NOVPUB
Chapter 249: Hidden Tunnels
Aldrian grinned when he noticed something intriguing—or rather, when he spotted a group of people walking amidst the bustling road. He neither knew them nor had he ever seen any of them before, yet he was familiar with the sensation he felt whenever he was near them. A quick glance at their information confirmed his suspicion.
"The devils. What are they doing here?"
Although he wondered about them, he was glad to have found something that might bring him clues. This group of eight devils possessed quite high cultivation, with all of them at the Marquess stage and the strongest at the peak of that level.
With a relaxed posture, he followed the devils. His presence was perfectly concealed, blending seamlessly with the crowd, making it impossible for the devils to detect him or grow suspicious. He continued tailing them until they arrived at a house in the eastern district. The house appeared unremarkable, identical to those around it. The group entered, but the last devil paused briefly, scanning the surroundings before stepping inside and closing the door.
Knowing their destination, Aldrian decided to approach a food vendor standing not far from the house.
"Excuse me, may I ask a question? Who owns that house?" Aldrian asked, pointing toward the house while discreetly offering a mid-level energy stone with his other hand.
The food vendor’s eyes lit up with delight at the sight of the energy stone. He eagerly accepted it before answering Aldrian.
"That house was purchased by a group of vagabond cultivators, if I recall correctly, about 17 years ago. I don’t know much about them personally since they seem to keep to themselves and rarely interact with the locals," the food vendor replied.
"They also appear to host people from various places. I assume they’re all part of the same group. To me, they’re scary individuals with high-level cultivation, so you should be careful if you go near them," he added.
"Alright, thank you for your answer," Aldrian said before turning and walking toward the house.
The food vendor wondered who Aldrian was as he watched him walk toward the house without hesitation.
While approaching the house, Aldrian was lost in thought.
"Seventeen years ago... that’s the same time the emperor began showing signs of being cursed. So, these devils have been staying here since then?"
He stood before the house’s door, scanning it with his senses. Finding no hidden formations, he opened the door and stepped inside.
As he entered, he noticed a man already inside. The man seemed like an ordinary resident, casually sweeping the floor. Yet Aldrian instantly recognized the truth—this man was a devil, with cultivation at the peak of the Marquess stage.
This man was different from the group that had just entered the house, leading Aldrian to conclude that he had been inside much earlier.
The man, noticing Aldrian enter alone, wore a puzzled expression.
"Is there another group arriving? Why wasn’t I informed? And why is he alone?" he wondered to himself.
"Who—" Before he could finish his question, a sharp pain shot through his abdomen. Aldrian had appeared before him in an instant, striking his dantian with a punch that shattered it completely.
The man, still reeling from the sudden attack, could only watch helplessly as Aldrian placed a hand on his forehead, delving into his memories. Powerless to resist, he succumbed to the darkness after Aldrian finished reading his thoughts.
Aldrian wasted no time, killing him instantly by destroying his soul after extracting the information he needed.
Aldrian then walked toward one of the rooms. The interior of the house was nothing special—just a typical layout that could be found in any house across the empire. He moved with a calm expression and a relaxed posture, his hands resting behind his back.
As he passed through several rooms, he didn’t find anyone. He spread his senses throughout the house, but still found no one. After reading the memories of the devil he had killed earlier, Aldrian now understood why.
He walked toward one of the bedrooms and approached a side wall, gently touching it. It seemed he was trying to sense something. When he found it, he pressed it with his hand, and suddenly, a hidden passage opened beside it.
The devils had actually entered this passage, which led underground. Without hesitation, Aldrian stepped inside and walked along the path. The secret passage was wide enough for three people to walk side by side, and he sensed no traps or formations along the way. He couldn’t decide if the devils were confident there would be no intruder like him or if they were simply too lazy to set any traps or formations.
The underground tunnel extended for quite a distance, making Aldrian wonder just how vast this tunnel network was. Even after spreading his senses to the maximum, he couldn’t cover the entire system.
After walking for a few minutes, he finally came upon the first room along the side of the tunnel. He had masked his presence so well that even an Emperor stage cultivator would have difficulty detecting him here. Coupled with his recent breakthrough to the Marquess stage, his control over energy and comprehension had also improved, allowing him to conceal his presence even more effectively.
When Aldrian arrived in front of the room and peeked inside, he saw it was filled with many devils. He counted tens of them, all busy arranging various artifacts—swords, spears, shields, and armor. Aldrian raised an eyebrow. The number of artifacts was enough to equip a battalion of knights.
"Let’s go, let’s go! We have to hurry and move these packages to points B1 and B2. We can’t afford to be late for tonight’s event," said one of the devils. This devil, with cultivation at the Duke stage, appeared to be the leader of the room.
After the leader shouted, many of the devils moved faster, arranging the artifacts into wooden boxes and carrying them to the other exit of the room. There were two exits: the first one, where Aldrian had peeked inside, and the second, located in the opposite direction. After observing for a moment, Aldrian decided he had seen enough and decided to ask the devils directly what they planned to do tonight.
Aldrian walked in leisurely, drawing the attention of the devils inside. The leader frowned as he looked at Aldrian, unable to recall if another group of devils was helping them, and he had never seen Aldrian’s face before. However, he was stunned when, suddenly, all of his men slumped to the ground. They trembled for a moment before collapsing, their faces contorted with horror. They were dead.
"What—" Suddenly, Aldrian appeared in front of him and gripped his neck with lightning speed. The leader couldn’t react in time, and when he tried to retaliate, Aldrian’s punch instantly shattered his dantian, causing his cultivation to begin dissipating. He vomited a mouthful of blood and was immediately overwhelmed by a sudden weakness spreading through his body.
"Listen, I can give you a painless death if you tell me what you guys are planning," Aldrian said with a smile. However, his words, which contrasted with his expression, made him seem like a psychopath. In reality, Aldrian was toying with him, knowing full well that there was no way this devil would reveal their secrets or plans due to the seal placed within their mind and soul. The moment they started to divulge any information, the seal would kill them—without needing the interrogator’s hand.
The leader only smiled and tried to spit in Aldrian’s face, but before he could, Aldrian had already injected his golden energy into his body and began his usual method of torture.
"Wrong choice."
Aldrian then read his memories. As usual, he found the devil lord’s sense within this Duke-stage mind, which he immediately destroyed, giving the devil lord no chance to manifest or even detect his presence.
After a few minutes, Aldrian finished reading the leader’s memories, and his expression turned solemn. The situation had turned out for the worst, confirming one of his suspicions.
"They’re planning to supply these artifacts to Grand Duke Gouvard’s faction, which has already infiltrated this place. There are more rooms like this scattered throughout the tunnel system," he thought.
"These devils seem to play a logistical role, delivering the artifacts to the designated locations. I can confidently say that one of my suspicions is true: Grand Duke Gouvard’s faction is indeed plotting to overthrow the throne through violence. And with the devils’ support behind the scenes, their efforts will be much easier."
After that, Aldrian killed the leader without even glancing at him and exited the room. The leader didn’t have much detailed information, as he seemed to only be responsible for that particular room. The devils appeared to be very strict about their operation, sharing little information with each other beyond their designated duties.
Aldrian, with his swift movements, decided to take matters into his own hands. He resolved to explore and uncover the tunnel system, or even destroy it, to prevent their plans from succeeding. The event tonight couldn’t be allowed to happen, otherwise, a civil war would be inevitable!
