The crowd was skeptical.
Lady Meichan was one of the Seven Great Venerables of the Emotion Crossing Sect, a cultivator in the late stage of Foundation Establishment.
If it were the Inner Sect Peak Master who acted, it would make sense, but how could an ordinary disciple harm her?
But these words reached Chen Ye’s ears.
They caused his heart to skip a beat.
Spiritual Fire!
His young apprentice harbored a Cold Flame within her.
Once it erupted with full force, her combat power would rival the Golden Core, making it easy to handle a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator!
Emotion Crossing Sect misleading people?
No! This detail was so specific, he couldn’t refute it!
If the rumors were true, it meant the Outer Sect of the Lingyin Sect had really been breached.
His young apprentice, at a critical moment in seclusion, was likely already facing the onslaught of the Demon Sect!
"There’s still room to maneuver... Once the Cold Flame erupts fully, that so-called Venerable won’t be able to escape."
The complete eruption of the Cold Flame meant the severance of Jin’er’s future path.
But fortunately, in these recent days, Jin’er had refined most of the Cold Flame, and she had begun to control this Spiritual Fire, thus avoiding uncontrolled eruptions.
At this moment.
Chen Ye’s heart longed to return, and he no longer wished to stay in Black Cliff City.
The most pressing matter was to find Zhang Chuxi as soon as possible!
He activated the Concealing Qi art to the extreme, turning himself into a wisp of wind, silently weaving through the alleys.
Meanwhile, his Divine Sense, far superior to those of the same level, spread out like an invisible net, discerning the unusual fluctuations of spiritual power within the city.
During this time, he also consciously avoided those powerful auras.
Soon, he noticed something amiss.
In the city, several Demon Cultivators’ auras were becoming unusually active.
They no longer acted independently as before but vaguely formed a surround, searching for something with great fanfare.
"Yuan Ye has made his move," Chen Ye’s heart tightened.
This demon was evidently afraid of long nights with many dreams.
He thought that the main force of the Lingyin Sect was far in the Yan Kingdom and probably had not yet reacted.
Therefore, he did not hide his intentions and was wantonly issuing warrants, deploying his forces to capture people in the shortest time possible.
But he never expected that Chen Ye was trailing him, using the movement of his forces to backtrack the location of his prey!
Chen Ye lowered his bamboo hat, weaving through the crowd, observing the surrounding cultivators with his peripheral vision.
His Divine Sense was highly concentrated, constantly adjusting his judgment through the direction of the net’s contraction and the density of the Demon Cultivators.
"A large group of Demon Cultivators is concentrating on the east side... that’s the direction of Black Fiend City... No, that’s to block the escape route."
"The west harbor... the aura is mixed, but there are Emotion Crossing Sect cultivators inspecting... Zhang Chuxi wants to flee to the East Sea? That is indeed a good plan; here, the cultivators are a mix of good and bad, and the Emotion Crossing Sect wouldn’t dare seal the port forcibly. But, how can she evade the inspection?"
Chen Ye quickly mapped out a pursuit diagram in his mind.
Yuan Ye’s encirclement was shrinking, and all clues pointed to the west part of the city!
...
In the west part of Black Cliff City, in the sewage drain.
This was the dirtiest corner of the entire demon city, a place where mortals and low-tier Loose Cultivators lived together.
No matter how prosperous a city, there would always be dirty and tiring work for people to do...
Amid the pungent stench and rotting odors, countless rows of low shacks stretched endlessly.
Within one of the abandoned shacks lay a curled-up figure trembling uncontrollably.
Zhang Chuxi never thought that she would one day fall to such a state.
Her silken dress was filthy beyond recognition, her intricate twin-bun hairstyle disheveled, with traces of blood on her hair.
"Ugh..."
She clutched her mouth, struggling to keep her stomach from turning inside out.
No guards, no Aunt Lan, none of the faces usually so eager to please her were there.
She was all alone.
"Aunt Lan... where are you..." she whimpered, tears washed away the mud on her face, leaving trails of white.
She really regretted it.
If she had known, she wouldn’t have taught Chen Ye a lesson in Canghe County; it would have been better to wait until he returned to the sect to do it.
Even if her mother found out, it would just be a scolding...
"There are so many people here, maybe they won’t find me..."
Zhang Chuxi mumbled to herself, cautiously peeking outside, exhaling in relief when she detected no Demon Cultivator presence.
She had thought it through.
First, evade Yuan Ye’s men, then quietly leave the port to the East Sea.
Once in the East Sea, she would figure out how to contact the sect and have them send someone to bring her home.
She huddled in the corner, trying to hide herself in the shadows, praying continuously in her heart.
But fate seemed to be against her.
"Creak—"
The already flimsy wooden door was kicked open violently.
"Damn it, this place reeks!"
A rough Loose Cultivator swaggered in, casually spitting on the ground as he prepared to undo his belt, intending to relieve himself.
Zhang Chuxi’s heart leapt to her throat, she held her breath, not daring to move.
"Hm?"
The Loose Cultivator paused, his hand subtly moved to his Magical Artifact as he casually glanced back.
Upon seeing her, his eyes widened...
What a slender, beautiful girl!
"Hey... in such a crappy place... there’s still a little beauty?"
Zhang Chuxi felt as if she had been plunged into an ice cave.
She was covered in mud and filth, her hair a tangled mess like a bird’s nest, her face smeared in dirt and grime; she believed she looked even more disheveled than the beggars outside.
Yet... yet she was still noticed!
The Loose Cultivator rubbed his hands, advancing step by step, greedily eyeing Zhang Chuxi’s curled figure, chuckling lewdly:
"Little beauty, don’t hide. With that body, that tender skin... tch, tch, even if your face is a mess, who are you fooling!"