Chapter 3741: Another Clone

At that moment, the Clone Puppet suddenly received a report from the bandits saying that outside the stronghold another twenty‑or‑so Martial Cultivators had been sent as cultivation resources for Guǐ Sòu, and asked whether to let them in.

"Cultivation resources?" the Clone Puppet immediately thought they could use the resources to lure Guǐ Sòu into appearing.

Guǐ Sòu's requirements for cultivation resources are rather special; he needs to refine human bones and blood while the person is still alive. Now is his breakthrough moment, so he should indeed be in urgent need of such resources.

The Clone Puppet hurried to the stronghold's entrance and found that the people sent were ordinary Martial Cultivators, all at the early stage of Taixu, nothing special.

The ones who brought these Martial Cultivators were also bandits they had stationed outside to lie in wait.

"Don't send any more people in the future; just take these ones back!"

Han Tong, following Ye Liuyun's order, sent those people away directly.

When they left, Ye Liuyun had Gu Changhong, Heihe and others seal the True Essence of the few bandits he had brought along.

He had long found these subordinates unsightly; using them as bait was just right.

For the remaining numbers, Han Tong selected bandits, and after gathering enough people, sealed their True Essence and sent them to that Cave with a blood pool.

Ye Liuyun also took note that if Guǐ Sòu took the bait, he would appear personally, because these people must be killed while alive to be used for cultivation. If they died, at most they could only be made into puppets.

But after waiting a long while, no figure appeared. Ye Liuyun kept wondering whether Guǐ Sòu had already discovered their intention.

Suddenly, his Golden Pupil spotted a stooped, hunchbacked old man holding a bone‑carving dagger, walking toward the Cave.

Ye Liuyun had seen this old man before; he was a kitchen helper delivering meals to the prison, only at the first level of Taixu, with no Demon Qi, so he hadn't linked him to Guǐ Sòu.

Now, upon closer inspection, he found the problem: the old man's Divine Soul Power was weak, and his Soul still bore the image of a child‑old man.

"This must be another clone of Guǐ Sòu. But this is a living person—how did Guǐ Sòu insert his Soul into the old man's Sea of Consciousness? Could it be a soul‑steal?"

Ye Liuyun watched the old man, very curious.

But he didn't alert the old man; he kept his Golden Pupil fixed on him. When the old man entered the Cave, Ye Liuyun also donned the Invisibility Cloak and followed from behind.

After the old man entered the Cave and saw the bandits who lacked any power to resist, he let out a few "Hehehe" snickers, then suddenly grabbed a bandit and lifted him over the blood pool.

He then swung his bone‑carving dagger repeatedly, beginning to dismember the man while he was still alive. Those bandits had their True Essence sealed; even though the old man was only at the first level of Taixu, they had no power to resist.

The wailing made Ye Liuyun shiver. He glanced at the blood pool and looked away. The scene was so gory that watching too much would make anyone feel sick.

But he was puzzled: "Guǐ Sòu isn't here, yet his clone is killing people outright. Is the clone using them for cultivation, or does he have some other method?"

Ye Liuyun was at a loss.

The old man's speed was swift; handling over thirty bandits didn't take long. Those bandits were full of wickedness, so they received their deserved retribution.

Afterwards the old man wiped the blood off his dagger, lingered not, and walked straight out, showing no sign of cultivation.

Ye Liuyun, still full of questions, left the Cave early and kept his gaze on the old man as he departed.

After the old man returned, the Clone Puppet continued to monitor and found he went straight back to the prison, carrying on with his usual tasks, with nothing abnormal.

"Where is Guǐ Sòu?"

Ye Liuyun looked bewildered.

"This guy is really hard to find; he even made a clone, three burrows like a cunning rabbit!"

Ye Liuyun felt depressed but could only stay here to continue the watch. If we could really find this guy

and subdue him, that would truly give us an ally.

He guarded outside the Cave all night, but there was no movement. Until the next afternoon, the clone of Guǐ Sòu—the old laborer inside the prison—again took a bone‑carving dagger and rushed toward the back mountain; Ye Liuyun then recalled and ordered the Clone Puppet to quickly capture some bandits and bring them over.

"Could it be that Guǐ Sòu isn't here, and this clone is merely following orders, or does he need to accumulate more blood before Guǐ Sòu appears?" Ye Liuyun again donned the Invisibility Cloak and followed the old man.

"Eh?" The old man, seeing the empty Cave, exclaimed in surprise, then froze on the spot, not knowing what to do.

Ye Liuyun, still cloaked in the Invisibility Cloak, kept his distance and watched from afar with his Golden Pupil. The old man paced inside the Cave, head down, seemingly lost in thought.

Soon after, Han Tong sent men to drive the controlled bandits into the Cave.

Ye Liuyun floated to the top of the cliff wall, grabbed the rock with one hand, planted his foot on the side wall, effectively clearing a path for them.

Hearing the movement, the old man used his Divine Sense to investigate, and the worried expression on his face gradually faded.

The escorting men, after pushing the people inside, left immediately, daring not to linger.

Yesterday the clone had already interrogated them; they only knew that place was the leader's cultivation stronghold, where those who stayed too long died, and they knew nothing else.

When those people left, Ye Liuyun did not move, but remained in that posture, staring into the Cave.

The old man, however, repeated the dismembering as yesterday. His knife technique was skillful and swift; only after the final slash decapitated the victim did the bandits finally cease breathing.

Ye Liuyun immediately withdrew his gaze; even a further glance made him worry he would vomit.

But suddenly, he seemed to notice something, his eyes widening as he looked again at the blood pool.

"The water level of the blood pool dropped by half!"

Ye Liuyun couldn't help but be startled.

He had glanced at it yesterday as well. At that time the old man had just begun, yet the blood pool's level was much higher than today. When the old man finished killing everyone, the pool was nearly full.

But now the blood pool had actually dropped by half…

"Did Guǐ Sòu come here? Or was he originally here?"

Ye Liuyun seemed to think he had found a clue.

So he stayed motionless in place until the old man finished today's task and left. The blood pool's level rose again a lot, but certainly not as high as yesterday.

Ye Liuyun first followed the old man out of the Cave; after the Clone Puppet latched onto the old man, he returned to the Cave and examined the blood pool closely.

His Golden Pupil could see through the blood pool in a single glance; what lay inside almost made him vomit, but there could be no person hidden there.

After that he wandered around the Cave again, even released the Demon King to sense whether any living aura remained. The recent encoding issues are severe, giving us more motivation to update faster; please click to exit reading mode. Thank you.