Amidst a chorus of grievances, Ding Shouji led Iron Head into his Cave Mansion. He was an expert in cultivating Spirit Plants and had a bit of wealth. Since he had his daughter with him, he had used a Wooden House Talisman to erect a wooden house on a sunny slope.

"Take me to your daughter’s room."

Ding Shouji immediately bowed respectfully and led Iron Head into his daughter’s chambers.

The room was neat and tidy, with stacks of Spirit Medicines piled up. The moment one stepped inside, a refreshing floral and herbal fragrance filled the air.

The familiar scene stirred Ding Shouji’s emotions, and he was on the verge of tears again.

"I came here hoping to sell the Spirit Medicines I’ve grown for a good price. Wen Immortal usually stays in her room helping me process them. I saw how hard she was working and told her to go out and have some fun. Nothing happened the past few days, but I never imagined that yesterday she would leave and never return!"

A sharp gleam flashed in Iron Head’s eyes. He scanned the room and detected the aura of the missing woman’s Magical Power.

"Do you know the identity of her companion?"

Ding Shouji nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, yes, I do. Her companion was the daughter of Mou Zhisheng, who lives nearby. I only let my daughter go out with his because I know Mou Zhisheng is an honest and decent man. His daughter is missing too. I spent all of last night searching with him, but we couldn’t find any trace of our girls."

Iron Head then followed Ding Shouji to Mou Zhisheng’s home. His residence was much more rudimentary than Ding Shouji’s—just a Cave Mansion carved out of a mountainside.

When Mou Zhisheng saw Iron Head, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed several times. Although he desperately wanted to find his daughter, he couldn’t believe the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion and the Law Enforcement Team would bother with something as trivial as two missing Independent Cultivators.

Iron Head used his Magical Power to stop him from kowtowing further. He then entered the room and memorized the characteristics of the Magical Power signature inside.

By the time he came out of the Cave Mansion, all the cultivators who had tried to flee had been captured and were being held in an open area.

Iron Head swept his Bright Qi Talent over the group of Independent Cultivators and discreetly shook his head. He saw no traces of the missing Female Cultivators’ Magical Power on any of them.

After he reached Foundation Establishment, the effectiveness of his Bright Qi Talent had risen to a new level.

If any of these Independent Cultivators had fought with the two missing Female Cultivators, it would have been impossible for them to escape his notice.

"Senior Brother Ji, did you find out why these Independent Cultivators were running?"

Iron Head asked, just to be sure.

"Reporting to you, sir, it was mostly for petty crimes like selling fake goods at the market or stealing from others."

Ji Yizong said.

He had already heard about the soldier on the deck being reprimanded by Iron Head and didn’t dare to be neglectful in the slightest.

Iron Head shook his head. He once again swept his Bright Qi Talent over every Independent Cultivator in the settlement but still found no residual Magical Power on any of them.

This made him feel that things were getting tricky. It seemed this wasn’t a crime committed by an acquaintance; they were simply abducted by a stranger while they were out. Even he would have a hard time investigating this.

He needed to find the place where the two went missing. A Magical Combat might have taken place there. It would be best if the culprit left behind traces of their Magical Power.

Iron Head had Ding Shouji take him to the location where a witness had last seen the pair. Once there, however, he found that the traces of their Magical Power were already extremely faint.

He followed the trail, but the extremely faint traces of Magical Power suddenly vanished midway, disappearing into thin air.

"Had your missing daughters refined any Magical Artifacts?"

Iron Head asked.

"Of course. To give Wen Immortal a way to protect herself, I took out a Spirit Stone loan from the Seven Nations Ticket Shop and bought her a Profound Light Pendant. When activated with Magical Power, it can produce a protective Profound Light."

Ding Shouji answered immediately.

Mou Zhisheng wasn’t as wealthy as Ding Shouji, but he had also prepared several Talismans for his daughter’s protection.

"The culprit must be a Foundation Establishment Cultivator."

Iron Head made his judgment instantly. There were no traces of a third person’s Magical Power at the scene, and the traces left by the two missing women were also extremely faint. It was clear the culprit had arrived by air. The two were captured with almost no resistance, without even having time to cast any Magic.

They didn’t even have time to activate the protective Profound Light from their Magical Artifacts.

It would be very difficult for an ordinary Qi Cultivator to achieve this. It would take an expert at least on the level of his junior brother, Yinjiao.

Therefore, Iron Head was almost certain the culprit was a Cultivator at Foundation Establishment or above.

Although Ding Shouji and Mou Zhisheng didn’t know how Iron Head had reached this conclusion, their faces turned pale at the mention of the culprit being a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

As Independent Cultivators merely at the Qi Cultivation level, how could they possibly offend a Foundation Establishment Cultivator?

"Why would a Foundation Establishment Cultivator abduct two Independent Cultivators who are only at the Qi Cultivation level?"

Ji Yizong was completely baffled.

In the Northern Domain, with the status of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, one only needed to crook a finger and countless women would offer themselves. Why would one need to personally abduct these two Independent Cultivators?

Iron Head was also puzzled.

If it were a Tribulation Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Realm, they wouldn’t bother robbing two Female Cultivators who were only at the Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation. Their targets were usually Cultivators at Qi Cultivation Perfection who were preparing for Foundation Establishment.

’Could it be a Demon Cultivator, who captured them to feed a Celestial Demon?’ he speculated.

Only Demon Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Realm would abduct Independent Cultivators to provide blood sacrifices for Outer Celestial Demons.

The two Independent Cultivators’ legs gave out, and they nearly collapsed to the ground. Those Demon Cultivators were savages who devoured their victims raw. After a full day in a Demon Cultivator’s hands, how could their daughters possibly still be alive?

Iron Head’s expression turned grim.

A Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivator was no small matter. He comforted the two Independent Cultivators and ordered Ji Yizong to patrol the vicinity on the Flying Boat to search for any trace of the Demon Cultivator. He himself flew back alone to the headquarters of the Seven Nations Ticket Shop to see his master.

At that moment, Yang Jing was in his study, guiding three disciples in their Cultivation, while Zuoqiu Feng reclined on a lounge chair, observing.

The shareholder meeting was only two days away, yet he was becoming increasingly reclusive and low-key.

"Senior Brother!"

Chi Yu, who had been sitting on pins and needles, jumped up with joy when she saw her senior brother arrive. Her master’s lesson was so profound that it was making her drowsy.

Yang Jing also stopped his lecture. He could tell with a single glance that Iron Head had come with an important matter to report.

"What happened?"

Iron Head recounted the matter of the two missing Female Cultivators to his master in full detail.

"I suspect a Demon Cultivator is responsible."

Yang Jing shook his head.

"Anyone who can cultivate a Demon Skill to Foundation Establishment isn’t an idiot whose brain has been fried by Evil Qi. Why would they choose a critical time like this to gather blood sacrifices?"

This is a time when the Yu Kingdom is filled with the most Golden Core and Foundation Establishment Cultivators. If their identity were exposed, escape would be impossible.

"It’s unlikely to be a Demon Cultivator."

Yang Jing didn’t dare to say for sure that it wasn’t a Demon Cultivator. Because of the nature of Demon Skills, an ordinary Demon Cultivator’s mental state is usually unstable. It was possible one had acted on a sudden whim.

"Demon Cultivators have less control over their Magical Power than we Cultivators do. Even a Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivator would find it extremely difficult to hide their own Magical Power traces after making a move.

To be able to easily hide their Magical Power and evade the detection of your Bright Qi Talent, Iron Head, the perpetrator would have to be at least an Inner Sect Disciple of the Four Demon Sects. And if those disciples dared to enter the Northern Domain Seven Kingdoms, they would have certainly planned everything out. They wouldn’t risk exposure at the last minute just to collect blood sacrifices."

He explained to Iron Head.

"Then who could it be?"

Zuoqiu Feng asked curiously.

"There are many possibilities. Abducting Qi Cultivators, especially two young women, could be for refining some kind of Evil Pill, or perhaps to use them as Tripod Furnaces for Absorbing Essence and Qi."

Yang Jing said.

Just as Demon Cultivators can use people as blood sacrifices, other unorthodox cultivators can certainly use people as cultivation materials.

"Iron Head, to avoid tipping our hand, you will claim that a Demon Cultivator is hiding in the Yu Kingdom. Have the major families of Yu and the Law Enforcement Team pay attention to any cases of missing Cultivators and report them."

Yang Jing said after a moment of thought,

"If a Foundation Establishment Cultivator is involved, they absolutely wouldn’t stop after just abducting two Female Cultivators. They will certainly strike again. It’s possible other Cultivators have already gone missing; we just don’t know about it yet."