No, that’s not right!
Chen Ye realized after the fact.
Qing Jun’s talent has not yet manifested and she seems no different from an ordinary girl. How could she possibly attract the covetous eyes of the Demon Cultivators from the Emotion Crossing Sect?
The Demon Cultivators wouldn’t randomly infiltrate the marketplace, even when severely injured, just to kidnap a seemingly ordinary little girl!
This just doesn’t make sense!
Li Qiuyun saw Chen Ye’s expression shifting unpredictably and said casually, with a somewhat formal tone:
"Or maybe she just got lost? Taoist Friend Chen, regarding the Demon Beast matter, although there were indeed Demon Cultivators fanning the flames behind the scenes, that Demon Cultivator was extremely cunning. Severely injured as he was, he had long fled to the depths of the Three Thousand Great Mountains and certainly couldn’t have lingered in Yunxi District."
She paused briefly and added with a hint of disdain:
"Within the marketplace, it’s a mixed bag of characters. At most, there are a few greedy loose cultivators secretly colluding with Demon Cultivators, but they can’t create any significant disturbances."
Though it was a thoughtless remark, it suddenly made things clear for Chen Ye!
Qing Jun has always stayed at home, rarely going out, and has never shown any extraordinary traits in front of outsiders.
Even if that Female Demon Cultivator wanted to find a Furnace or a child with a special constitution, she couldn’t pinpoint Qing Jun from afar!
The most likely possibility is that those loose cultivators colluding with the Demon Cultivators abducted Qing Jun for them!
Chen Ye remembered very clearly,
someone had once contacted him, wanting to purchase his disciple.
"Who could be the loose cultivator that abducted Qing Jun?"
Chen Ye’s heart sank as he rapidly evaluated potential suspects in his mind.
"How could this person silently avoid Granny Li’s and Zhiwei’s attention to abduct Qing Jun? Shunshui Street, although not as bustling as the heart of the marketplace, has many neighbors around. If a stranger abducted someone, it’s impossible that no commotion would arise..."
Chen Ye’s eyes swept over his small courtyard, then looked at the closed courtyard gate of Granny Li’s house next door.
"Unless the one who abducted Qing Jun wasn’t an outsider, but someone from the neighborhood?"
"It’s also possible that Qing Jun herself, mischievous as she is, sneaked out while Zhiwei wasn’t looking and got caught by chance? If Qing Jun went out by herself... this could explain why Zhiwei didn’t notice. After all, even Luo Heng couldn’t snatch someone away silently right in front of them."
Chen Ye furrowed his brow but quickly dismissed the idea.
Qing Jun, though lively, has been through a lot, and she harbors a vigilance and fear towards the outside world far beyond that of others her age, especially towards strangers.
Especially with the rampant Demon Beasts and the chaos outside, there’s no way she would have run outside on her own!
Chen Ye took a deep breath and looked at Li Qiuyun in front of him.
This Female Cultivator from the Sect, wearing a neat azure Taoist Robe that accentuated a stunningly graceful figure.
Her pretty face was full of heroic spirit, usually unsmiling,
but at this moment, she was visibly running out of patience.
Chen Ye could no longer care for much else, speaking firmly and resolutely.
"Taoist Friend Li, I suspect that the one who abducted my disciple was a loose cultivator colluding with the Demon Cultivators!"
Li Qiuyun was stunned for a moment, then let out a cold laugh:
"Taoist Friend Chen, have you lost your mind in your panic? Why do you keep thinking the Demon Cultivators are after your disciple? She’s just an ordinary human girl, probably just got lost... I don’t have time to waste with you."
Just then, a few Outer Sect Disciples who had just finished patrolling the nearby area walked over.
Seeing Li Qiuyun and Chen Ye standing together, one of them teased with a mischievous grin:
"Hey there, Senior Sister Li, catching up with this Senior Chen again, huh? Tsk tsk, looks like Junior Martial Uncle Bai’s prophecy might just come true soon!"
Another disciple chimed in to egg on: "That’s right, that’s right, Senior Sister Li, when will you invite us to the wedding feast?"
These days, because of Bai Susu’s witty remark, Li Qiuyun had faced quite a lot of teasing among her peers.
Being mentioned publicly at this moment made her both embarrassed and annoyed, her pretty face blushing bright red.
She shot a cold glare at the teasing disciples: "What nonsense! Dare to talk rubbish again, and don’t blame me for being unfriendly!"
The disciples, seeing that she was genuinely angry, stuck their tongues out and scurried away with laughter.
Li Qiuyun took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in her heart, turned to Chen Ye, and spoke with increasing coldness and impatience:
"Taoist Friend Chen! Let me say it again, I am very sympathetic about your disciple’s disappearance, but the Sect has its own procedures for investigations! You making wild accusations like this, with no evidence, stop making trouble here and hindering us from performing our duties!"
Right now, the more Li Qiuyun looked at Chen Ye, the more displeased she became. If not for her responsibilities, she would have left long ago.
Chen Ye knew it was difficult to convince her without concrete evidence.
He gritted his teeth, abruptly took out ten Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag, and stuffed them into Li Qiuyun’s hands without a word!
Li Qiuyun was stunned by the sudden Spirit Stones!
Ten Spirit Stones!
For an Outer Sect disciple like her, without any significant backing, this was no small sum.
She instinctively wanted to refuse, but feeling the solid weight of the Spirit Stones in her hand.
Ultimately, she quickly pocketed them in her Storage Bag, keeping her face impassive:
"Taoist Friend Chen, what is the meaning of this? Are you attempting to bribe a Sect disciple?"
Seeing her accept the Spirit Stones, Chen Ye felt slightly more assured, knowing there was a chance!
He quickly lowered his voice and earnestly said, "Taoist Friend Li, you misunderstand! Chen sincerely has no such intention! I merely wish to ask, do you know if there are methods within the Sect to track Demonic Qi?"
In the Cultivation Realm, there are indeed items for tracking and tracing.
Since Zhiwei could detect the Demonic Qi from Ping Zhuo’s corpse, perhaps the Sect has a way to use this to find someone.
Li Qiuyun, after hearing Chen Ye’s request, felt the Spirit Stones in her hand become hot.
Considering the Spirit Stones, she said expressionlessly:
"An item to track Demonic Qi? In the marketplace there is indeed a Tier Two Magical Treasure, the Demon-Testing Mirror, managed by Guardian Sun. Recently, another Demon Cultivator met his end due to this item... but this treasure requires a Foundation Establishment True Man to activate, and how would a Foundation Establishment True Man listen to your one-sided claim and personally search for you?"
Chen Ye stuffed another ten Spirit Stones into her hands.
"..."
Li Qiuyun looked at the additional ten Spirit Stones in her hand, utterly speechless.
Twenty Spirit Stones!
This loose cultivator... was this generous?!
Just for an ordinary human girl?
Li Qiuyun swallowed with difficulty, squeezing out a strained smile on her spirited face:
"Seeing how much you care for your disciple, I can notify you. However, whether it succeeds or not, I can’t guarantee."
Chen Ye, hearing this, rekindled a glimmer of hope in his heart and quickly asked: "Thank you, Taoist Friend Li! Do you know if Zhou Mingyuan, Steward Zhou, is in the marketplace? Steward Zhou is knowledgeable and perhaps..."
Aside from Li Qiuyun,
the highest-ranking person Chen Ye knew in the Lingyin Sect was Zhou Mingyuan!
The two had discussed the Spirit Plant Technique in Luo Heng’s Warm Pavilion.
Moreover, Zhou Mingyuan valued Chen Ye greatly.
It’s a pity that the two weren’t very familiar with each other yet.
Lacking interaction on ordinary days, Chen Ye did not know if Zhou Mingyuan was still in Yunxi District.
After all, Zhou Mingyuan previously came to Yunxi District following some Inner Sect disciple.
Now that the Inner Sect disciple had returned to the Lingyin Sect, in theory, Zhou Mingyuan should have gone back as well.
"Steward Zhou?" Li Qiuyun nodded, "Due to this cold disaster, Steward Zhou was ordered to temporarily stay in Yunxi District and take care of the Spirit Field. He is likely at the Internal Affairs Hall at the moment."
"In that case, Taoist Friend Li, please lead me to see Steward Zhou!"
Chen Ye was delighted upon hearing this. With Zhou Mingyuan to speak for him, the possibility of inviting a Foundation Establishment True Man would undoubtedly be greater.
Li Qiuyun glanced at him, ultimately didn’t refuse, and turned to lead him in the direction of the Internal Affairs Hall.
The Internal Affairs Hall was located in the central area of the Market, with stricter security.
It wasn’t long before Li Qiuyun, with a bit of reluctance and under many peculiar gazes from her fellow disciples, led Chen Ye to find Zhou Mingyuan.
After listening to Chen Ye’s account, Zhou Mingyuan stroked his beard, furrowed his brows slightly, and showed a half-believing expression.
He pondered, "This does sound quite strange. Ever since Guardian Chang took action, after slaying one Demon Cultivator, the other had long since fled. How could they still catch your disciple... If this could indeed help root out a Demon Cultivator, it wouldn’t be a bad thing..."
He looked at Chen Ye with a scrutinizing gaze: "However, borrowing the Demon-Testing Mirror is no small matter and requires the approval of Guardian Sun. If it turns out there is no evidence, Taoist Friend Chen, are you aware of the consequences?"
Chen Ye responded without hesitation: "I am willing to bear the responsibility alone!"
Zhou Mingyuan gave him a deep look, recalling the superb Spirit Plant Technique this person had exhibited at the Cloud Clothing Pavilion last time.
He nodded: "Very well, Zhou will make this trip for you. Li Qiuyun!"
"Disciple is here!" Li Qiuyun replied respectfully.
Zhou Mingyuan looked at her with a half-smile: "With your temperament, you wouldn’t make a trip for anyone for nothing, have you perhaps received Taoist Friend Chen’s Spirit Stones?"
Being exposed by Zhou Mingyuan on the spot, a trace of panic flashed across Li Qiuyun’s cold face, and her ears slightly reddened.
"Steward Zhou, you see clearly! Disciple... disciple merely accepted them to calm his mind in the urgency."
Immediately, she abruptly turned around and, without hesitation, took the twenty Spirit Stones out of her Storage Bag and almost forcibly returned them to Chen Ye.
"Taoist Friend Chen! These Spirit Stones are not in accordance with reason and against the rules! You must take them back!"
Li Qiuyun’s face was stern, but her heart was bleeding.
Chen Ye was somewhat stupefied,
What... what’s going on? Can Spirit Stones still be returned like merchandise?
He wanted to give them back to Li Qiuyun, after all, she had indeed spent a lot of effort for him.
But in front of Zhou Mingyuan, Li Qiuyun probably wouldn’t accept them...
Zhou Mingyuan watched all this play out and revealed a faint smile.
This Li Qiuyun, her face is still as thin as ever...
But compared to ordinary Outer Sect disciples, Zhou Mingyuan would rather befriend Chen Ye.
Perhaps this was a mutual appreciation among Spirit Plant Masters.
He coughed softly:
"Alright, since Taoist Friend Chen is willing to take full responsibility, Zhou will make this trip for you. As for whether Guardian Sun will consent, we shall leave it to fate."
With that, Zhou Mingyuan rose and walked briskly towards the depths of the Internal Affairs Hall.
Soon afterward, Zhou Mingyuan returned.
Accompanying him was a plain-looking, dignified elder radiating a profound aura.
The elder had white hair and beard, and his very presence exuded authority.
Is this the legendary Foundation Establishment True Man?
But to Chen Ye’s surprise,
this True Man’s tone was quite amiable and even joked with Li Qiuyun:
"Qiuyun, last time we met, it was half a year ago when you first came to Yunxi District. Ah, then you were still a green little girl, often crying in the middle of the night wanting to return to the Sect..."
Li Qiuyun blushed, instinctively bowed in salute, but her tone was as cold as ever:
"Guardian Sun is kidding, disciple is here on patrol under orders and dares not slack. Today’s matter concerns the traces of a Demon Cultivator, and I ask the Guardian for a wise judgment."
She deftly steered the topic back to business, trying to cover her embarrassment.
"Hehe, you girl, still so easily teased."
Guardian Sun shook his head, a hint of amusement in his cloudy eyes.
Then he turned his gaze to Chen Ye, who had been respectfully standing aside.
The elder’s gaze was calm but carried an intangible pressure: "You are Chen Ye? Steward Zhou said that you discovered traces of a Demon Cultivator and wish for me to use the Demon-Testing Mirror to track them?"
Chen Ye’s heart stirred, meeting Steward Zhou’s gaze; Zhou was smiling and nodded at Chen Ye.
Chen Ye immediately understood, realizing Steward Zhou’s thoughtful intention.
Turning the matter of his disciple’s disappearance into the discovery of traces of a Demon Cultivator would undoubtedly draw more attention from the Sect’s higher-ups.
After all, the disappearance of an ordinary girl might seem insignificant to these influential figures.
But if it involved a Demon Cultivator lurking around causing trouble, it would shake the foundation of the Market, a matter not to be underestimated.
Zhou Mingyuan was silently aiding him!
Previously, Chen Ye was too anxious to consider this point.
He quickly followed Guardian Sun’s words and respectfully replied:
"Reporting to Guardian Sun! Junior indeed found some suspicious traces! Junior had treated the sick from East Valley many times. I vaguely sensed a remnant aura similar to one found on a Loose Cultivator’s corpse, uncertain of my judgment, thus seeking the Guardian’s use of the Treasure Mirror for verification!"
After hearing this, Guardian Sun shook his head: "Sigh, you Loose Cultivators, making a fuss about nothing... If even you, a Loose Cultivator, can detect a Demon Cultivator’s aura, these two prodigious from the Emotion Crossing Sect would have long since met their end!"
Hearing the concealed dissatisfaction in the Foundation Establishment True Man’s voice,
Chen Ye’s heart tightened.
But soon,
the True Man spoke again in a leisurely manner:
"However, better safe than sorry! Why aren’t you leading the way yet? If delayed, not to mention Magical Treasure, even Spiritual Treasure wouldn’t trace the source!"