"Wanyan Shahe said that accelerating the growth of sand requires time, and he is fully committed to it," said Sha Eroi.

"Good, then speed it up a bit more. Otherwise, if the Grand Zhou realizes, our plan will fail," said Sha Qian.

"Yes, I'll supervise him to speed up the progress."

...

"Xue Ming has disappeared."

"Where did he go at this time?"

"I just went to his room and found traces of a fight. Although that person tried to clean up the scene, some tiny marks couldn't be erased."

After speaking, he pulled out a gray orb and said, "I found this in his room."

Shura Demon glanced at the gray orb and said indifferently, "This is ashes; Xue Ming is already dead."

Upon hearing this, the person stared speechlessly at the gray orb in his hand, showing a look of disgust and fear. If he had encountered the killer when he went to find Xue Ming, he might have become an orb himself.

As he was about to throw it away, his companion stopped him, saying, "Wait, give this to me; I have a Secret Technique that can track the killer through the deceased's body."

"Ashes should also be useful. This is my first time using such a Secret Technique on ashes, so I can't guarantee success," the person said uncertainly.

"Take it and try it then. This thing is useless anyway."

Zhang Leiguang took the ash orb and used it as a medium to perform his tracking Secret Technique. The ash orb floated from his palm into the air, drawn by a force in a certain direction.

Shura Demon watched as the ash orb floated towards him, glanced at the two, and coldly said, "It's not me."

The two averted their gaze as the ash orb flew over Shura Demon's head and headed further away.

The three exchanged glances, and Shura Demon grabbed the ash orb and asked, "How long can this Secret Technique last?"

After estimating for a while, Zhang Leiguang said, "It can probably last for three quarters of an hour. The ash orb can only perform the Secret Technique once; once it ends, the orb will disappear. If there are no other items, this might be our only clue to find the killer."

"Time is of the essence, I'll go track the killer first," Shura Demon said as he grabbed the ash orb.

"Hmm, this matter should also be reported to the Hall of Kings. I've heard there's a traitor inside, and maybe this traitor is related to Xue Ming's death," said Wu Yun.

Shura Demon left, carrying the ash orb with the performed Secret Technique, to track the killer, though in truth, he just didn't like staying here and wanted to get some fresh air.

Although the Hall of Kings looked spacious, the areas where they could operate were few, and they were restricted everywhere.

Despite being a wanted criminal by the Grand Zhou government, Shura Demon, like most Zhou people, looked down on outsiders from the Grand Zhou, despising the western desert's outsiders.

Not getting into a fight with them was already hard enough, let alone speaking kindly to them.

Conversely, players had no such burdens; for them, Grand Zhou civilians, western desert outsiders, and the demon tribes were all NPC factions, all usable objects.

Most players wouldn't care whether the person assigning them a task was human or demon, or something else, as long as there's profit to be gained.

In a sense, players are the most inclusive group in the world, willing to offer their short-lived loyalty to any object.

After Shura Demon left, Wu Yun and Zhang Leiguang sat chatting in the room. Wu Yun had already informed members of the Hall of Kings they were in contact with, waiting for the Saharan envoy to come and handle the matter.

Members of the partnership died within the Hall of Kings, right under everyone's noses. Even if the Hall didn't care about Xue Ming's death, for face's sake, they would provide Iron Tomb with a satisfactory explanation.

Zhang Leiguang looked at the ceiling and asked, "What do those people intend to do?"

"Hmm?" Wu Yun, polishing a treasured sword, heard Zhang Leiguang's voice and looked up, asking, "Who are you talking about?"

"The Hall of Kings and Iron Tomb leadership." Seeing only the two of them, Zhang Leiguang straightforwardly asked his question.

"Why has the Hall of Kings put so much effort into something as trivial as a wall? What's the use? And the leadership, why did they choose to ally with the Hall of Kings to fight against the Grand Zhou government? It's a thankless task."

"The most critical part is there's no benefit. We've stayed here for over a month, which is unbearable," Zhang Leiguang complained. "Only those western desert people can enjoy staying in a place like this, sleeping on such hard stone beds, eating tasteless food."

"Keep your voice down; talk about this with me, but never say it in front of outsiders," Wu Yun quickly advised.

"Since you asked, I'll tell you what I know," he said after organizing his thoughts and began speaking.

"First, let's look at Iron Tomb's current situation. Since the last great battle, Iron Tomb has been practically deemed a bandit organization by the Grand Zhou government. It's all because the leadership involved wanted criminals in the battle, pulling Iron Tomb down with them."

"Otherwise, it would at most be considered a grey force; as long as it's not too excessive, the government wouldn't regulate it strictly."

"This has made it difficult for Iron Tomb to operate within Grand Zhou. They have to constantly worry that the government might send agents to wipe out our home base. The leadership, as a precaution, wants to move the base abroad to avoid the government."

"That led to the cooperation with the Hall of Kings. Once you understand the Hall's purpose, you'll know why the leadership wants to cooperate with them," Wu Yun said.