Two nights later, another Loose Cultivator was murdered.@@@@

    Just as unknowingly and silently killed, with the closest Cultivator less than five hundred meters away at the time.

    Under such circumstances, the Loose Cultivator still died, drained of all his blood.

    Another day passed, and new news came in, among the Loose Cultivators who fled the city out of fear, two had gone missing.

    These two Loose Cultivators had tasks they were commissioned for, working for the Zhang Family, and it was impossible for them to disappear without even wanting their compensation.

    The day after the two Loose Cultivators went missing, Cultivators found their bodies, drained of blood, in their caves outside the city.

    Now all the Loose Cultivators were scared and gathered around the four Cultivation Families for security.

    At the same time, Gu Jia also increased the reward for the task, from five hundred Spirit Stones to a resource of a thousand Spirit Stones.

    Li Shiming hadn''t dared to cultivate these past few days, fearing that the fluctuations of Spiritual Power from the Gathering Spirit Plate might attract that Cultivator''s attention.

    Although he didn''t live in the northeastern area of the Central Capital, who knew whether that Cultivator was only focusing on that region?

    He minimized his sleeping time, sleeping only two hours during the day and not at all at night, constantly wearing an eye mask to watch the surveillance camera footage.

    That night, like the previous few days, Li Shiming first released a drone.

    In the darkness of night, the drone flew up to three hundred meters, and he had enchanted it with an ''Invisibility Talisman,'' turning the drone invisible.

    This was a discovery he made after studying ''Invisibility Technique'' – it was not only applicable to Cultivators, but as long as it was activated with spiritual power, it could be applied to both people and objects.

    Regardless of the target, the duration of ''Invisibility Technique'' was the same.

    "Huh!" He spotted a figure, but unlike a normal infrared thermal image, this one was deep blue.

    In his settings, red indicated heat sources; temperatures lower than the outside would show up as blue, and this deep blue color appeared only when the temperature was extremely low.

    Keep in mind that it was still summer, and the outdoor temperature at night was still very hot.

    The appearance of an extremely low-temperature target was naturally very conspicuous in the thermal imaging.

    Who would have thought that the cultivator who caused the ruckus in Central Capital, making it impossible for Loose Cultivators to find shelter, was residing in a civilian home, disguised as a commoner?

    Li Shiming looked around at the three-story building he was on—Yuelai Restaurant, a famous establishment in the city.

    He took out a "Hundred-Mile Communication Token," explained the situation, wrote down his location, and asked Gu Jia to come over while concealing his aura.

    After releasing the "Hundred-Mile Communication Token," he promptly packed up both the drone and the monocular.

    After waiting for half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Li Shiming felt as if someone was nearby. Turning his head, he saw Gu Jia and another person standing beside him.

    In all honesty, Li Shiming was really startled; as a cultivator, it had been a long time since he had felt this way.

    "Mr. Li, are you certain you''ve found the Corpse Refining Cultivator?" Gu Jia asked solemnly, his face betraying a hint of concern, as if worried Li Shiming was joking.

    Of course, he understood that Li Shiming wouldn''t joke about such matters.

    "Just now, I spotted a figure darting past my house, so I followed it. That figure, after meeting with another, merged into one and returned to the civilian dwelling in front!" Li Shiming said, pointing towards the distant house.

    "You''re quite bold, tracking alone at the Qi Refining Second Level Peak!" said the person beside Gu Jia in a light tone.

    Li Shiming couldn''t sense any spiritual power fluctuations from the stranger, but he had a feeling that although there were no fluctuations, there was an imperceptible and formidable pressure that made him dare not underestimate the other.

    "Fellow Cultivator, Brother Gu has helped me greatly. The Corpse Refining Cultivator has caused a lot of trouble for Brother Gu. If there''s an opportunity to help, I''m certainly obliged to do so!" Li Shiming said with a grave tone.

    He didn''t understand why the other was taking the time to talk with him instead of immediately arranging a capture.

    "Mr. Li, don''t use inappropriate titles, you should call him Uncle-Master!" Gu Jia said in a low voice.

    Li Shiming was taken aback by Gu Jia''s words; he certainly knew what the title Uncle-Master implied.

    Gu Jia''s Uncle-Master, wasn''t that a Foundation Establishment Cultivator?

    "I have seen the senior, please forgive my disrespect!" Li Shiming didn''t dare to actually call him Uncle-Master; he wasn''t a disciple of the Sky Sea Sect yet. Perhaps in the future, he could, but not now.

    "Not bad, although I do not know the quality of your spirit root seeds, reaching the Qi Refining Second Level Peak at your age is no problem for entering the sect!" chuckled the Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

    He had come here on account of the Corpse Refining Cultivator and on the very first day, Li Shiming had provided a lead on his whereabouts. Coupled with Gu Jia''s recommendation, this gave him a good impression of Li Shiming.