Chapter 425 424: Big Dipper Soul Refining Tome

Mu Lin's heart sank. 'What if they just burned everything?'

He asked urgently, "Where is his body?"

Elder Deng said, "It's been burned."

"Burned?!" Mu Lin was stunned for a moment, but then he quickly moved on.

'There's no need to overthink it. As long as I know who the man was, I can just have the Military Suppression Bureau investigate.'

'I'll just have to go buy a Dharma Gate for cultivating the Primordial Spirit later.'

Seeing Mu Lin's expression fluctuate, Elder Deng asked tentatively, "Are you looking for something he had on him?"

Mu Lin narrowed his eyes. "Yes. What of it?"

Elder Deng said, "His personal effects were collected before the cremation. They're in the storage room, waiting for his family to claim them."

Mu Lin said, "What are you waiting for? Take me there now!"

He hadn't expected such a turn of events.

When Mu Lin arrived at the storage room, he saw boxes everywhere. They all belonged to Elder Deng's deceased subordinates, kept for their families to claim.

Mu Lin found the one he was looking for. Opening the box, he saw a secret manual mixed in with a pile of talismans and medicinal pills.

Big Dipper Soul Refining Tome.

'This is it!'

Mu Lin picked it up and quickly flipped through it, thrilled. It was indeed a Cultivation Technique for cultivating the Primordial Spirit.

With this, his cultivation would be so much easier.

Mu Lin was ecstatic. With this, the cultivation of his Yin Spirit would go much more smoothly.

Seeing that Mu Lin was now in a good mood, Elder Deng breathed a long sigh of relief. 'I probably won't get beaten again.'

But after waiting a moment, Mu Lin spoke again. "How much money do you have on hand?"

Elder Deng was taken aback. "I do have some, but..."

Mu Lin said, "Give it all to Elder Xu."

"Yes! Yes!" Elder Deng said hurriedly, afraid he would get another beating otherwise.

'I can still skim some off the top, though,' he thought. 'There's no way Mu Lin will know.'

Elder Deng was busy with his own calculations, but Mu Lin said, "Don't even think about feigning compliance. I have ways of finding out. And you won't be able to bear the consequences when I do."

A chill went down Elder Deng's spine. He nodded his head repeatedly. "Yes! Yes! I'll do whatever you say! I'll give him all the money!"

Mu Lin was very satisfied. He wouldn't need to handle what came next; Yun Cheng was more professional.

He had Yun Cheng come over first, then called Jiang Long to tell him that the Xu father and son had been rescued.

Then, he told him about Zhang Chongbei.

Jiang Long said, "I deeply regret that a bad apple like that appeared in our ranks."

"Can you have Yun Cheng bring him to Di Yang?"

Mu Lin replied, "He's still alive. It's just a shame both his arms have been severed."

"That doesn't matter!" Jiang Long said hurriedly. "I'm already incredibly grateful for all you've done!"

Mu Lin smiled faintly. "I'm glad you feel that way."

Jiang Long said, "Mr. Mu, I owe you two favors. If you need anything in the future, just say the word!"

Mu Lin smiled faintly. "Thank you."

As arrogant as Mu Lin was about his own abilities, he would never refuse a gesture of goodwill from a team leader of the Military Suppression Bureau.

When Yun Cheng arrived on the scene, he immediately saw Zhang Chongbei, whose arms had been severed at the shoulders. The sight was horrific; he was a mangled mess, barely recognizable as human. Yun Cheng was shocked. He never expected to find Zhang Chongbei here, much less in such a wretched state.

Zhang Chongbei stared blankly into space, completely ignoring Yun Cheng.

He was a prisoner now, no longer Yun Cheng's comrade-in-arms.

"Captain Yun, Team Leader Jiang Long wants you to escort Zhang Chongbei to Di Yang as well. He aided the wicked and committed many evil acts. He is to be punished severely."

Yun Cheng said, "I understand!"

He didn't fully understand, but 'if Mu Lin said so, he must have his reasons. It was always wise to agree first.'

Mu Lin took Xu Jishan back to the city and called Patriarch Xu, who came over immediately.

The father and son embraced, overcome with the emotion of surviving their ordeal.

Mu Lin said, "Gentlemen, the crisis isn't over! We don't know how many of the Xu Family's assets the Ning Family has swallowed up. Shouldn't you go take stock? Time is of the essence!"

Patriarch Xu thought to himself, 'Why is Mu Lin so annoying? I just got my father back—that's the most important thing. As for the family business, what's lost is lost. We can always earn more.'

However, since Mu Lin was their savior, Patriarch Xu didn't dare say this out loud. Otherwise, he would have immediately felt his father's wrath.

After another round of thanks, Patriarch Xu left with his father.

Mu Lin breathed a sigh of relief, then went to the Qiao Family Villa to bring back Xiao Hongling.

Back at the villa, Wu Jiao was staring wistfully at the puppet beside him.

It was completely wrecked. The previous battle had been too fierce, and now it was useless.

Mu Lin squatted down. "Elder Wu, this isn't right. The dead deserve respect. You can't keep controlling a corpse like this. The Military Suppression Bureau will definitely get involved!"

Wu Jiao sighed. "Do you think I enjoy this? I have no choice! I'm so weak. Without some way to protect myself, I'd have died countless times by now!"

"He was actually my disciple. We were very close. He suddenly came down with a fatal illness, and before he died, he asked me to refine his body into a Spirit Puppet so he could continue to protect me even in death."

Mu Lin mulled it over for a moment. It was hard to say if Elder Wu was telling the truth, but at the very least, Mu Lin still needed his help for now.

"This Spirit Puppet is useless now, so he can finally be at peace. In a little while, I'll help you get a proper puppet, one with power on par with a Grandmaster. That will be enough for you to protect yourself."

Wu Jiao never expected Mu Lin to say such a thing. Once the words sank in, he was overjoyed. "Thank you, Mr. Mu!"

"You know how to craft puppets?"

Mu Lin replied, "I know a little. Making a Grandmaster-level puppet shouldn't be a problem."

"We'll just need to gather some high-quality materials. I'll keep an eye out for you, but you should also search for some yourself."

"Elder Wu, are you interested in working with me? If you are, we can go back to Anhua together."

Elder Wu said excitedly, "Absolutely!"

Mu Lin nodded. In the field of curse techniques, Elder Wu was a rare talent.

Placing him with the Li Family would protect them from being targeted by invisible curses.

Mu Lin notified Li Hong that the Baiju Group and Elder Deng were finished. His cleanup plan could now begin.

Li Hong's moles inside the Baiju Group had already sent word, so he began his investigation immediately. Many people with shady connections to the Baiju Group were arrested on the spot, and their fates were grim.

From now on, the key positions in various departments would be filled by his own people, so he would no longer be at the mercy of others.

Mu Lin arrived at the Military Suppression Bureau's office.

The sight of Mu Lin made Deputy Captain Dai extremely deferential; he was too scared to even breathe a word out of turn.

"I want to see Elder Deng."

Deputy Captain Dai swiftly arranged the meeting for Mu Lin.

Mu Lin entered the interrogation room. The Elder Deng he saw now was a broken man.

Before today, he had secretly controlled all of Lanyang. Now, he was nothing.

The fall from grace was simply too great.

"I'm nothing now, so why are you still here bothering me? I've told you everything, and I've given you the money."

Mu Lin asked, "Then why did you capture Xiao Hongling?"

Elder Deng replied, "To get to Xiao Longjiang, of course. He's the richest man around. If he falls, an unimaginable amount of wealth will be up for grabs."

"After Xiao Longjiang's wife passed away, his daughter became the only thing that mattered to him."

"So, by controlling Xiao Hongling, the rest would naturally fall into place."

Mu Lin paused. 'He had a point.'

"I see. You're right," Mu Lin said. "But your schemes are useless now. I've unraveled them all."

"So, now that I've thwarted them once, will the Ning Family target Xiao Hongling again?"

Elder Deng said slowly, "No. The Ning Family mobilized all its resources to deal with you, and you've already shattered most of them."

"Besides, now that you understand the Ning Family's intentions, as long as Xiao Longjiang takes precautions, their chances of success are very slim."

'I see.'

Xiao Longjiang was the richest man in Nanjiang. The resources he could mobilize were on a whole other level.

As long as he knew the source of the threat, he could undoubtedly mount a formidable defense.

Elder Deng thought for a moment, then added, "My crimes are too great. I know I'm not going to make it out of this alive. I want to ask you for one thing."

Mu Lin said, "Go on."

"Actually, Gong Jintang's son... Gong Ding... is my biological son..."

Mu Lin was stunned. He never would have expected such a twist.