Chapter 756: Caught Red-Handed

The Withered Bone Wasteland.

This place belongs to the borderlands between East Profound and North Nether, and neither East Profound nor North Nether wants to manage this territory.

On any given day, evil cultivators run rampant, and it is fraught with danger; killing people and seizing their goods is a very common occurrence here.

However, the Withered Bone Wasteland seems to have undergone some changes recently.

The number of evil cultivators who used to run wild everywhere has dropped by ninety percent; sometimes, one can travel thousands of miles through the Withered Bone Wasteland without seeing a single shadow of an evil cultivator.

Once this news spread, it caused quite a sensation.

At first, the righteous sects nearby thought the evil cultivators had gathered to do something major, and they were extremely vigilant.

But after investigating, they discovered that those missing evil cultivators seemed to have all died.

This matter became a topic of casual conversation for many people after meals, and even many mortals knew about it.

"Have you heard? Some righteous person couldn't stand the chaos in the Withered Bone Wasteland and took action to wipe out over ninety percent of the evil cultivators! And they did a good deed without leaving their name!"

"I heard. I even went to the Withered Bone Wasteland myself, and it is indeed much less dangerous than before. Who on earth did it? This is truly a great achievement!"

"I don't know, but some people speculate that the person who did this is the Chief Disciple of the Sword Suppression Pavilion, Mo Ran! He just came out of seclusion ten days ago, and ninety percent of the evil cultivators in the Withered Bone Wasteland were wiped out, even the four great villains of Corpse-Lying City are dead! If you tell me this has nothing to do with him, I wouldn't believe it even if I died!"

"The Sword Suppression Pavilion is a righteous sect, and Mo Ran is known for his hatred of evil; it is indeed possible that he did it! It is said that he is also the one leading the Sword Suppression Pavilion team for this East Profound Sect Grand Competition!"

"Your information is already outdated. Mo Ran has already admitted it; the evil cultivators in the Withered Bone Wasteland were indeed wiped out by him. He had just come out of seclusion, and he used those evil cultivators to consecrate his sword!"

The affairs of the Withered Bone Wasteland were discussed heatedly by outsiders, and some even tried to claim the credit.

But Ye Lin, the person involved, was clearly unaware of all this. At this moment, he had already returned to the Joyous Union Sect and successfully made contact with Pei Jiuye.

"How was it? Did you succeed?" Pei Jiuye asked urgently.

"I did not fail the mission! I used the alias Ye Lin, successfully went undercover in the Immortal Cloud Sect, and won ninth place in the Nine Peaks Grand Competition. I have secured one of the spots for the Immortal Cloud Sect to participate in the East Profound Sect Grand Competition!"

Ye Lin smiled faintly.

Hearing this, Pei Jiuye could not help but show joy on his face.

The threat of the Heavenly Condemnation was like a sharp blade hanging over his head, and he did not know when it would suddenly strike down.

Knowing that he was one step closer to resolving the Heavenly Condemnation, he was naturally overjoyed.

"Well done!"

Pei Jiuye smiled and patted Ye Lin on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, once the Heavenly Condemnation is resolved, I will certainly not treat you unfairly!"

"Then many thanks, Elder Pei."

Ye Lin was also smiling.

"By the way, did anything happen in the Joyous Union Sect while I was away?"

Pei Jiuye frowned and pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Nothing major, except that some god-forsaken beast snuck into the Reincarnation Heart-Severing Well and drained the well water. We haven't caught the person yet, and I've been investigating this matter recently."

"Oh right, and the Master of your No-Thought Hall announced that they are entering a death-seclusion and won't be appearing for the next few years."

Hearing this news, Ye Lin raised his eyebrows slightly.

The No-Thought Hall Master is in seclusion?

Could it be because the last time they were in seclusion, they were interrupted by him, so they are starting over?

Ye Lin didn't think too much about it; as long as no major mishaps occurred, it was fine.

The most important thing for him now is to seize this final period of time and use any means necessary to improve his strength. He is determined to get the Black Jade Heaven-Mending Paste!

Ye Lin set his sights on another forbidden area of the Joyous Union Sect: the Thousand Red Grotto!

As long as Pei Jiuye still wanted to resolve the Heavenly Condemnation, he didn't have to worry about what might happen to him.

He remembered Elder Xi telling him that the Thousand Red Grotto was mainly used to imprison those disobedient top-tier cultivation vessels; those people either had transcendent talent or peerless strength, and even the Love Gu could not fully control them.

If he could devour the people inside the Thousand Red Grotto, he might be able to break through to the first phase of the Seven Phases of Spirit, the Cave-Abyss Realm!

By then, even alone, Ye Lin would have the confidence to sweep through everyone in the East Profound Sect Grand Competition.

And so, Ye Lin began to subtly probe Pei Jiuye for specific information about the Thousand Red Grotto.

The Thousand Red Grotto is a forbidden area for disciples, but for Pei Jiuye, an Elder of the Punishment Hall, it naturally is not. Ye Lin easily learned quite a bit of information about the Thousand Red Grotto from him.

Ye Lin even found out the specific location of the Thousand Red Grotto.

"Many thanks for clearing things up, Elder Pei. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be going now~"

Seeing that his goal was achieved, Ye Lin no longer lingered and bid farewell to Pei Jiuye.

When all was quiet in the Joyous Union Sect, he activated the Great Void Art and snuck out, heading toward the Thousand Red Grotto.

Having learned from the incident at the Reincarnation Heart-Severing Well, the internal security of the Joyous Union Sect had clearly become much stricter during this time.

But in Ye Lin's view, the security of the Joyous Union Sect was no different from the security of the Land of Light; anyone could slip past it.

After his strength increased to the mid-stage of the Primordial Realm, the concealment of the Great Void Art became even more exaggerated.

He arrived at the Greed-Joy Hall like a silent ghost.

The location of the Thousand Red Grotto was beneath the Greed-Joy Hall.

At this moment, the disciples of the Greed-Joy Hall were busy practicing, so as soon as Ye Lin arrived, he heard a series of strange sounds.

Things like "small fry, small fry" and "big pervert, big pervert" were endless.

But Ye Lin remained unmoved and walked straight into a gilded hall. In the center of the hall, there was a hot spring pool emitting steam.

This was already the second time Ye Lin had come here.

The first time he came, he was carried here by Gu Lin, and there he saw the Master of the Greed-Joy Hall, that woman who was as enchanting as a demon.

The second time he came, he came alone, without alerting anyone.

Ye Lin stepped into the hot spring pool. According to the information provided by Pei Jiuye, the entrance to the Thousand Red Grotto was right beneath this pool where the Master of the Greed-Joy Hall usually bathed.

Ye Lin bent down and began to grope around the bottom of the pool; there must be a mechanism here, and he had to find the trigger to open the entrance.

He was so engrossed in his search that he didn't notice a tall figure, like an iron tower, appearing not far behind him.

That figure was sturdy and burly, like a small mountain; the terrifying muscles seemed capable of producing infinite explosive power to shatter everything, like a ferocious beast.

After searching for a long time without finding the mechanism, Ye Lin was just about to dive into the bottom of the pool to look, but at that moment, he was lifted up by a massive force.

Turning his head, Ye Lin met Gu Lin's expressionless face.

Gu Lin stared coldly at Ye Lin, a flash of murderous intent in her eyes, and questioned him.

"Do you want to steal a drink of my mother's foot-washing water?"