The Tracking Hall is divided into an inner and outer section. The outer hall handles lower-level tracking, while the inner hall is for advanced cases, overseen by powerful experts.
As soon as Evan Yang entered, he arrived at the outer hall and asked the registrar, "I'd like to track the master thief, Xander Xu. Has there been any news of him lately?"
"Show me your pass token," the clerk requested.
Evan Yang produced his token. After the clerk checked it, he said, "Let me look it up for you."
The clerk closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and said, "He has appeared several times near Rainwood City, and the most recent sighting was also there."
"Is there any way to track him more precisely?" Evan asked, curious.
"You need something he's used. With his qi imprint, you can bring it to the inner hall and have specialists track his aura. That way, you'll know his exact location," the clerk explained.
Evan didn’t have anything with Xander’s qi imprint, so he had no choice but to try his luck at Rainwood City. As for Rainwood City, Evan knew that after joining Fiend Palace, he’d received a map of all cities under their control, with detailed records for each.
He walked slowly out of the Tracking Hall, but kept his divine sense locked onto everything inside, as if determined to understand all its workings.
"Elder Liu." A familiar voice reached Evan’s ears. Curious, Evan focused his divine sense and saw it was Zane Lin—the officer who once locked him inside the Mother‑Child Tower. Evan knew him well, and now Zane stood before an elder: Elder Liu himself.
Elder Liu asked, "Any progress?"
"Still no news," Zane Lin replied awkwardly.
"Useless," Elder Liu said angrily. Just then, a voice called out from behind him, "Grandfather."
Hearing that voice, Evan was stunned and locked his divine sense onto the newcomer. It was Mason Liu—someone Evan had clearly killed before. Yet here he was, alive and well, his eyes clear and movements normal, as if he had never died.
"Why did you come out?" Elder Liu's anger faded as soon as he saw his grandson.
"It was getting suffocating inside. I wanted to get some air," Mason Liu replied.
"Alright, but don’t stay out too long. Come back when you’re tired," Elder Liu instructed.
"Yes, Grandfather." With that, Mason Liu left the Tracking Hall and wandered around Fiend Palace.
As for Evan, he continued to keep watch outside the Tracking Hall, but didn’t follow Mason directly. Instead, he tracked him with his divine sense, muttering inwardly, "Wasn’t he supposed to be dead?"
Mason Liu had no idea his old enemy was in Fiend Palace too.
"Where is he going?" Evan noticed Mason Liu wasn't wandering aimlessly, but heading somewhere specific.
When Evan saw the final destination, it turned out to be a flower grove. Standing there was, of course, the black-clad young woman.
"Do they know each other?" Evan wondered. He went his own way, but locked onto them with Thousand-Mile Echo, wanting to hear their conversation.
Mason Liu walked over, smiled at the woman, and greeted her, "Young miss."
"You again." The woman sounded a bit annoyed to see Mason Liu.
"That's right," Mason Liu replied with a smile.
"What are you doing here?" The woman asked, clearly displeased.
"I just wanted to see you," Mason Liu said with a grin.
"You're not welcome. Go back," the woman said decisively.
Mason Liu wasn’t angry; instead, he smiled. "Young miss, don’t be like that. After all, I’m Elder Liu’s grandson. I may not be much in Fiend Palace, but my grandfather is a great merit-holder here. If we’re talking about who’s qualified to approach you among the men in Fiend Palace, I’d say I’m the most qualified."
"You? Look at yourself—what strength do you have? I could crush you with a single finger," the woman snorted coldly, then turned and walked away.
Mason Liu's face changed, but a strange smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He thought to himself, "Arrogant, huh? So you're strong—so what? In the end, you're still a woman. I refuse to believe I can't conquer you."
Then he turned and left.
Evan was surprised that someone as weak as Mason Liu would say such things to a powerful woman. He wondered if Mason had lost his mind.
But Mason's final smile made Evan feel that something was off about him after his resurrection.
"I'll figure out what's going on with Mason Liu when I get the chance." Evan was eager to know why Mason was still alive, but realized his current strength was too low. If Fiend Palace high-ups started suspecting anything, entering the Demon‑Fiend Underpalace would be nearly impossible.
So Evan quickly left the area—and even left Fiend Palace altogether.
A while later, the woman emerged from the flower grove and released her divine sense, only to find Evan gone. Annoyed, she cursed inwardly, "Damn that Liu family."
Evan soon arrived at Rainwood City. The streets were bustling, but compared to the Human World, everything felt a bit strange—the food was odd, too. He remembered how Elena once fell for a lust-drugged meat dish and couldn’t help but smile.
Evan sat down at an inn and chatted with the locals to learn more about the master thief’s personality.
He learned that the master thief loved wine—he often bought from wineries and was notorious for stealing wine, too.
"Interesting." Evan smiled to himself at the news. With a flash, he changed into ordinary clothes; to outsiders, he looked like a regular cultivator, and no one would suspect he was a Fourth‑Rank General of Fiend Palace.
The next day, word spread that a new winery had opened in Rainwood City: Purple Cloud Winery.
There were all kinds of wine available, with various concentrations—and the owner was Evan Yang himself.
Evan was a master vintner. Over the past century, he'd stored countless jars of spirit wine in his ring, each aged at least five thousand years—prepared in advance for future use.
When Evan opened the jars, he found every batch had matured perfectly—some even reached ten‑fold concentration.
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For now, Evan only sold top‑grade wine with one‑fold concentration, which already counted as a famous liquor in the Fiend Realm. Everyone who tasted it praised its quality.
Gradually, Purple Cloud Winery became famous. In just ten days, the shop was packed. Evan had hired plenty of waiters, spending some Spirit Crystal Ore, but his wine sales brought in a lot of money.
The winery’s slogan was: “We only sell good wine.”
The definition of 'good wine' was strict—the lowest grade cost ten thousand top‑grade Spirit Crystal Ore per cup.
Ordinary people couldn’t afford it. Only those with status or wealth came to buy.
Evan hadn’t expected to earn tens of millions of top‑grade Spirit Crystal Ore in just a few days.
But making money wasn’t Evan’s real goal—he was waiting for the master thief to take the bait, confident his superb wine would lure him in.
For the first half‑month, there was no result—just more Spirit Crystal Ore. Then, after about fifteen days, a bearded man arrived.
The man smiled and said, "Boss, give me your best bottle of wine."
Evan walked over and smiled, "Fellow cultivator, our best bottle costs ten million top‑grade Spirit Crystal Ore. Are you sure?"
"Ten million? What kind of wine are you selling?" the man exclaimed in shock.
His reaction startled the other patrons. They began to mock him, saying he shouldn’t ask for the best wine if he didn’t have the crystals.
Stung by pride, the man gritted his teeth and declared, "Ten million it is. Give me a bottle."
Evan smiled and had a waiter bring a bottle of top‑grade wine, two‑fold concentration. He didn’t use anything stronger, worried it might knock people out.
The bearded man took the wine. Seeing how light it was, he felt dissatisfied, but poured a cup and tasted it. Instantly, he froze—this was the best wine he’d ever had.
"Well, fellow cultivator, what do you think?" Evan asked with a smile.
"It really is good wine—just a bit pricey," the bearded man replied with a grin.
"Worth every coin," Evan said, and the other patrons agreed.
Seeing everyone’s approval, the bearded man said no more and continued to savor his wine, drinking each cup carefully.
After ten cups, the bottle was empty. The man was disappointed, so he ordered another.
He spent thirty million more Spirit Crystal Ore for three bottles, then took them with him.
Watching the bearded man leave, Evan smiled inwardly. "Let’s see if you can resist the bait."
The man wandered Rainwood City for a while, then slipped into a hidden spot and vanished.
Evan didn’t keep tracking him with his divine sense after he vanished—he simply waited for the man to return.
"Great wine, really great wine—just damn expensive," the bearded man muttered as he left the city, frustrated.
He finished all three bottles quickly. Seeing he’d spent forty million Spirit Crystal Ore, he felt the sting. "All that hard-earned money, gone on four bottles of wine," he complained.
He thought to himself, "If I could steal a few jars and savor them slowly, wouldn’t that be perfect?"
This man was none other than Xander Xu, Evan’s target. Drawn by Purple Cloud Winery’s fame, he couldn’t forget the taste after trying it. But with the wine so expensive, he’d have to sell things to keep drinking—so he planned to steal some from Evan.
Evan had prepared thoroughly. When the shop was quiet, he’d sit inside, counting Spirit Crystal Ore with a smile like a professional boss. But his divine sense was locked onto every corner—especially the cellar, which he guarded most heavily.
Just as Evan was enjoying his calculations, a shadow finally appeared. Evan grinned strangely. "Let’s see if you fall for the trap."
The figure was Xander Xu. Seeing the cellar empty, he slipped inside. When he spotted the rows of massive wine jars, he was overjoyed. "Excellent, this is perfect," he whispered.
Beside one giant jar was a smaller one, with a paper sign reading: "Purple Cloud’s Treasure of the House."