Chapter 293

Boom—!

As the phantom of Black Beard vanished, the members of the Magic Fapingyi Society fell into despair.

At this moment, Lin Cheng was operating Black Beard, descending deep beneath the Magic Fapingyi Society.

Although Lin Cheng had long suspected that Black Beard had failed to gain the Society's trust, in truth he had never abandoned the mana of the Magic Spirit Force.

How could Lin Cheng possibly abandon something so violently alluring—a power beyond imagination, capable of destroying a nation?

Although the magic crystals seized during the Paradise Tower-17 incident seemed abundant, in reality, as the number of puppets increased and their levels rose, energy supplies grew ever more insufficient.

The theft of Nirvana was intended to alleviate this situation, but even after installing Nirvana to extract mana, the condition improved only slightly and failed to resolve the fundamental problem.

Especially with this large-scale deployment of puppets, energy consumption had surged dramatically, and reserves were nearly exhausted.

Under these circumstances, Lin Cheng had no choice but to consider energy sources.

The Magic Fapingyi Society, with its long history and immense power, was clearly an excellent target for plunder.

This was evident from the Paradise Tower-17 incident: the magic crystals generated by the Magic Spirit Force through the R System were extraordinarily vast.

Although Lin Cheng himself had no R System and could not manufacture one.

But wasn't this energy itself emitted through the Magic Spirit Force? Before emission, the Magic Spirit Force was inherently mana.

This time, Lin Cheng intended to seize the energy of the Magic Spirit Force.

This war, meant to utterly transform the entire Magic World while harvesting emotions, also made the Magic Spirit Force's mana a primary target of Lin Cheng's.

Although he did not know where the Magic Fapingyi Society had hidden the Magic Spirit Force, with his Kenbunshoku Haki, Lin Cheng refused to believe he couldn't find it.

The Magic Spirit Force itself was merely a weapon—a forbidden one requiring human control. As long as someone wielded it, under Gao Jie Kenbunshoku Haki, no one could escape Lin Cheng's perception!

And with the war now raging, Lin Cheng had more than enough time to search slowly.

Thus, combining the devouring ability of Black Beard's Devil Fruit with the puppet's form, Lin Cheng skillfully guided Black Beard deep into the lower levels of the Magic Council.

With the Devil Fruit's power fully activated, Lin Cheng instantly sensed the presence of living beings.

"Over there."

After confirming the direction, the puppet Black Beard stomped his right foot and flashed toward a wall built of solid stone.

Without hesitation, black mist surged forth, then slammed violently against the wall.

Boom—!

A deafening crash sent boulders flying; the entire underground trembled violently.

But Lin Cheng paid it no mind.

With the great war raging and battles ongoing, no one would notice such minor disturbances—even if they did, they'd almost certainly assume it was caused by combat.

After all, Bai Huzi was above, and his immense shockwaves meant even larger disturbances would go unnoticed.

After breaking through the stone wall, a second wall appeared; without hesitation, black mist surged again, followed by another thunderous crash.

Boom—!

After smashing through several walls in succession, as Lin Cheng guided Black Beard across another stone barrier, an unexpected figure appeared before him.

It was a werewolf with wolf ears and a cat tail, its body covered in spots; it stood atop scattered rubble, glaring fiercely at Lin Cheng.

From the werewolf's features, his identity was unmistakable.

This werewolf was none other than Chai Lang, one of the Nine Ghosts of the Mingfuzhi Sect.

Gazing at Chai Lang, Lin Cheng's eyes narrowed slightly—he knew this man well, and indeed, he knew the Mingfuzhi Sect intimately.

After all, the first person Lin Cheng had ever encountered from the Mingfuzhi Sect was impossible to forget.

Since then, Lin Cheng had inquired about the Mingfuzhi Sect, but though it was one of the Lamutong Alliance's members, it remained the most secretive organization within.

Information regarding the Mingfuzhi Sect had always been scarce and fragmented.

He never expected to encounter it here.

As Lin Cheng pondered, Chai Lang stood before the shattered wall, staring at the puppet Black Beard controlled by Lin Cheng, his eyes flickering with wariness.

His presence here was entirely due to the King of Hell's orders: to infiltrate the Fapingyi Society during the conflict and gather intelligence on Fes.

But Chai Lang never imagined he'd run into Lin Cheng here.

Wasn't war being waged above?

As a Heavenly King, why was he here?

Had his infiltration been discovered?

At this moment, Chai Lang's mind raced frantically—Black Beard's appearance had exceeded his expectations.

Although the Mingfuzhi Sect always operated in secrecy and rarely appeared before the public, in truth, it maintained precise knowledge of external affairs.

Especially after the death of Kuang Hua, the leader of the Nine Ghosts, at the hands of the Dazuisi Sect's Sloth, intelligence regarding otherworlders became especially urgent.

Chai Lang had certainly heard of Black Beard, the newcomer who had joined the Magic Fapingyi Society and become a councilor—that was precisely why he was so cautious.

Destroying the Heart of the Demon, killing the Vice President of the Heart of the Demon, and slaying the Six Demon Generals' leader "None"—such accomplishments were not within anyone's reach.

"Black Beard of the otherworld, what are you doing here?"

After some thought, Chai Lang spoke first.

Unless absolutely necessary, he truly did not wish to fight this man to the death.

Although the Hell Core allowed him to resurrect even if killed, dying here would mean mission failure.

And if the mission failed, the consequences were beyond what he could bear.

Just imagining the King of Hell's methods, Chai Lang's forehead broke into cold sweat.

Seeing that Chai Lang showed no intention to attack, Black Beard merely spoke calmly.

"That should be my question to you."

"You've infiltrated the Magic Fapingyi Society during the war above. Tell me your purpose and what you've discovered, and I'll let you go."

Considering the intelligence Chai Lang possessed, Lin Cheng, through the puppet Black Beard, spoke calmly as well.

If not for the Etherion, based solely on past "favors," Lin Cheng could have killed the Jackal outright.

To spare his life is already merciful enough.

But from the Jackal's gloomy expression, it was clear he did not see it that way.

Finding Fis is the highest secret of the Mingfuzhi Sect.

Hu Zi immediately asked about this at the outset, which amounted to forcing him to betray the Mingfuzhi Sect!

The punishment for betraying the Mingfuzhi Sect is even more horrific than failing the mission!