Chapter 705 - 148: Black Mist (5)

Zhang Deming paused, then said, "I know myself well enough. Looking at this... it gives me the creeps."

Yue Mengsheng shook his head, but he understood. Every Cultivator had their secrets. No one would be comfortable knowing such a thorough dossier existed on them.

Just then, the expressions of the others faltered as they all turned to look at Zhang Deming. He had flipped his hand over to reveal an Array Card, his expression shifting slightly.

"That’s all for today’s business," Gan Zili said. "Since we’re done, you should go attend to your affairs if you have something urgent, Junior Brother Zhang. With the grand assembly so close and you having just returned, I imagine a pile of disciples are frantic."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Deming stood and bowed. "In that case, I will take my leave. The assembly is indeed imminent, and there are many matters that require my immediate attention."

The three nodded in unison. "Go on."

Zhang Deming stood, walked out of the pavilion, and sprouted his wings, soaring into the sky.

Watching Zhang Deming depart, Gan Zili remarked, "It seems Junior Brother Zhang’s inhibitions are fading."

Gu Liancai nodded. "But his guard around us seems to be lowering, too. He even started talking back to me today."

Gan Zili paused, glancing at Gu Liancai. ’It’s good that you’re self-aware,’ he thought. But Gu Liancai had a point. On Spirit Nurturing Peak, being able to talk back to Gu Liancai was indeed a sign of intimacy.

Yue Mengsheng said, "Geniuses always have their pride, don’t they? Regardless of what he went through in his past life, he’s likely learned his lesson by now. As for his inhibitions fading, I think that’s normal, too.

"Judging by all the signs, he should be living more freely. His previous extreme caution didn’t fit the temperament of a genius."

"Now that we’re expunging his file, has the Sect found out which Independent Practitioner Family he originally belonged to?" Gan Zili asked.

Yue Mengsheng shook his head. "No. In all of Hongmeng, there are only two well-known families with the surname Zhang. The Secret Group visited both, and there’s absolutely no one like him in their records."

"So, are we still investigating?" asked Gan Zili.

"Master Dang said to stop. Once the information is expunged, he needs to be protected as if he were at the Supreme Elder Level. Besides, Master Dang said it’s no longer necessary.

"A person who would do so much for the Red Dust cannot be a truly evil man. This innate nature, while not making him a perfect person, has already set him on a course where he can only walk the righteous path.

"Now that our junior brother sincerely wishes to align himself with the Sect, there’s no need to care which family he belonged to in his past life. Even if he belonged to another sect, he is now the Fourth Peak Master of our Celestial Spirit Sect’s Spirit Nurturing Peak. That’s enough."

Gan Zili let out a long breath. "That’s good. After all, judging by his reaction just now, he’s extremely sensitive about others prying into his past. It’s truly not worth creating a rift over this."

Yue Mengsheng nodded. "I suspect that’s why Master Dang went against the dissenting opinions to have his file expunged."

Gan Zili paused, then changed the subject. "I heard that over at the Spirit Nurturing Holy Land, Ling’er..."

...

Zhang Deming left the Cloud Pool and flew back to the Flying Spring Waterfall Tower. He quickly entered the third-floor storage room and went to a corner of the warehouse. The indicator light on his watch-like Quantum Notebook was blinking.

Zhang Deming snatched up the watch, hurried down to the basement, and activated layers of defensive wards. He then tapped the device. With a rapid flourish, the watch unfolded into a very futuristic-looking Quantum Notebook.

As soon as the computer opened, another message popped up.

"The Celestial Eye Parasite Nest Team requests direct contact, preferably a face-to-face meeting. Headquarters deliberated for a long time and has left the decision to you. There is no mandatory arrangement, as long as you ensure the normal activation of the ’tool’.

------Watch Tower!"

Hm?

’These people from the Celestial Universe Federation, they get to the Sect and they can’t even lie low? They want to meet up?’

’Do they really think the Sect’s intelligence Secret Group is just for show?!’

Having just gone through the earlier incident, Zhang Deming was exceptionally wary of the Secret Group. He replied in a less-than-polite tone: "My new home is under constant surveillance by the Sect Protection Array, and they want to meet? Are they trying to make me prepare for an immediate evacuation?"

For a spy to say something like that should have clearly expressed just how displeased he was.

"This was a communication between headquarters. We at Watch Tower Three fought hard for this outcome. The decision is entirely up to you. It’s fine if you don’t make contact, as long as you ensure the ’tool’ is activated.

------Watch Tower!"

"Understood. The heat is on right now. It’s best if you don’t contact me again for the time being," Zhang Deming replied.

"Roger. We will maintain silence until your next call.

------Watch Tower!"

After finishing the communication, Zhang Deming closed the notebook. He thought for a long time before returning to the storage room and putting it back in its place.

He walked over to another storage shelf, took down a Jade Box, and carried it to the Magic Cultivation Room before opening it.

Inside was the ordinary yet peculiar Celestial Heart Treasure Box, along with a Crystal Ball that shimmered with a fantastical light.

Zhang Deming first took out the fantastically glowing Crystal Ball. With a serious expression, he flipped his hand over and retrieved another sphere from his storage bag.

Both spheres contained a mass of black mist. One held just a faint wisp, while the other contained a large cloud.

These two masses of black mist were the Soul Bodies that Zhang Deming had brutally ripped from Qu Wenbai on two separate occasions.

He had turned that old fiend into a vegetable. It was so severe that even the Nine Lives Soul Path, renowned for making its practitioners hard to kill, couldn’t save him. Well, at least it couldn’t save his existence in any meaningful way.

Holding the two items, Zhang Deming’s hands began to glow with a fantastical light. The outer shells of the two spheres vanished. His hands, still shimmering with that dreamy light, brought the two objects closer together.