Chapter 987: Seizing the Spoils

Fortunately, the intelligence from Han Yao, or rather, the information he had extracted, turned out to be highly accurate, and no unexpected events occurred.

Within this estate, there was no formidable presence that could threaten Meng Zhang and his team.

Meng Zhang and Sun Sheng descended from the sky with grandeur, charging directly into the heart of the estate.

Alarms sounded within the estate as defensive formations immediately activated, enveloping the area in a dense protective screen.

Cultivators rushed around, maintaining the formations and utilizing their power to counter the threat.

Countless fireballs and wind blades materialized out of thin air, raining down like drops of water toward Meng Zhang and Sun Sheng.

However, this level of attack dissipated on its own before even reaching close, posing no threat whatsoever.

Meng Zhang extended both hands and gently tore downwards, ripping apart the protective screen emitted by the defensive formation.

As the protective screen was torn apart, a series of explosions echoed throughout the estate from the formations being disrupted.

Due to the vast power disparity, Meng Zhang effortlessly shattered the defensive formation below with brute force.

With the defensive formation broken, the strongest cultivator within the estate was at most at the Gold Core stage. Faced with two aggressive Primordial Spirit True Monarchs, they had little resistance.

Gold Core stage cultivators either activated their magic tools or cast spells and Divine Abilities in a desperate yet futile attempt to attack Meng Zhang and his companion.

Meng Zhang and Sun Sheng didn't even need to invoke magic tools; relying solely on their own strength, they effortlessly subdued all the enemies they encountered.

Given the estate's inhabitants were not particularly powerful, Meng Zhang fearlessly led the charge.

Any cultivator within his sight seemed to be struck by lightning, their bodies collapsing to the ground one by one.

While the estate was sizable, the number of cultivators inside was not substantial.

Apart from a few Gold Core stage cultivators, there were only several dozen Foundation Building and Refining Qi stage junior cultivators.

Facing the two ferocious Primordial Spirit True Monarchs, these cultivators had almost no means of resistance.

Occasionally overzealous actions resulted in the accidental death of a few cultivators, but for the most part, Meng Zhang and his team apprehended the majority of the cultivators, rendering them powerless to fight back.

At the very least, being Primordial Spirit True Monarchs meant they didn't need to personally conduct the crude tasks like searching the estate or interrogating captives.

After capturing the estate, Meng Zhang and Sun Sheng were joined by the flying boat patrolling the perimeter.

The Five Punishments Guards aboard the flying boat got to work without waiting for Meng Zhang's orders, efficiently and adeptly performing their tasks.They practically dug three feet into the ground, thoroughly searching the entire estate, leaving no hidden items that could escape their scrutiny.

Almost simultaneously, the interrogation of the captive cultivators began.

Plenty of cultivation resources were discovered within the estate, including a substantial amount of spiritual stones.

Firstly, as newcomers to the Five Punishments Guards, they were unfamiliar with the local customs and the habits of their superiors. Secondly, Meng Zhang, being a Primordial Spirit True Monarch, had a discerning eye and didn't bother much with ordinary items.

Hence, he didn't take an interest in the cultivation resources found here, not even bothering to spare them more than a glance.

A member of the Five Punishments Guards carefully carried a few boxes out from a secret chamber.

The boxes were placed separately, not mixed with the other items.

Meng Zhang was clear about his role in this operation – to provide sufficient martial support.

In many specific tasks, Han Yao would undoubtedly trust the Five Punishments Guards who had followed him for years more, as they were clearly more professional than Meng Zhang.

These Five Punishments Guards had received special instructions from Han Yao beforehand, and their actions were goal-oriented.

With the capture of the estate, Meng Zhang's mission was complete, and he had no intention of meddling further.

However, when he saw those boxes, he couldn't help but walk over and open them.

The nearby Five Punishments Guards didn't stop their superior's actions.

Inside the boxes were some commonly used cultivation items, such as pills, talismans, and magic tools.

Meng Zhang casually glanced at them. They were all low-level items suitable for junior cultivators in the Cultivation World. Not to mention a Primordial Spirit True Monarch, even a Gold Core Daoist Master might not find them appealing.

Sun Sheng, who was following behind Meng Zhang, also saw the low-level items in the boxes and lost interest, turning his head away.

Meng Zhang was about to withdraw his gaze when he suddenly felt something amiss. He casually picked up a bottle of pills and examined it closely.

His Divine Sense was keen, and he had strong observational skills. Moreover, he possessed the innate Divine Ability of Deception Breaking Eye, allowing him to see through all illusions.

After observing carefully for a while, he discovered the issue.

The pills seemed fine on the surface, but someone had tampered with them discreetly. There was an extremely faint and elusive aura of malevolence at the core of the pills.

Such manipulation was incredibly subtle, even an ordinary Primordial Spirit cultivator could easily be deceived.

Had Meng Zhang not taken a closer look, he wouldn't have noticed anything suspicious.

The malevolent aura had been hidden within the pills. After a cultivator ingested them, the malevolent aura would naturally infiltrate their body.While the malevolent aura might be faint, once it took root within a cultivator's body, it would gradually grow and strengthen, eventually leading to the cultivator's demonization.

Since the pills were compromised, it was likely that the magic tools and talismans were also affected.

Meng Zhang grabbed a few items at random and carefully inspected them.

Sure enough, both the magic tools and talismans contained subtle traces of malevolent aura hidden within them.

Whether a cultivator was refining a magic tool or activating a talisman, they needed to channel their true qi.

True qi coming into contact with the malevolent aura could easily become contaminated.

Without timely detection or special methods of purification, if left unchecked, a cultivator's entire true qi system would be tainted by the malevolent aura, leading to their eventual demonization.

These items were all low-level, typically used by junior cultivators.

Given their perspective and strength, except for a few exceptionally gifted individuals, most wouldn't notice anything amiss.

As long as these items were used, the malevolent aura would slowly contaminate the cultivator, eventually leading to demonization.

Meng Zhang's expression changed; this method was excessively malicious.

If these items were allowed to spread, countless cultivators in the entire Cultivation World might be affected.

Though these were low-level items, the first victims would mostly be low-level cultivators.

However, demons had a characteristic – low-level demons could evolve through battles and consumption of each other.

A large number of demonized low-level cultivators could turn into low-level demons.

If these low-level demons weren't swiftly eradicated, more powerful demons would soon arise.

Thus, the outbreaks of demonic calamities in the Cultivation World spread from small to large, growing in severity.

Meng Zhang's complexion shifted; this was a sinister tactic.

If left unchecked, who knows how many cultivators would be affected throughout the Cultivation World.

While these were merely low-level items, infiltrating them with malevolent aura without anyone noticing was not something ordinary Demonic Cultivation could achieve.

Han Yao hadn't informed Meng Zhang about the reasons behind this operation or many of the details.

Meng Zhang had been mechanically following his orders, capturing cultivators linked to Demonic Cultivation and seizing this estate...

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