Bo Wei nodded and smiled, then left with his people.

Mi Hengpeng was also sent off casually.

In the room, only Fang Yu and An Menyi remained.

After Bo Wei left, An Menyi restrained his smile and calmly said, "The Bo Family doesn't trust us."

"Lord, after all, the Bo Family belongs to Thunder City. How could they possibly trust people from Tianyuan Town?" Fang Yu said.

An Menyi glanced at Fang Yu.

"Tell me honestly, is there anything you are hiding from me about the matter they are investigating?"

"Lord, every word I say is true, how dare I hide anything!"

"If you don't want to speak, that's fine, but remember, you only have one chance. If you don't speak now and something happens in the future, you'll have to bear it yourself. We cannot act rashly against the Bo Family."

"Lord, you are overly concerned!"

"...It better be like this."

After a pause, An Menyi said.

"By the way, remember the outdoor mission we talked about yesterday?"

Fang Yu's heart tightened.

"I remember. Is Lord Hall Master ready for me to start the mission?"

"Yes, initially I intended to wait a few more days, but suddenly there was new information. The holders of the three artifacts all started moving, converging on a single location. I think... it's time for us from the Foolish Underworld to act."

Three artifacts?

Lowering his head, Fang Yu said, "Please elaborate."

As always, he planned to weigh the pros and cons before deciding whether to accept this mission.

The outdoors... ultimately, it's still too risky. Without mental preparation, Fang Yu truly doesn't want to venture out.

Moreover, going outdoors means no demonic forces to rely on for protection, greatly reducing the sense of security.

While Fang Yu was considering this, An Menyi began to speak.

"Diao Deyi, do you know what Evil Qi is?"

Fang Yu was taken aback.

This sudden change of topic left him a bit disoriented.

Weren't we just discussing the outdoor mission? Why suddenly talk about Evil Qi?

But Fang Yu hesitated and answered, "I have some understanding."

"Oh? If you know, then it simplifies things."

"Since you know about Evil Qi, you should understand that [Evil Qi] is not something ordinary people can touch."

"The heavier the Evil Qi, the more dangerous it becomes."

"Places where the Evil Qi is concentrated are called [Lands of Gathering Evil], which are forbidden zones for most martial artists."

"However, a long time ago, a group called the [Sixteen Immortals] managed to seize some items from [Ivory Inferno Immortal Peak], a Land of Gathering Evil, and escape."

"Afterwards, this group split up and went separate ways, disbanding into smaller entities."

"Unexpectedly, the secret was eventually leaked, and they were hunted down by various parties, all eager to find out what they took from [Ivory Inferno Immortal Peak]."

"One of the [Sixteen Immortals], called [Red Immortal], unfortunately died in our area during the pursuit."

"The mysterious heirlooms left behind provoked a scramble among various factions, scattering them far and wide..."

"Now, with the passage of time, these secrets have long been forgotten by people."

"But our Foolish Underworld of Tianyuan Town, with its long-standing history, has retained some records."

"Originally, this was just another segment of history over the long years."

"But a few years ago, some news began to emerge."

"It's said that the legacy left by [Red Immortal] back then was incomplete, and a mysterious treasure site containing the Great Treasure still exists, with its location information hidden within certain artifacts."

"By gathering these artifacts, one could discover the location of the treasure and obtain the [Red Immortal] legacy."

"As a result, various factions started fighting fiercely but no reports emerged about anyone obtaining the [Red Immortal] legacy. Instead, humans ended up killing each other in the struggle, resulting in heavy casualties, which gradually quieted down this quest, bringing peace once again."

"Things should have ended just like this."

"However, recently, the corpse of a master was suddenly discovered by the roadside."

"On the corpse, there were three artifacts imprinted with...[Red Immortal]'s mark."

"These three artifacts are the Hidden Ink Sword, Book of Heartless, and Stone of Affectionate Heart."

"The three artifacts themselves aren't very powerful, considered rather ordinary among artifacts."

"Yet they are [Red Immortal]'s relics, potentially carrying information about [Red Immortal]'s Great Treasure. Consequently, various factions are quietly investigating, planning to forcibly seize them."

"While our Foolish Underworld possesses a unique advantage in this matter."

An Menyi looked directly at Fang Yu: "And that is, proximity."

Fang Yu:...

Fang Yu: Ah?

"Proximity?"

"Yes, just proximity. The position where the mysterious master's body was found isn't far from Tianyuan Town, and thus, not far from the surrounding towns either. So for this mission, in the short term, only nearby factions will compete."

"However, many factions have long forgotten about this part of history, or don't have any records of it. Only organizations like the Foolish Underworld, with a long history, understand the importance of these three artifacts."

"Hence this mission to retrieve the artifacts must be executed discreetly, without causing much commotion."

Fang Yu was puzzled.

"Doesn't that mean the Foolish Underworld is the only group participating in this mission?"

An Menyi shook his head.

"There are no impenetrable walls; I mentioned only factions with lengthy histories would know about this. And besides, they must be nearby, otherwise, their actions would naturally be slower than ours. As soon as the three artifacts surface, we can act, while they still need to trace the whereabouts of the artifacts, inherently putting them a step behind us."

Fang Yu understood.

This wasn't to say the competition was few, but that the competitors would be formidable.

What on earth, I thought it was good news, but it turns out to be no news at all!

Suddenly, Fang Yu thought of Huang Qixin.

Book of Heartless... Juling Gang...

That mud-legged member of Juling Gang mentioned something about stones, swords, books.

Could that book be Huang Qixin's book?

And Qiong Xiaolou's Ink Pen; no, that's a pen, not a sword.

Yet Dong Xingzhou was definitely targeting Qiong Xiaolou.

Could it be... the pen and sword are the same thing?

Fang Yu scratched his head, feeling a little confused.

But he understood An Menyi's meaning: retrieve the three artifacts and find the Great Treasure.

However, Fang Yu immediately thought of a question.

"Hall Master, according to what you said, shouldn't our Foolish Underworld have long targeted the artifact holders? Why act now and not earlier?"

An Menyi smiled.

"Because the time wasn't right, you know too little about [artifacts]. Some artifacts are just tools anyone can use, while others require specific people to activate them. It's like a monk blessing objects—inactive artifacts are just a pile of scraps, but once blessed, they're usable by anyone."

So before, they weren't activated?

Now that they're activated, the retrieval of artifacts begins?

Couldn't the Foolish Underworld always be watching, allowing artifact holders to escape to the wild?

Almost as if reading Fang Yu's thoughts, An Menyi calmly said: "There's also a ceremony; [Red Immortal]'s artifacts aren't like ordinary ones. To unlock the secrets of the three artifacts, a ceremony must be performed by all three artifacts."

"Even activated, the three artifacts are merely average tools, but once the ceremony is completed, they become keys, and their value becomes entirely different. Although we currently don't know if the [Red Immortal] treasure rumors are true, you just have to retrieve the items. Then you can take one of the three artifacts as your reward."

Though Fang Yu felt a bit peculiar, with An Menyi speaking to this extent, he naturally agreed for the time being.

At this moment, Fang Yu thought of Hei Ao and Zuo Lv.

Could it be... the artifacts they seek are the same batch I need to retrieve?