No wonder Mr. Ya’s danger sense had gone off earlier. He couldn’t evade a Spiritual Venerable’s Spiritual Power probe, and neither could Su Ze.
However, the probe’s range was limited to the stronghold’s interior, so they didn’t have to worry about being discovered while observing from outside.
Waiting for a full day and night inevitably grew tedious. Su Ze split his focus, simultaneously monitoring the Filth Earth Organization’s stronghold and communicating with Mu Wang in the Soul Nourishing Jade Stone, starting to learn from him.
Su Ze knew nothing about the greater universe, but he planned to venture into it one day. It couldn’t hurt to learn about it in advance.
Mu Wang was reluctant at first, but he finally relented after a bit of coercion and persuasion from Su Ze.
To understand a place, you must first understand its history. So, Mu Wang began with the current territorial divisions of the universe and the origins of its major powers.
Mu Wang’s explanations were very general. He’d get vague whenever he reached a key point, glossing over it with just a few words. It wasn’t that he was being secretive—he simply didn’t know many of these things himself.
Su Ze’s occasional tricky questions sometimes left Mu Wang speechless... which made Su Ze realize that Mu Wang had probably been a slacker among his people, too.
’Wait, why did I think "too"?’ he wondered. ’I’m a top student at Dongli University.’
However, as much of a slacker as Mu Wang might be, he had at least survived in the cosmos for several hundred years. He had his share of experience. The knowledge he passed on wouldn’t make Su Ze an expert, but it would at least keep him from being completely clueless when he eventually ventured out there.
Su Ze was listening to Mu Wang recount the history of the Nian Race—likely the history he knew best—when his expression suddenly flickered. He retracted his Spiritual Power and looked toward the eastern side of the Desolate Mountain.
No one had emerged from the stronghold, but a group of people was now approaching the mountain from the outside.
A group of three flew swiftly toward the Desolate Mountain. Their leader was at the Butterfly Stage, with two Cocoon Stage followers behind him.
The trio stopped less than two hundred meters from the eastern side of the Desolate Mountain and waited quietly.
Su Ze expanded the range of his sense of smell and sniffed the air. He didn’t catch the foul stench on the trio, which meant they weren’t Tainted Ones.
’Could they be officials from the Ancient An Country?’
Just then, Bai Guishou, who was in the stronghold’s warehouse, seemed to receive a message. He stopped what he was doing and flew out of the stronghold.
Su Ze rejoiced inwardly. ’An opportunity!’
Bai Guishou was obviously on his way to meet the trio outside the mountain.
Bai Guishou flew out of the stronghold, past the edge of the Desolate Mountain, and didn’t land until he was right in front of the trio.
The three newcomers were clearly deferential to Bai Guishou, who in turn lifted his chin and put on an arrogant air.
After they exchanged a few words, the trio suddenly produced a large handful of storage devices and gave them to Bai Guishou.
Bai Guishou, in turn, took out a handful of his own storage devices, completing the trade.
Then, the trio took their leave. Bai Guishou remained where he was, inspecting the storage devices he’d just acquired. He sent his Spiritual Power into them, though it was unclear what he was looking for.
Once the trio’s figures had vanished from sight, Bai Guishou suddenly pulled a motley assortment of items out of the storage devices: extracts, various materials, and medicines.
SWISH! With a wave of his hand, he swept all the items into his personal Storage Ring, a smug expression spreading across his face.
"That fucking idiot Kang... He put me on warehouse duty, but I’m still living large."
Though he was muttering curses, he was clearly in a good mood, the corners of his eyes crinkling with a smile.
He turned around, only to find someone standing right behind him.
He jumped in fright. His eyes traveled upward, and when he saw Su Ze’s face, his blood ran cold. He didn’t even try to run. His legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees.
"I surrender! I’ll cooperate with whatever you want, just don’t kill me!"
Bai Guishou surrendered without hesitation. He knew how powerful Su Ze was now—running would be the height of foolishness.
They were too close. At this range, he couldn’t have escaped from a Venerable Powerhouse even at the height of his power.
Furthermore, his power had declined due to his frequent resurrections, leaving his true strength at a level equivalent only to the Butterfly Stage.
And so, he chose to beg for mercy immediately. The most important thing was to save his own skin.
"Not bad," Su Ze commended. "You know how to adapt to the situation."
With that, he lifted Bai Guishou with one hand and vanished on the spot.
Back at his and Mr. Ya’s hiding spot, Su Ze’s first order of business was to confiscate all of Bai Guishou’s storage devices—dozens of them in total.
Only a single Storage Ring actually belonged to Bai Guishou personally. The rest had just been delivered by the trio and were filled with all sorts of low-grade supplies.
These included human extracts and a considerable amount of food.
Of course, Su Ze had no interest in any of it. Even the "treasures" in Bai Guishou’s personal Storage Ring were nothing but junk in his eyes now.
Su Ze pulled a phone from Bai Guishou’s Storage Ring. He knew it was a Spirit Communication Phone and tried to turn it on, only to find that the Filth Earth Organization had modified it. They had added a Spiritual Power verification feature; it couldn’t be used unless it was first unlocked with Bai Guishou’s own Spiritual Power.
In fact, the Filth Earth Organization had only added this layer of security after Bai Guishou lost his phone on a previous occasion.
The second-generation Spirit Communication Phones that Su Ze’s group was now using had this feature as well.
"Unlock it," Su Ze said, holding the phone up to Bai Guishou. "Don’t even think about trying to call for help after you unlock it. Otherwise, I will kill you immediately and leave. You’ll be dead, and I’ll have lost nothing."
Bai Guishou forced a fawning smile and nodded eagerly. "Don’t you worry, I wouldn’t dare. I’m too afraid to die."