Chapter 209 - 208: Madness, Seeking Immortal Winery

The sudden plunge into the subspace caused a slight change in the expressions of the three monsters present.

Zhu Qisheng’s face turned pale, he glanced at Li Jing, then set his eyes on Jiu Li.

The other fourth realm monster present was the woman who had been traveling with him in the surveillance video.

Their relationship was apparently very close.

Being pulled into the subspace, she immediately realized that Li Jing was a patrol officer.

With the unfathomable Jiu Li in front of her, her face grew ghostly white and she shivered as she clung to Zhu Qisheng’s arm.

The Fifth Boundary Big Monster present paused, his gaze lingering on Jiu Li before immediately turning towards Li Jing.

"I’m a Great Demon who has signed the peace treaty! Protected by the treaty!"

"..."

Li Jing.

This was the first time he had encountered a monster who, instead of trying to retaliate upon entering the subspace, immediately invoked the peace treaty.

What...

What should he do now?

Glancing at the frightened Zhu Qisheng and Fourth Realm female demon behind the Great Demon, Li Jing looked at their health bars above their heads and calmly said,

"Since you have signed the peace treaty, cooperate in the investigation. If you have done nothing wrong, I will not make things difficult for you."

The Great Demon nodded at his words.

"Although we don’t know what’s going on, we will cooperate in the investigation."

During this exchange, he glanced fearfully at Jiu Li, whose depth was unfathomable to him, and pointed at Zhu Qisheng and Fourth Realm female demon behind him.

"The two behind me are my friends, they are not yet qualified to sign the peace treaty. But I can assure you both that they have never harmed anyone, so please don’t...."

Before he could finish his sentence, Zhu Qisheng’s face twisted maliciously as he suddenly hugged the Fourth Realm female demon.

"Long live the Demon Beast Union!"

The next second.

Zhu Qisheng’s entire body erupted with a strong Demonic Qi, and he spat out his Demon Pill.

The sudden turn of events.

Neither the Fifth Boundary Big Monsters nor the Fourth Boundary female demon who had been embraced by him, nor Li Jing or Jiu Li had anticipated this.

One reason was that their attention had been drawn to the Great Demon who had spoken, and the other was that Zhu Qisheng had not shown any anomalies after falling into the subspace.

"Boom!"

With a loud noise, Zhu Qisheng’s Demon Pill and his entire body exploded, transforming into a terrifying shockwave.

The embraced Fourth Realm female demon let out a scream before being swallowed by the shockwave.

Next was the Fifth Boundary Big Monster who was close at hand.

Li Jing and Jiu Li, who had not had time to react, looked on as they were about to be engulfed as well when a phantom of a pagoda appeared, protecting them within its cover.

Ensconced in the protection of the Linglong Tower, Li Jing’s face was extremely ill-looking.

He had been careless!

He had never expected that Zhu Qisheng would choose to self-destruct on the spot when he was caught off guard.

Jiu Li, who was next to him, was somewhat stunned.

She was not frightened, far from it.

Even without the protection of the Linglong Tower, Zhu Qisheng’s self-destruction would not harm her.

Monster cultivation heavily relied on body refining.

Her body as a late Six Realm Great Demon was incredibly strong.

The self-destruction of a Fourth Boundary demon would not even be able to blow a hair from her head.

However, Zhu Qisheng’s decisiveness in self-destruction indeed left her astonished.

With the intervention of the Great Demon who had signed the peace treaty, Zhu Qisheng did have a chance to survive, not to mention Li Jing had already stated his position.

But he chose to self-destruct without hesitation...

Even if he had something to hide, that would be too much!

Given a chance to survive, who wouldn’t want to live?

The sudden self-destruction of Zhu Qisheng came and went quickly.

The terrifying shockwave triggered by the simultaneous rupture of his Demon Pill and his body quickly dissipated.

The Fifth Boundary Big Monster fell to the ground, his body covered in blood, looking at the shattered body next to him with a look of disbelief on his face.

He obviously knew Zhu Qisheng quite well.

Even though he was severely injured in the unexpected explosion, he still refused to believe that the latter had chosen to detonate herself without warning.

Upon seeing the Great Demon grievously wounded, Li Jing stared in shock at the corpse of the Fourth Realm female demon on the scene, waving his hand to withdraw the Linglong Tower which had sprung forth to protect him.

"I apologize, I was careless."

Urged by the sound, the Great Demon looked up with a hint of anger, which quickly turned into sadness.

He glanced down at the corpse of the Fourth Realm female demon next to him, sighed, and flicked out a ball of purple flame from his fingers.

Li Jing watched his action in silence.

Over there, the Great Demon watched the female demon’s body being swallowed by the purple flame and reduced to ashes, slowly rising to his feet.

"Your Excellency, do not blame yourself. I did not expect that even a docile creature like Zhu would..."

He stopped halfway through his sentence, turning to look at Jiu Li.

"If Elder’s fox demon would like to utilize their charming ability to aid in the investigation, please feel free. I shan’t resist. Ask whatever you wish. I only have one request: Elder, please do not insinuate anything more unto me."

Upon hearing his words, Jiu Li slightly frowned, directing a questioning look at someone.

Seeing this, Li Jing shook his head indicating and said to the Great Demon.

"From your reaction, you seem unaware of what the Demon Beast Union is, and I have no questions for you. My only goal here is Zhu Qisheng, I apologize again for bringing trouble to your other friend."

During their conversation, he dispersed the energy within the Boundary Stone in his hand.

The spatial boundaries quietly disappeared.

The three of them returned to the private room in the bar.

The Great Demon, who looked a total mess, glanced strangely at Li Jing when he realized he had no intention of making things difficult for him, saying,

"I have actually heard some things about the Demon Beast Union, but I didn’t know that Zhu was from the Union, nor that Union demons could be so wild. In this regard, I’m afraid I can’t help you two."

"Thank you for your cooperation."

Li Jing replied, pulling Jiu Li with him to leave.

...

Once they exited the private room, the two headed straight out of the bustling bar.

On the street, Jiu Li glanced at Li Jing, saying,

"Your attitude towards demons...is somewhat surprising."

"Enough of this nonsense, next target."

Li Jing grumbled,

"We’ve learnt our lesson. Directly charm them on contact in the future. With what’s happened now, I can fully confirm there’s something off about the Demon Beast Union. It’s directly linked with Wang Youwei’s death. Don’t give them anymore chances. Zhu Qisheng is very wicked. It’s hard to ensure that our next target won’t behave similarly."

"Understood."

Jiu Li nodded, and then said.

"About this incident, I think it would be best for you to report to the Bureau Serious Case Group as soon as possible. If all the demons from the Demon Beast Union are like this, the two of us alone might not be able to handle it. If the Union finds out we are investigating them, it’s hard to imagine what they might do."

Upon hearing his words, Li Jing remained silent, somewhat conflicted.

He must admit, due to encountering Yue Lingling, a member of the Demon Beast Union before, his previous assumptions were biased.

The organization was far more terrifying than he had imagined.

A demon from the Fourth Realm would rather self-detonate without hesitation.

If it wasn’t for the fact that they were in a subspace, imagine how many innocent people would have been caught in the explosive situation.

Zhu Qisheng was thoroughly brainwashed.

He didn’t even care about his own life...

Compared to him, Yue Lingling was at most just somewhat affiliated with the Demon Beast Union. She couldn’t be considered a demon hailing from the Union.

In such a situation, it was indeed inappropriate to continue acting alone.

Zhu Qisheng obviously knew why he was being targeted. He had self-destructed both to avoid exposing the Demon Beast Union and to hide the actual intentions of the Union.

Li Jing had a vague idea that the murder of Wang Youwei by the Great Demon of the Union had a deeper purpose and was a part of a bigger scheme.

Zhu Qisheng, who didn’t hesitate to self-destruct, could undoubtedly be called a loyal follower.

Using such a "talent" to assist Wang Youwei in cleansing Spiritual objects was somewhat careless.

Zhu Qisheng’s interaction with Wang Youwei wasn’t recent. As a pawn, he had been involved for quite some time.

The Demon Beast Union using such a loyal follower like him most likely had objectives they didn’t want to be discovered and had started making arrangements long before.

If this was correct, the Union might be in regular contact with Zhu Qisheng and other related demons.

Now that Zhu Qisheng was dead, they could be alert at any moment.

Once that time comes, regardless of whether the Union makes a move or pulls back, he would definitely be unable to handle it by himself.

After weighing the pros and cons, Li Jing took out the Spirit Soldier Flying Sword.

"Let’s look for another one. If they’re also from the Demon Beast Union, I’ll immediately inform the Bureau Serious Case Group."

"Alright."

Jiu Li responded accordingly.

As for the workings of the Demon Beast Union, she didn’t particularly care.

However, she did reside on this piece of the Earth Realm known as the capital, and she didn’t want a bunch of lunatics causing disruption in her home.

Who could handle random explosions all the time?

Even if she had signed a peace treaty, the Patrol Agency would undoubtedly target all monsters if a group of them were playing around with self-detonation.

Yes, there were Great Demons in the Demon Beast Union.

Who could guarantee that some of these Great Demons that are under peace-treaty would not belong to them?

If the demons from the Fifth Boundary and above were to self-detonate within the city, it would cause serious chaos.

...

Soon, Li Jing brought Jiu Li to the vicinity of the second location where they had identified Wang Youwei’s close contact.

This man was named Sun Biao.

The last surveillance footage showed him near the entrance of an internet café.

Upon arrival, Jiu Li spoke out.

"There’s only one demon inside this internet café, of the Fifth Boundary."

"Understood."

Li Jing nodded and entered the internet café with her.

The internet café was a single storey, and there was no need for Jiu Li to point out the exact location. They would spot it the moment they entered.

Without a doubt, as soon as Li Jing walked in, he spotted a health bar in the corner of the internet café with value 6274.

That person was Sun Biao.

Once confirmed he was the man he was looking for, Li Jing squinted his eyes.

Every contact of Wang Youwei that was found, turned out to be a demon.

It seemed that there was no need to continue verifying the rest of the contacts.

Most of them were probably members of the Demon Beast Union, who assisted Wang Youwei in laundering a large amount of spiritual objects purchased from the Darknet Black Market.

What needed to be confirmed were those who did not have any close contact with him.

Without much thought, Li Jing walked straight toward Sun Biao with Jiu Li.

At the moment, Sun Biao was engrossed in browsing a webpage in the corner of the internet café. He didn’t sense the approach of the two at all.

He didn’t even notice until Li Jing and Jiu Li stopped behind him. Confused, he took off his headphones and turned to look.

Before he could identify them, Li Jing took out a Boundary Stone.

The next second.

A subspace boundary was erected, isolating the three of them from the outside world.

Falling into the subspace, Sun Biao’s face changed immediately.

At this moment, Jiu Li casually brushed back her hair.

A simple action that left Sun Biao stunned, gradually turning into a daze.

Seeing this, Li Jing couldn’t help but cast a side glance at her.

Jiu Li was unlike Yulian in that charm was not her primary method of cultivation.

However, her charming ability was extraordinary.

A simple action managed to completely quell a Fifth Boundary Great Demon.

Although this was largely due to her high cultivation level, it was undoubtedly impressively easy for her.

Of course.

When compared with Yulian, Jiu Li was far from achieving the same level of natural charm.

When he was with Yulian, Li Jing could feel her natural charm influencing him all the time.

However, he felt no such thing with Jiu Li.

Turning his eyes onto Sun Biao, who had been charmed, Li Jing asked,

"Are you a member of the Demon Beast Union?"

"Yes."

His voice was dull as he replied.

After receiving a confirmative response, Li Jing took out his phone and switched it into video recording mode.

"Was the guardian of the Wang family, Wang Youwei, killed by the Demon Beast Union?"

"Yes."

"Why did the Demon Beast Union kill him?"

"To make a deal with the Lu family."

Receiving this answer, Li Jing was slightly taken aback.

The Lu family, again?

When Jiu Li heard Sun Biao mention the Lu family, she also expressed a puzzled frown.

Li Jing had not informed her of anything he had discovered so far.

Now that the Lu family had come to light, she felt slightly surprised.

"What sort of deal did the Demon Beast Union make with the Lu family?"

Li Jing asked again.

"I don’t know. The one who killed Wang Youwei was Master Zhang’s party. I was not involved in that."

Sun Biao responded.

Upon hearing this, Li Jing frowned.

Sun Biao was a Fifth Boundary Great Demon, yet he had not been involved?

It seemed that the Union had a clear division of labor.

Closing down the video recorder on his phone, Li Jing asked,

"Where are Master Zhang and his party currently?"

Faced with this question, a strangled and struggling expression surfaced on Sun Biao’s face.

Seeing this, Li Jing tilted his head.

"What’s wrong with him?"

"I am not mainly focused on charm, and his cultivation level is not low. Trying to access relatively sensitive parts of his memory seems to be causing his will to attempt to break free."

Jiu Li said lightly and then softly spoke,

"Answer honestly, don’t struggle in vain."

Her soft voice was like an undeniable decree, making Sun Biao’s expression turn blank once again.

"Seeking Immortal Winery, a property owned by the Lu family on the outskirts of the capital, is a temporary stronghold of the Union."

Seeking Immortal Winery was owned by the Lu family.

Li Jing squinted, took out his Flying Sword Blue Edge.

"Puff!"

Blood splattered.

Sun Biao’s head was severed, his health bar empty.

"Experience +6274."

"Level up, 53. Spiritual Power Intensity +106, Skills +2."

Seeing Li Jing suddenly kill the charmed Sun Biao who could offer no resistance, Jiu Li looked at him with surprise.

"You just killed him?"

"He didn’t know what the Union traded with the Lu family. It’s already rare that he knew the location of their temporary base, so I couldn’t have expected anything else from him."

Li Jing spoke calmly, noticing that Sun Biao’s true form was a Tiger Demon the size of a small car after his death. He collected the corpse and dispersed the energy inside the Boundary Stone in his hands.

...

Back in the real world, Li Jing took out his tablet and uploaded the partial action report he had prepared in advance to the Patrol System. He then turned to Jiu Li and said,

"Brother Jiu, you go back. I need to make a trip to the Seeking Immortal Winery."

"You... are going alone?"

Jiu Li looked at him in surprise.

"If I don’t go alone, where would your Six Realm Great Demon’s meat come from?"

Li Jing gave a smile, adding,

"Just go back and wait for my news."

Having said that, he put on the Communication Earpiece from the Bureau Serious Case Group, quickly left the internet café to check the location of the Seeking Immortal Winery on his phone, and summoned Blue Edge to fly away.

Seeing Li Jing turn into a sword light and disappear the moment he stepped out of the door, Jiu Li was left slightly dumbfounded.

The Seeking Immortal Winery was not only a temporary base for the Demon Beast Union, it was also a property under the Lu family’s name.

Could he really just barge into a place like that?

In Sun Biao’s words, Master Zhang was clearly the Six Realm Great Demon who had assassinated Wang Youwei!

Although Li Jing did not bring her along, based on his tone just now, it seemed like he was planning to go "solo", without seeking the support of the Patrol System.

This guy...

Could it be that he did not know what "death" was?

...