That idiot from the Sword Sect turned out to be a lucky charm.

Chapter 103 Disguised Travel

Lin Zhifeng finally couldn't resist and agreed to take Qiuqiu along.

However, he wasn't particularly indulgent towards children. He had one condition: Qiuqiu could only stay in the storage bracelet and was not allowed to show her face in public.

Chiu Chiu reluctantly agreed to the condition, at least to be able to travel together first, and they could talk about other things later.

Lin Zhifeng didn't actually have much to prepare.

He definitely needed to bring the set of defensive equipment his uncle had given him; he also needed various pills such as antidote pills, exorcism pills, and calming pills, just in case; as for spirit stones, apart from the high-grade spirit stones which were stored in the system's storage, Lin Zhifeng had stored the other mid-grade and low-grade spirit stones in a storage ring, which he wore on the index finger of his left hand.

On the appointed day, everyone gathered at the main gate of the Sword Sect.

Before setting off, Lin Jun gave each of them a set of inner disciple robes from a second-rate sect on the cultivation continent—the Shattered Dream Pavilion—and told them to change into them before leaving.

The Broken Dream Pavilion suffered a significant loss of disciples this time, so the sect took it very seriously. Therefore, when Lin Jun and his group went to the Broken Dream Pavilion with the letters from the nine elders to request the loan of some inner disciple robes, they readily cooperated.

Looking at the purple robe in his hand, Lin Zhifeng seriously doubted whether the people of the Broken Dream Pavilion were colorblind.

Even if you're an angel, you can't pull off this "eggplant purple" color!

But since they have a mission to complete, they can't be sentimental about such things.

Lin Zhifeng had no choice but to change into the inner disciple robes of the Broken Dream Pavilion.

After he finished dressing, he went to look at his good brothers. These guys, made up by the eggplant purple color, looked exactly like spoiled brats.

Lin Zhifeng then turned to look at Ding Mo, intending to see what his image, ruined by this color, looked like.

But upon closer inspection, Ding Mo still looked good in this purple outfit.

What's amazing is that the same clothes make Lin Jun and others look like spoiled brats, but when worn by Ding Mo, they exude an air of nobility.

It is said that a true beauty can command everything, and now Lin Zhifeng has experienced it firsthand.

However, he didn't have the guts to comment on his uncle's appearance; he only went to exchange insults with Lin Jun and the others.

After everyone had had their fun, Lin Zhifeng didn't forget to praise Lin Jun: "Senior brother has become more and more capable of handling things over the years, and he is so meticulous. Junior brother admires him!"

Lin Jun said smugly, "I have carefully studied the identity information of the suspected victims reported between various sects and found that these people have a common characteristic - most of them are disciples of second- or third-rate sects, and their cultivation is all above the Nascent Soul stage. So I think the perpetrator must have felt that he could not afford to offend the first-rate sects, so he only targeted the disciples of second- or third-rate small and medium-sized sects."

Jinzi hesitated and said, "Wouldn't it be better to target rogue cultivators without sects? No one lights their soul lamps, so no one would notice if they disappeared."

Lin Jun said, "It seems you haven't taken enough of those intelligence-boosting pills that Xiao Linzi gave you."

Jinzi said, "Brother Lin, you're calling me stupid, I can tell."

Everyone burst into laughter: "It seems the medicine is still effective. Jinzi, keep taking it, don't stop."

As the youngest and least skilled member of the group, Jinzi was unable to win a fight or a verbal argument, which made her furious.

Lin Zhifeng looked at Jinzi with the loving gaze one might have for someone with intellectual disabilities, and kindly explained, "Those rogue cultivators don't belong to any sect, and therefore they lack resources. Under the same circumstances, their cultivation level would be significantly lower than that of disciples from sects. I reckon the murderer this time wouldn't even consider those below the Nascent Soul stage!"

Jinzi wasn't stupid; she just hadn't thought of it at the time. After his explanation, she finally understood.

Lin Jun was still teasing him: "Jinzi, remember not to go out alone this time, otherwise you'll just be a delivery boy."

Everyone burst into laughter again, and Jinzi looked like she was about to get angry again. Ding Mo cleared her throat and said, "Is everyone here? When do we leave?"

Everyone listens to their senior uncle's words.

Lin Jun put away his joking manner and replied respectfully, "Reporting to Martial Uncle, everyone has arrived. Next, we plan to first check out the wasteland market where most of the missing persons were last seen, and then decide on our next steps. Do you have any suggestions for us, Martial Uncle?"

Ding Mo said, "Just proceed according to your plan. For the sake of convenience in our investigation, we don't need to observe these formalities outside, lest we give ourselves away and be exposed."

Lin Zhifeng praised, "Uncle-Master is indeed farsighted. We'll have to apologize for offending you in the end."

After saying that, he laughed with Lin Jun and the others, "Brothers, we might have to pick up our old playboy ways again and put on an act, otherwise we won't be able to fool others."

Feng Ping honestly offered his suggestion: "We should also put away the swords, otherwise how could a second-rate sect suddenly produce so many high-level spirit swords with sword spirits?"

Everyone agreed that his reminder was spot on. Problems are most easily exposed in the smallest details. Often, the failure to achieve anything is due to mistakes made in these seemingly insignificant areas.

Everyone busily stored their spirit swords into their storage items.

If there are no other questions, everyone is ready to depart.

The wasteland market that Lin Jun mentioned, just like its name suggests, is located in a wasteland.

That place was located on the edge of the cultivation continent, and it was extremely desolate.

The closest force to that place is the Ghost Realm Sect.

Typically, the location of a sect is accompanied by a town.

Initially, it may have just been some merchants who frequently traveled there to make money.

With merchants around, there's a need for lodging and food, and the spirit pets that carry the goods also need fodder and clean water.

Although that wasteland has a harsh environment and is not very suitable for human habitation, there are still some indigenous people living there.

Initially, the merchants stayed in the homes of these local inhabitants, and later, inns, taverns, pharmacies, blacksmith shops, and other establishments gradually appeared there.

Gradually, it developed into a small town. While not particularly prosperous, it could meet some of the basic needs of travelers.

The last messages sent back by the disciples of those sects, including the Shattered Dream Pavilion, before they disappeared all said, "They are currently in the desolate town."

Therefore, Lin Jun's suggestion to start the investigation from the desolate town is definitely the right direction.

Since we're going to such a faraway place, we definitely can't fly there on swords. We all have spirit beasts; how can we endure that kind of hardship again?

Since returning from the Valley of Beasts many years ago, everyone has had a suitable mount, and over the years, they have generally gotten along very well with their spirit pets when they go out.

Everyone released their spirit beasts, flew up and sat on their backs, preparing to fly towards the wasteland.

Lin Zhifeng, who had just put the Crane Cry back into his storage ring: "..."

"There's no other way, I'll just have to use my sword!" Lin Zhifeng thought. "Anyway, I'm the only one with a high-level spirit sword, so it doesn't seem like I'll attract too much attention, right?"

Lin Jun often teased Lin Zhifeng's little chick, but this time he was unusually not in a hurry to fly away. He even invited Lin Zhifeng: "Little Lin, why don't you ride my lion-tiger beast with me? I'll make a sacrifice and charge you a high-grade spirit stone."

Those who hadn't left yet joined in the commotion: "Little Lin, don't go with Lin Jun. He's too greedy. Come ride with me, I'll only charge you one mid-grade spirit stone."

Another person, who was in debt, chimed in, "Follow me, follow me, I only need one low-grade spirit stone."

Lin Zhifeng was so angry that he cursed, "Get lost! I don't give a single penny. I'll ride the Crane's Cry!"

Ding Mo stepped in to defuse the situation, saying, "Lin Zhifeng, you can ride the White Tiger Beast with me."

Ding Mo was a social disaster; he had never really understood the complexities of interpersonal relationships. At that moment, he thought that no one was willing to take care of Lin Zhifeng for free, so he offered to help.

This shows that things in the world are ultimately fair. A genius like Ding Mo has focused all his skill points on cultivating his talent, making him incredibly clueless when it comes to interpersonal relationships.

Lin Zhifeng didn't say much, saying that he and Lin Jun were just joking around and that no one would actually take his money.

Wouldn't that make Uncle Ding Mo feel very awkward?

Lin Zhifeng would never allow the sect's number one genius, his bodyguard, to fall into such a predicament.

So he went along with it, rushing over and dramatically grabbing Ding Mo's sleeve: "Thank you, Uncle-Master! I knew you were the most reliable!"

After saying that, he couldn't resist showing off to Lin Jun and the others, saying, "With a white tiger beast to ride, who wants to ride your ordinary spirit beasts? Hehehe..."