The Demon with Holy Radiance

The mission was to travel to Chongwen State, investigate the array the Golden Soul Sect had secretly deployed near Broken Armor, discover their intentions, and sabotage their plan.

These were the ultimate objectives of the operation.

Once the plan was decided, Yang An looked at White Bird.

As the Saintess of the Golden Soul Sect, White Bird would need a proper disguise if she wanted to join the operation. Otherwise, she would be easily recognized by her former sect members, even with a mask.

He asked for her opinion, giving her two choices.

The first was to go with them in disguise. The second was to return to the Golden Soul Sect in her capacity as Saintess and act as their inside agent.

In the end, White Bird chose to join the members of the Scripture Defector Association.

Back inside the Golden Soul Sect, even as the Saintess, there was little she could do. She would have no control over any unexpected events.

But by going with the Scripture Defector Association, she could use her knowledge of the Golden Soul Sect to provide them with crucial information. Plus, she was a formidable fighter.

Within the Scripture Defector Association, her Cultivation Level was on par with Broken Hand’s, making her stronger than the others.

Yang An agreed to her choice.

As for the disguise, White Bird stood before the members of the Scripture Defector Association. Countless microscopic creatures, like flying ants, suddenly swarmed and enveloped her, who had been wearing a long white dress.

The creatures burrowed into her body, rapidly altering her physical structure.

In less than two breaths, White Bird’s figure had changed dramatically.

The tall, graceful beauty transformed into a shorter, matronly woman with a thick waist and a slightly bloated figure.

Even her face changed, her skin becoming coarse and weathered, like someone who spent their life toiling in the fields.

Once she donned her mask, which depicted a small white bird, she was utterly unrecognizable as the White Bird from before.

"Excellent. Truly excellent. Every one of you possesses an Ultimate Skill."

Yang An marveled at White Bird’s ability.

Under the cover of darkness, Yang An led the group back to Chongwen State.

The souls of the men he had killed—the ones pursuing Wen Yin—had been devoured by Bow Lady, who then extracted their memories.

However, their memories only contained the precise location of the Array; they had no idea what it was for.

They were simply following orders.

Guided by Bow Lady, the group quickly entered Chongwen State. They navigated through the state, avoiding several Golden Soul Sect strongholds, and successfully reached the location of the Array.

From several hundred meters away, Yang An carefully scanned the area. Confirming it was temporarily safe and free of the auras of any other living creatures, he led the others, who had already donned their Scripture Defector Association masks, to approach.

Several days had passed since he killed Wen Yin’s pursuers. The Golden Soul Sect had surely noticed by now, so they had to act quickly.

After all, there was no telling what other contingencies the Golden Soul Sect might have in place besides this Array.

Their very presence here might have already alerted the sect.

The Golden Soul Sect had set up their Array on a desolate mountain of considerable size.

"To find the Array, we first have to find its core. We have no idea what the core might be, so searching for it in an area this large will be like finding a needle in a haystack. I suggest we split up and pool our efforts to investigate."

White Bird spoke first.

’As expected of the Golden Soul Sect’s Saintess. She knows far more about this than the others, and she explains it with such authority.’

But Yang An just shook his head.

"Unnecessary."

"Does He Tou have a better way?"

White Bird and the others looked at Yang An in surprise.

Yang An simply told them to follow him. He led them deep into the desolate mountain, stopping at an unremarkable earthen slope.

Confused, the group could only wait for Yang An’s next instruction.

Yang An, however, simply pointed to the grassy ground at their feet.

"Who here can pull a bug out from dozens of meters underground?"

Before anyone else could react, the taciturn Pi Fa stepped forward.

The boy, who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen and so frail a gust of wind might knock him over, now held everyone’s attention.

"Excellent. Pi Fa, you need to capture a black bug with white markings from underground. I need it alive."

Satisfied, Yang An pointed out the precise location to Pi Fa.

’If it were me,’ he thought, ’I doubt I could have caught it alive.’

’This is where the versatility of the Scripture Defector Association’s members really shines.’

Everyone stared at Yang An, astonished. How could he know all this in such detail?

’It was one thing to lead them to the precise location of the Array—he could have had prior intelligence for that.’

’But how did he know there was a black bug deep underground? How could he even know the color of its markings?’

’Did you set up this Array yourself?’

The group tactfully took a few steps back, giving Pi Fa enough space to work while they stood guard over the surroundings.

Pi Fa squatted down at the spot Yang An had indicated and plucked a single hair from his head.

He clutched the strand of hair and gently pushed it into the grassy earth.

The once-soft hair seemed to become incredibly rigid, like a steel needle, and sank into the ground.

Soon, the part of the hair still above ground began to grow rapidly, sprouting and splitting into countless new strands.

Pi Fa held out a hand, letting the strands wrap around it, then gave a sudden, sharp pull upwards.