"The sect markings on these Storage Bags, just like Master said, have indeed completely dissipated."
"Refining God Sect, Ten Thousand Puppet Sect, and even some sects from Ruins Country..."
Zhiwei murmured softly,
"How many people did True Man Ye kill back then? What kind of brilliance did he have?"
"However..."
She retracted her thoughts, her lips slightly curved,
"Regardless of the past, now, these are opportunities Master has given us."
"Qing Jun, speed up. Although this place is remote, such commotion will inevitably attract prying eyes."
"Okay, I got it!"
Qing Jun quickened the pace of ’junk collection.’
But the little girl was puzzled by her senior sister’s earlier words, saying that all this was recorded in Master’s strategy guide.
Strategy guide?
What is this thing?
"Let’s go, we’ll continue searching. Master said there should logically be other treasures, but he’s not sure."
Seeing her junior sister properly store the treasures, Zhiwei continued.
"Hmm? Master doesn’t understand something?"
The little girl exclaimed in surprise.
What Qing Jun didn’t know was,
In the game, Luoxiao Grotto Heaven was originally a dungeon five hundred years later, and by then, True Man Ye’s treasures would only include this stone chamber.
But five hundred years ago, there might be several treasures yet to be discovered—this was Master’s knowledge blind spot.
...
Meanwhile.
Blackwater Marsh.
"Blub... blub..."
The marsh bubbled with black bubbles, emitting a nauseating stench of rot.
True Inheritor Yang Qiu sat idly on a pitch-black spirit coffin, playing with a ghostly white finger bone.
Below him in the mud were seven freshly refined corpse puppets, neatly arranged, exuding a chilling evil qi.
"Boring."
Yang Qiu sighed,
"The bones of these peripheral Loose Cultivators are too soft, their essence too mixed. These corpse puppets aren’t even fit to carry my coffin."
It’s a pity.
He couldn’t find any Cultivators from the Lingyin Sect.
The Luoxiao Grotto Heaven was vast; even though he had rushed around for days, he had only found seven Loose Cultivators.
Luckily,
The large number of Luoxiao Orders jointly released by the five Major Sects meant there were far more Loose Cultivators entering the Grotto Heaven compared to Sect Disciples. Although they weren’t as high quality as Sect Disciples, their quantity was an advantage.
"Heh... do these guys really think they can defy destiny? How laughable. With the five Major Sects overseeing the outside world, even if you come across a heavenly opportunity, do you really think you can leave unscathed?"
Yang Qiu’s expression was one of pity, as if he were sighing.
The real purpose of these Loose Cultivators was only to facilitate various disciples in exploring the terrain... perhaps these Loose Cultivators understood this too, but the opportunities in Luoxiao Grotto Heaven were too tempting. Over the years, there were a few who managed to change their fate, although the numbers were few, enough to entice Loose Cultivators to risk everything.
Boom!
A heavy footstep broke the marsh’s deathly silence.
Yang Qiu raised an eyebrow, didn’t turn around, only moved his fingertips slightly.
Swish!
Three corpse puppets below sprang forward, their claws carrying a stench, viciously slashing toward the source of the sound.
In just the blink of an eye.
"Thud!"
Those three corpse puppets, cultivated from Cultivators in the Early Stage of Qi Cultivation, were struck flying barehanded by the newcomer.
Then, they exploded into a shower of blood in mid-air, raining down.
Yang Qiu remained indifferent, letting the blood rain soak him, only casting a sinister glance at the newcomer.
"True Inheritor Yang, is this your way of welcoming guests?"
A muscular man stepped forward, frowned as he looked at Yang Qiu with displeasure.
If he didn’t still need Yang Qiu’s help to hunt down those three girls, he would have ensured this Demon Cultivator was put down instantly!
"Huayue Mansion, Zhong Yue?"
Yang Qiu turned around, a smile curling on his pale face,
"Rare guest. Why not fight for the Songyang opportunity, but come to my mud pit instead? Have you thought it over, ready to offer me your well-toned body for corpse refinement?"
He had long coveted the Zhong brothers’ bodies.
Born with Divine Power, and being twins, if refined into twin corpse evils, the power would definitely be doubled.
"I’m not interested in mice; I’m not here for a Magical Battle. Senior Sister He sent me with a message for you."
Zhong Yue directly said.
"Oh?" Yang Qiu narrowed his eyes.
"There are three Lingyin Sect disciples in the western barren stone forest."
Zhong Yue said expressionlessly,
"These three have exceptional talents, all being Spirit Bodies. Senior Sister He said she was giving you this information as a token of goodwill for future cooperation."
When he thought about collaborating with Demon Cultivators, Zhong Yue felt uncomfortable all over.
He has always hated Demon Cultivators the most.
Ever since he stepped onto the path of cultivation, he increasingly doubted the truth behind his birth mother’s sudden death.
He and his brother Zhong Shan were not born with a wicked spirit body, so why would they consume their birth mother’s essence and blood? Even causing her sudden death during childbirth...
This is definitely abnormal!
Perhaps at that time, a Demon Cultivator secretly targeted their birth mother, intending to refine him and his brother, but luckily a True Man intervened, preventing the Demon Cultivators from succeeding.
Upon hearing the words "Lingyin Sect," Yang Qiu’s eyes flickered, and he licked his lips:
"Lingyin Sect disciple? Hiss... and a Spirit Body. Hehe, would that woman He Qinyuan be so kind? Maybe those three girls are a bit tough to handle, and she wants to use me like a knife?"
"Believe it or not."
Zhong Yue shrugged,
"Anyway, I’ve passed on the message. Those three girls are right now in the Dead Stone Forest. If you don’t go and they escape, don’t blame me for not warning you."
With that, Zhong Yue didn’t waste any more words and turned to leave.
He still needed to return to Severed Sword Cliff to share his opportunities. He didn’t have time to chat with this corpse-obsessed maniac.
Watching Zhong Yue’s departing back, the green flame in Yang Qiu’s eyes flickered.
"Borrowing a knife to kill..."
"Hmph, even if it’s borrowing a knife to kill, so what?"
Yang Qiu stood up, and the spirit beneath his feet let out a low hum,
"I’ve set my sights on killing the people of Lingyin Sect!"
...
Outside Guan Feng Tower.
Chen Ye walked along the bustling street of Hunyuan City, his expression calm.
As for Fairy Gu Tangyin’s threats?
He was not worried at all.
"Instructor Chen!"
At this moment, a slightly anxious voice rang out.
Wang Fu, sweating profusely, squeezed out from the crowd and grabbed Chen Ye’s sleeve, his expression anxious:
"Instructor Chen! You finally came down! Did that Gu... that person do anything to you?"
He had been waiting below all the time, fearing that Gu Tangyin, that crazy woman, would harm Chen Ye.
After all, she’s a Huayue lurking dragon, with a temper unpredictable, and if she acted impulsively, how could Chen Ye’s cultivation at the sixth layer of the Foundation Establishment stand a chance?
Even though his own cultivation was average, he kept an eye on it below and was ready to seek sect assistance if things went awry.
"Rest assured, Guardian Wang."
Chen Ye smiled warmly and patted Wang Fu’s hand,
"Fairy Gu is a reasonable person; she just invited me for a cup of tea and chatted about mundane things."
Wang Fu’s mouth twitched.
Reasonable?
If Gu Tangyin is reasonable, pigs might as well climb trees!
But seeing Chen Ye unscathed, his hanging heart was at least half-relieved.
However, he immediately recalled another matter, his brow furrowing once more:
"Instructor Chen, although you’re fine, now... the situation is quite dire."
"What?" Chen Ye feigned ignorance.
"That Yang Qiu is extremely ruthless, and the subordinates are worried he will harm the sect’s disciples. If they get cornered, the consequences..."
Wang Fu didn’t dare to continue.
Trapped with no escape, a dead end.
That’s his assessment of the current situation.
Chen Ye smiled.
His three disciples are no pushovers.
Moreover, crucially, not only do they have the strategy he provided, but they also have the life-saving Array Plate gifted by Master Gu of the Spirit Treasure Sect.
Even in the worst-case scenario, they could escape.
As for the sect disciples...
Chen Ye spoke softly, "Rest assured, Guardian Wang. What you can think of, the sect elders are also capable of considering."
He thought for a moment, although most Lingyin Sect disciples were at the fourth or fifth layers of Foundation Establishment.
But among them, there’s an aura that seems off, probably concealed by Lingyin True Man through some means to play the pig while eating the tiger.
Besides, the Lingyin Sect has no less than four Golden Core True Men. How could they let the Ten Thousand Puppet Sect bully them?
"However... given the current special circumstances, if those true inheritors from Qi Kingdom return, Yang Qiu wouldn’t be feared. And without Qi Kingdom’s strife, Susu wouldn’t need to hurry to break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage. She could halt at the sixth layer to attend the Luoxiao Conference, where Yang Qiu would be easily handled."
Chen Ye pondered, among the peer disciples of Lingyin Sect, besides Bai Susu, there was also a Zhao Family true inheritor renowned alongside Yang Qiu. Unfortunately, recently, this Zhao Family true inheritor was no match for the Duqing Divine Son and is now recovering from serious injuries.
Seeing Chen Ye’s calm demeanor, Wang Fu felt more relieved.
He took a breath, changed the topic:
"By the way, Instructor Chen."
"Here’s another piece of news, unclear whether it’s good or bad."
Wang Fu’s expression turned somewhat peculiar, he leaned close to Chen Ye’s ear and spoke softly,
"I just received a message from the sect saying that the Mao Family’s eldest daughter has also arrived. Ahem, it’s unclear what this eldest daughter intends to do in Hunyuan City, surely not here to join the fun... What do you think, Instructor Chen?"