Chapter 115: Tooth Eleven

"Who are you?"

The old man instinctively stepped back, reaching out to grasp his copper-stemmed tobacco pipe. The intruder grinned, showing small, sharp canine teeth. "Who I am is unimportant. What matters is that this is the headquarters—the headquarters of the Tooth Eleven organization—and you happen to be its leader."

The old man revealed his yellowed teeth in a sneer. "What is your intention in coming here, friend? You aren't here for idle chatter, are you?" Though his voice was nonchalant, his heart was in a state of deep shock. This was the group's headquarters, and he had personally laid out its defenses; he knew how formidable they were. Yet, this unassuming young man had appeared out of thin air, and his cultivation level was impossible to discern. His strength must be vastly superior to his own.

Lei Xiang was deep in thought. Having scanned the headquarters with his divine sense, he confirmed there were no cultivators above the Gold Core stage. To force this Foundation Establishment mid-stage leader into his service, he would need to use thunderous methods. With that thought, his eyes sharpened, and he barked, "Did you not hear me?" As he spoke, he conjured a giant phantom hand and swept it through the air.

The old man was startled and instinctively tried to dodge, but he suddenly discovered that the air around him had solidified. He could not move a muscle, as if waiting to be snatched by the giant hand. He tried to shout, but as he opened his mouth, he was horrified to see dozens of yellow squares drifting down from the sky, locking onto his body. He felt his internal spiritual energy become completely shackled, and he could no longer make a sound.

Lei Xiang’s cold voice echoed, "You will listen to what I say and answer truthfully, or I can crush you whenever I please. Don't count on those thirteen fools in the hidden protective formation to save you." The old man felt utter despair. The young man knew the exact number of people hidden in the formation; he had no choice but to take things one step at a time.

Lei Xiang got straight to the point. "You are an organization of habitual thieves. I don't care about that. I am only interested in your concealment techniques. Tell me about your cultivation methods. Do not harbor any illusions; you know I can use Soul-Searching techniques to get the information I want."

The old man rolled his eyes, silently acknowledging the truth. When Lei Xiang pointed a finger to lift the seal on his speech, he sighed. "Senior, this is indeed the headquarters of Tooth Eleven, and I am, quite unworthily, its leader. In our line of work, we have no names; everyone calls me Uncle Smoke-Ghost. As for the techniques you mentioned, I don't have them ready at hand. Tooth Eleven cannot keep anything of value because we are always guarding against being wiped out entirely. However, I can copy them for you."

Lei Xiang had fully released his Gold Core pressure, blue light flickering in his eyes. Under his gaze, Uncle Smoke-Ghost felt completely transparent. A moment later, Lei Xiang waved his hand, and Uncle Smoke-Ghost felt much lighter, his shackled spiritual energy now movable. He bowed deeply, held his copper pipe in his left hand, and used his right to pull a blank jade slip from his storage bag, slowly pressing it to his forehead.

Suddenly, Uncle Smoke-Ghost crushed the jade slip with his right hand. "Bang!" A cloud of white mist billowed out. Lei Xiang only caught a glimpse of the tobacco pipe moving to the man's lips before he felt a pungent, fragrant scent. He quickly circulated his internal energy and swept his hand; a gale appeared from nowhere, blowing away the mist and the scent, but the spot was already empty.

Lei Xiang was not surprised; instead, a cold smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Trying to escape with concealment techniques? Not so easy." He casually tossed several talismans into the air. After they exploded, a black rain shrouded the entire courtyard. Wherever the rain touched, it hissed with white smoke; even the stone lions at the gate were eroded into hollowed-out carvings. It was the Black Cloud Rain Talisman that Lei Xiang had developed.

"Oof!" A faint grunt sounded from the void in the northwest corner. Four rollers suddenly appeared under Lei Xiang’s feet, kicking up sparks. He moved like a teleportation, arriving there in a flash. With a flick of his toes and a turn of his body, he slid toward the east, his hand arriving before his body reached the spot. With a "thud," he yanked the old man out of thin air. Desperate, the old man brought his pipe to his lips to take a frantic puff, intending to spray it at Lei Xiang. But Lei Xiang’s hand was faster, pressing firmly over his mouth. The old man’s face turned red and purple from the effort, leaving him no choice but to swallow the smoke.

Lei Xiang smiled slightly. The materials he had found in the Immortal Ape Sect’s storage were truly useful. This was the first time using the reforged Wind-Fire Boots; he had added Lightning-Flash Stones to enhance their electrical properties, and the speed had truly doubled. The boots had upgraded to Wind-Thunder Boots. Looking at the restrained Uncle Smoke-Ghost, Lei Xiang’s expression turned cold. "I’ll give you one more chance. Will you talk or not? I hope you cherish this final opportunity."

Once again subdued, Uncle Smoke-Ghost looked like a wilted vegetable. The skin on his face shriveled, as if he had aged thirty years in an instant. He sighed heavily. "Senior, it’s not that I don't want to tell you, but if I do, my organization will not spare me. Even if I run away now, they will hunt me to the ends of the earth until I am dead."

Lei Xiang frowned; the situation seemed more serious than he thought. "The organization you speak of... is it not Tooth Eleven?"

Uncle Smoke-Ghost strained his neck, as the phantom hand made him feel suffocated. Seeing this, Lei Xiang withdrew the pressure. "If you don't talk, you die now." Uncle Smoke-Ghost gasped for fresh air. "If you can provide me with a proper escape plan, I will tell you everything."

Lei Xiang had anticipated this. He said calmly, "You know of the Immortal Ape Sect, right? I can hide you there. Cultivating in the Immortal Ape Sect is much faster than you fumbling around on your own. Besides, even if your so-called organization tracks you down, they wouldn't dare come to their doorstep to demand anyone."

Uncle Smoke-Ghost shook his head with a bitter smile. "Senior doesn't know how mysterious our organization is. The Immortal Ape Sect is top-tier here, but to our organization, they are nothing."

"Oh?" Lei Xiang’s eyes lit up; he was even more interested in the organization now. "How about this: I will arrange for experts to escort you to a country thousands of miles away, where you can live under an assumed name."

"Thousands of miles?" Uncle Smoke-Ghost pondered. Lei Xiang added, "That country is my territory. If you still feel that is inappropriate, then I think it would be better for me to perform the Soul-Searching technique."

Uncle Smoke-Ghost took a deep breath, as if making a final decision. "Fine, I will tell you everything I know, but our organization is extremely tight-lipped, and I don't know much myself."

A white jade bed flew through the sky. Lei Xiang sat cross-legged on it, his mood complex—a mixture of slight joy and endless melancholy. He was happy because, while searching for the person who kidnapped Dugu Yixiao, he had accidentally obtained the Lightning-Flash Stone at the Immortal Ape Sect, successfully upgrading his Wind-Thunder Boots and acquiring other materials and a considerable amount of spirit stones. It was an unexpected harvest.

However, the frustrating part was that the information provided by Uncle Smoke-Ghost had, strictly speaking, little value. The habitual thief organization known as Tooth Eleven was merely a tiny part of a massive, sprawling organization. He didn't know where the headquarters was, or even the name of the organization. He only knew of another leader he had met at a meeting, who belonged to a group called Tooth Seven. Thus, he deduced there were at least eleven such groups, and small organizations like his were likely named from Tooth One through Tooth Eleven.

Since that was all the old smoker knew, Lei Xiang sent Yang Jian to escort him to the Eastern Yue Kingdom.

Lei Xiang was not a man who broke his word, especially since the intelligence provided by the old smoker had at least one value: it proved the organization was massive and its structure incredibly tight—perhaps even more mysterious than the Blood Fiend Alliance. Lei Xiang had also obtained what he wanted most: the cultivation method of the Tooth Eleven members, known as the Eighteen Sacred Hand Techniques, which included the art of invisibility. Uncle Smoke-Ghost had also told him that these were only the basic techniques; more advanced ones had to be sought in another kingdom to the north.

Lei Xiang decided to depart immediately. When the black-clad man had used invisibility to steal his blue cloth bag, Lei Xiang had found the technique very familiar—it was quite similar to the Heaven-Veiling Art that Dugu Yixiao had taught him. This was why Lei Xiang had refused to let Uncle Smoke-Ghost go. Since he couldn't find Dugu Yixiao, he had to start from these clues.