according to the plan and using the Perfect Human Skin to transform into Yun Meng of the Qinghe branch.

Zhang Yuanqing suddenly caught sight of the satchel at her slender waist and twitched. "You can't bring that."

Despite Silver Maid Yao's aggrieved protests, Zhang Yuanqing forcibly removed the satchel and stored it in the hat's space.

Qinghe branch.

In the annex building of the clan leader's villa, the haughty Siren, Osmond, was expounding on his family background and knowledge, describing the foundation of his century-long accumulation of capital.

Osmond flaunted his family history because the girl named Yun Meng beside him was pleasing. She was beautiful, with clear, bright eyes and a clean, innocent aura that deeply attracted Osmond.

As a young master from an old-money capital family, Osmond suffered from the common ailment of young masters – philandering.

He was more than happy to have some wonderful experiences with this beautiful girl in a foreign land. Although this relationship was destined to be brief, that was exactly what he wanted.

After speaking for half a day, Osmond noticed that the girl at the table seemed distracted and absent-minded, so he asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"I have to go feed the pigs soon. After I feed them, I have to help you search the mountains. Hurry up and say what you want to say so I can leave," Yun Meng answered honestly.

Osmond's expression stiffened.

Yun Meng looked at him and said seriously, "Are you trying to pick me up?"

"What does 'pick me up' mean?" Osmond asked.

"It means you want to sleep with me."

Osmond forced a smile. "Your innocence and smile deeply attract me. Love isn't about sleeping together; it's about mutual attraction."

Yun Meng said "Oh" and then said, "Then you're out of luck. I don't want to sleep with you. You're not as good-looking as Yuan Shi Tianzun." Her expression was somewhat disgusted. This blond-haired, blue-eyed man had features that protruded like an ape that hadn't fully evolved. Foreigners were all apes that hadn't fully evolved.

She preferred Yuan Shi Tianzun's handsome yet gentle appearance.

Osmond sat there, stunned, like a statue.

"I'm sorry; I accidentally told the truth," Yun Meng quickly apologized. "I'm going, I'm going to feed the pigs now."

She ran out of the living room with her long legs.

Osmond silently took out a crystal-handled mirror and looked at his dazed, stiff face.

Golden hair, deep-set eye sockets, a straight nose, and sculpted facial lines – this face was definitely a world-class beauty worthy of a superstar.

Ugly???

Osmond's face twitched violently. He thought to himself, what kind of dog is Yuan Shi Tianzun? What right does a tender-faced little brat have to be compared to me? He's not even as wise and handsome as Fu Qingyang.

At this moment, Osmond's phone rang.

The caller was the Demon Hunter.

"Executor," he answered the phone.

"Any news from the Qinghe branch?" the Demon Hunter asked directly.

Osmond shook his head. "Not yet."

The mountain search had already begun. The Demon Hunter, a Wind Manipulator, was participating with Hoover and Xia Zuo, leaving Osmond at the Qinghe branch to receive information.

Once the Qinghe branch clansmen had news to report, he could immediately notify the Demon Hunter.

The Demon Hunter gave a somewhat disappointed "Hmm," then said, "After midnight, the Realm of Prophecy's uses will refresh. I'll make a prophecy about tomorrow's situation, hoping for some gain."

Yesterday, they used the item to predict the outcome of capturing the Underworld.

The Realm of Prophecy's answer was no, meaning they wouldn't catch the Underworld today. But there were many possibilities for not catching him.

It didn't necessarily mean they wouldn't find the Underworld. It could also mean that the Underworld would escape that day. But as long as they located the Underworld, they might catch him the next day.

Therefore, the search still had to continue.

"Executor, there's no need to be anxious. We have plenty of time," Osmond said with a smile.

He hadn't yet slept with a Qinghe branch girl, so he didn't want to leave just yet.

The Demon Hunter said, "You continue to monitor the Qinghe branch. Notify me immediately if there's any news."

The two ended the call.

At the junction of the central and outer regions of the Shiwan Mountains, two young men wearing Qinghe clan attire, each carrying a rifle and leading a giant wolf and a leopard, trekked through the dense forest.

"Ah Xin, I'm so sleepy. Let's find a place to take a nap," the younger teenager yawned and said with a smile. "I'm usually asleep by this time."

"You're already Level 3; you won't die if you don't sleep," the older youth scolded. "All you ever think about is sleeping. We get two hundred Federation dollars a day for patrolling. You're still slacking off with such a good job."

"We don't need that little bit of money."

"You don't, but I need money. In a few years, when you have a girlfriend, you'll realize that no matter how much money you have, you can't spend it all. Women are money-grubbers," the youth said with a knowing tone.

As they spoke, they entered a pine forest. The teenager grumbled, "It's obvious that you're being bled dry by them. Nowadays, women are all so materialistic. They suck you dry when you're dating, then switch to another one. It's foolish to spend money on women. No matter how much you give them, it's never enough. Ah Xin, I'm telling you, money is for women to see, not for women to spend."

The youth chuckled. "Stop watching short videos; they're all trying to fool you kids."

He suddenly felt dizzy, and drowsiness swept over him.

"Huh," he suddenly exclaimed. Then, he heard a "thud" from beside him. Turning his head, he saw that the teenager had fallen on the pine-needle-covered ground, snoring loudly.

The giant wolf and leopard were also staggering and collapsing, falling into a deep sleep.

The youth's pupils contracted. He had found it. He quickly retreated while taking out his phone, intending to report to his clan.

But a huge wave of drowsiness washed over him. Just as the youth pulled out his phone, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed with a loud thud, emitting deafening snores.

Half an hour later, a starlight rose from the darkness.

A young man with a slender figure but an ordinary appearance appeared from the starlight.

Zhang Yuanqing scanned the area and saw the two sleeping Qinghe clansmen not far away.

Had they already been found? He felt a chill in his heart. While eating dinner, he had teased Yun Meng for another hour, extracting information about the Qinghe clan's and the Heavenly Punishment's deployments.

For this mountain search, the Qinghe clan had mobilized a total of two thousand clansmen and several exotic beasts. They reported back to the clan every hour. If anyone failed to report for over an hour, the Qinghe branch would notice something was wrong.

Then, they would rush to investigate the area that team was responsible for.

He didn't know how long these people had been asleep – it could have been just a moment, or it could have been almost an hour. The Qinghe clan might even have already arrived.

"Not much time left!" Zhang Yuanqing dialed Silver Maid Yao's phone.

"Act immediately!"