Chapter 13: The End

As the gemstones were stored in his Dragon Heart Space, he immediately sensed its urgent desire to devour them.

He resisted this urge; after all, these nine gems confirmed as spirit stones contained potent spiritual energy. Given their rarity, it might be ages before he could acquire another one like this.

Approaching the menacing statue, which had a wolf’s head and a human body, Li Zhen felt an unsettling sensation just from glancing at it—the statue’s eyes seemed almost alive.

A wave of influence emanated from those eyes, attempting to infiltrate Li Zhen’s mind.

The moment the wave entered his body, it was halted in its tracks.

It wasn’t due to any extraordinary strength on his part, but rather because possessing the dragon heart granted him a certain level of immunity against such mental assaults.

Realizing something was amiss, Li Zhen dared not linger near the statue any longer.

Instead, he began scrutinizing the hall, though he knew the chances of finding an exit here were slim. Still, hope persisted that some opportunity to leave might present itself.

As he reached a corner of the hall, he couldn’t help but pause.

He detected the aura of a spiritual object beneath the floor—an aura indicating a mid-grade first-rank item.

Focusing his mind on the presence of this mid-grade first-rank spiritual object, he attempted to absorb it into his inventory.

Within his Dragon Heart Space, a formation disk resembling an ancient compass materialized.

As this compass-like spiritual object was retrieved, he sensed that the barrier between him and the outside world had vanished.

“This is a formation disk! I’ve inadvertently broken the array here!” Li Zhen quickly realized what happened; though he’d never seen a formation disk before, he had studied their basics in books.

Without the disk, the array would dissipate.

Considering they were still within the city—otherwise, how could Senior Lu have so easily transported him and Cheng He out? At least it wouldn’t be possible for someone at only the second level of Qi Refinement alone.

Since they were likely still inside the city, once the protective array was lost, the Security Bureau would swiftly discover this place.

After a moment’s thought, he turned and sprinted back down the corridor.

He was gambling with time, trying to return to their cell before any other enemies found them.

Li Zhen didn’t go back to his original room—it had been destroyed—but instead chose an unoccupied one nearby.

The iron door could be easily opened from the outside but not from within, allowing him to enter without any trouble.

Just as he closed the iron door behind him, cries echoed through the corridor.

Cries echoed from afar, passing by the iron door without detecting anything amiss in Li Zhen’s vicinity.

After a couple of breaths, a thunderous sound reverberated, followed by the clamor of battle.

Li Zhen’s heart leapt with joy; this meant that his location had been discovered. The combatants engaged with the Demon-Worship Cultists were likely government forces.

In the main hall on the other side, Cheng He was jolted awake by the deafening noise. Dazed, he scanned his surroundings.

Suddenly, his gaze fell upon Senior Lu, sprawled motionless on the ground. A pool of blood spread beneath him, its crimson expanse sealing his fate – there was no hope for Senior Lu’s survival.

Cheng He’s mind began to race, piecing together his ordeal at the hands of Senior Lu.

He attempted to rise unsteadily, seeking a place to hide, only to see several uniformed constables storming into the hall.

Constable Shang found himself facing a bewildered youth – none other than Cheng He.

Moments ago, when the constables burst into the hall, they had wasted no time in subduing Cheng He.

It was only due to the incredibly weak fluctuations of spiritual energy within Cheng He that the constables hadn’t perceived him as a threat. Otherwise, they would have severely injured him before attempting capture.

One could hardly blame the security guard; if Li Zhen had been there, such an incident wouldn’t have occurred. Despite being only 12 years old, Cheng He stood at a towering 180 centimeters.

Naturally, once the guard scanned Cheng He’s face and verified his identity, he was promptly released.

The ordeal had left Cheng He deeply traumatized. His face was pale as death, tears streamed uncontrollably down his cheeks, and his lips quivered incessantly.

“Did you kill this man?” Constable Shang asked, pointing to Senior Lu’s corpse on the ground.

“He’s the one who captured me!” Cheng He hastily explained.

Constable Shang smiled reassuringly, gently patting Cheng He’s shoulder. He mistakenly believed that Cheng He was admitting to killing Senior Lu, a Demon-Worship Cultist.

With the cult base now under control, interrogations took place on-site. Through various special methods, Constable Shang gleaned information about the personnel within the Demon-Worship Cult base from captured cultists, including details of Senior Lu’s role.

In his eyes, for a mere twelve-year-old like Cheng He to be able to kill Senior Lu, coupled with his mid-grade fire spiritual root, it was clear that Cheng He’s future achievements would be nothing short of remarkable.

Cheng He was bewildered, but he still possessed some shrewdness. Noticing the change in Constable Shang’s attitude towards him, he wisely kept his mouth shut.

“Sir, we’ve rescued all the prisoners, and we’re now verifying their identities!” a law enforcement officer reported.

“Xiaomei, come here. Take our little hero back to the Security Bureau. I’ll go check on the situation,” Constable Shang instructed a nearby female officer.

Hearing Constable Shang call himself “little hero”, Cheng He couldn’t help but puff out his chest slightly.

At that moment, it dawned on him. It seemed as though Constable Shang truly believed he had killed Senior Lu, thus attributing this achievement to him.

His eyes darted about. Since no one else knew the real reason behind what happened, he decided to play along and claim credit for the deed.

Li Zhen and the other freed captives were being checked one by one, scanned with instruments, and questioned by law enforcement officers.

Li Zhen’s account was simple: after being captured by Senior Lu, he was locked up until they were rescued.

As Constable Shang passed by Li Zhen, recognition flashed across his face. Smiling, he said, “Ah, you’re Li Zhen again! How did you get into trouble once more?”

In high spirits due to the unexpected credit he’d received, anyone would be similarly delighted at such good fortune.

Li Zhen reluctantly lowered his head. He had no desire for Constable Shang to become familiar with him, but who could help it when he seemed to encounter the constable at every turn?

By the time Li Zhen emerged from the security bureau, it was already midnight.

Father Li and Mother Li anxiously arrived once again in their small pickup truck to bring him home.

The security bureau returned Li Zhen’s identity bracelet and Xingrui’s classic three-foot practice sword, both of which bore corresponding records of origin.

“Zhen’er, you’ve scared your mother half to death!” Upon returning home, Mother Li could no longer hold back her emotions as she embraced Li Zhen tightly, tears streaming down her face.

“See, our child is fine now,” Father Li gently consoled her. “Quickly, prepare something for him to eat!”

Bathed in his mother’s love, Li Zhen felt an extraordinary sense of calm wash over him.

“Yes, yes, I’ll do that right away!” Recalling how long Li Zhen must have been hungry, Mother Li stopped crying and hurried off to cook.

For tonight’s dinner, Mother Li deliberately added an extra portion of monster meat.

Though it was merely rat meat, this was spirit flesh, and every ingredient used in its preparation was a spiritual item. Normally, they would only treat themselves to such fare on weekends.

Ever since Li Zhen began channeling qi into his body, he could no longer consume ordinary food.

Not only did regular fare fail to benefit cultivators, long-term use of such sustenance could even harm their physical bodies.

Thus, cultivators required spirit food, which greatly simplified meal planning for families like Li Zhen’s.

After dinner, Li Zhen returned to his room.

He sat on his bed, mind entering the Dragon Heart Space. His latest acquisition was quite substantial; he hadn’t yet had a chance to examine it thoroughly.

With a wave of his hand, a Nine Heavens C045 mid-grade flying sword appeared in his grasp.

Next, he accessed the cultivator network and downloaded the manual for the Nine Heavens C045 from the official Nine Heavens Group artifacts store.

To his surprise, the Nine Heavens C045 mid-grade flying sword was considered one of the more exceptional models within the group’s first-tier mid-grade offerings. This superiority manifested primarily in its functionality.

For instance, once the Nine Heavens C045 mid-grade flying sword bonded with its owner, it could also synchronize with an identity bracelet—a feature that proved highly advantageous.

With this capability, Li Zhen could record the flight path of the Nine Heavens C045 mid-grade flying sword during practice. By comparing it to established advanced flying sword techniques, he could enhance his own skills with the blade.

Additionally, if the Nine Heavens C045 mid-grade flying sword were ever lost, it could be located using the identity bracelet.

Realizing its potential for tracking, Li Zhen hastily recalled the Nine Heavens C045 mid-grade flying sword back into his Dragon Heart Space.

His concern was unwarranted; even if the sword had been bound to that cultivator’s identity bracelet, the bracelet would have automatically locked upon the wearer’s death—killed by Li Zhen himself.

Nevertheless, Li Zhen decided to keep the Nine Heavens C045 mid-grade flying sword within his Dragon Heart Space for now. He’d wait until no one remained who might take interest in it before retrieving it.

After all, he couldn’t effectively use a flying sword yet anyway. It would be best to wait until reaching the intermediate stage of Qi Refining.