Chapter 145: A Smug Xu Feng

"It is like this. The three fellow Daoists might not know, but that demonic mosquito is extremely mysterious and bizarre. Not only does it come and go without a trace, but it can also cast a spell that paralyzes and stuns cultivators... Therefore, we plan to invite the three fellow Daoists to join us. Rest assured, although our Cloud Peak Team is not the strongest among the trial-takers, we can guarantee that we will treat every member like a sister."

After beating around the bush for a while, Song Feng finally stated his true purpose.

Chu Xin'er finally understood that they had taken a fancy to her ability to set up formations, which was why they had acted so rashly. However, as the mastermind behind the scenes, how could she possibly agree to such an invitation? Without a second thought, she flatly refused.

"No need. I will not join any team."

"How unappreciative! Just wait to be fed to the demonic mosquitoes."

Chu Xin'er and Lu Yin were both extremely pretty young maidens. Most members of the Cloud Peak Team, including Song Feng, would not bicker over her cold attitude, but Zhi'er, the young maiden who had suffered a crushing defeat last night, could no longer hold back and sneered disdainfully.

Humph~~

Chu Xin'er had already noticed this young maiden in white amidst the crowd. She knew that although the maiden's face and hands showed no abnormalities, her chest and back were covered with itchy bumps left behind by blood-sucking.

Not understanding why Xiao Wen had shown mercy and spared her, Chu Xin'er felt an indescribable sense of disgust in her heart. With a cold snort, a powerful Foundation Establishment stage pressure radiated outward.

"This~~, she is actually at the Foundation Establishment stage! No wonder she refused to join the team."

Feeling the piercing pressure, all members of the Cloud Peak Team, including the white-robed maiden Zhi'er, changed their expressions drastically.

The slightly older maiden named Bai Yulian hurriedly offered an apology, saying, "Senior, please forgive us. My little sister is young and ignorant, and she had no intention of offending you. Please show mercy."

Song Feng also chimed in, "Fairy, please do not take offense. We will leave right away."

Chu Xin'er released her spiritual pressure solely to frighten them away. Seeing that they were sensible enough to retreat, she decided to drop the matter and pursue it no further.

Three streaks of light streaked across the sky above the mountain range. Occasionally, they would stop to hunt demonic beasts or dig up spiritual herbs that caught their eye. These two women and one man were precisely Chu Xin'er and the Lu siblings.

Xiao Wen had said that he did not need to consume fresh blood for some time, so Chu Xin'er was not in a hurry to rush around searching for other isolated cultivators. She intended to earn as many contribution points as possible and then seek out the Inquiry Path.

After all, joining the Lingtian Sect to cultivate in peace was her ultimate goal.

***

"Huh~, such a powerful spiritual sense! What is going on?"

Chu Xin'er thought that as long as she stopped letting Xiao Wen show his face, she could peacefully earn contribution points for the remainder of the trial.

However, just as she, Lu Yin, and Lu Fang were digging up spiritual herbs in a patch of mountain forest, a powerful spiritual sense suddenly probed from behind, causing her brows to knit together involuntarily.

The newcomer's spiritual awareness was far too strong, well beyond the level attainable by the young men and women participating in this trial, unless the other party was a Foundation Establishment disciple of the Lingtian Sect.

What made her feel a sense of foreboding was that the spiritual sense seemed to have locked onto her, constantly probing the beast-taming pouch at her waist.

At the same time, Xiao Wenzi, who was swallowing spiritual pills to cultivate, also felt a hair-raising sense of crisis.

"Hahaha~~, found you!"

In the void a thousand zhang away, Xu Feng laughed aloud. Although he had instructed Xu Lingzi's subordinates to scatter and search with all their might, his intention was to capture Chu Xin'er before peers like Zhou Peng and Wang Lingfei could.

Still, it was quite gratifying to have tracked her down so quickly using the clues provided by the Cloud Peak Team.

There was no sign of Zhou Peng, Wang Lingfei, or Yang Hong here. It seemed that those fellows lacked a clear objective and would ultimately lag far behind him. This achievement would undoubtedly belong to him, Xu Feng.

"I think I've run into big trouble. Listen, later on, no matter who asks, just say we were merely teaming up. You siblings must take care of yourselves."

Feeling that powerful aura drawing closer and closer, Chu Xin'er knew the other party's target must be her. After dropping these words to the Lu siblings, she soared into the sky and sped away rapidly.

"Sister Chu..."

Chu Xin'er suddenly acted as if facing a formidable enemy, and after leaving a warning through a voice transmission, she fled at top speed. Lu Yin had no idea what was happening; with an ugly expression, she wanted to ask, but she noticed a dazzling rainbow cutting through the sky in the distance, drawing nearer and nearer.

Before the person even arrived, the rolling spiritual pressure he exuded caused her words to die instantly in her throat.

Xu Feng naturally spotted the Lu siblings in the forest, but after a single sweep of his spiritual sense, he couldn't be bothered with them because those two little fellows were far too weak.

He could interrogate them later after catching the target demonic female, so he kept his eyes locked on the slender figure ahead, his lips curling into a cold sneer. "Run! Just how far do you think you can run?"

The gap between the early and late stages of Foundation Establishment was simply too vast. Even if Chu Xin'er exerted her utmost strength, she could not shake off the tail behind her. Moreover, before figuring out the situation, blindly fleeing was hardly a wise choice.

***

Therefore, after putting some distance between herself and the Lu siblings, she halted her flight, turned around, and said, "This senior brother should not be one of the trial-takers this time, right? May I ask why you are pursuing me?"

Interesting. Is this villain actually making a preemptive strike and cross-examining me?

Seeing that Chu Xin'er had stopped running, Xu Feng halted not far from her, his face full of mockery as he said, "Why am I pursuing you? You should know that in your heart better than I do, maiden!

"Tell me, which faction sent you here as a spy to disrupt the Lingtian Sect's disciple recruitment trial?"

What? A spy? Where on earth was this accusation coming from? Chu Xin'er said with a look of astonishment, "You're spitting blood! I am merely a rogue cultivator, never having any entanglements with any faction. On what grounds do you slander me like this?"

"On the grounds that you are the master of that demonic mosquito! Spare me your clever tongue. If you know what's good for you, hand over that demonic mosquito immediately and obediently come with me to see the Sect Master. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless."

To make it convenient for Xiao Wen to enter and exit the beast-taming pouch, Chu Xin'er had not imprinted any spiritual restriction on it. Under close-range probing, Xu Feng could easily detect Xiao Wenzi's existence.

The task issued by the sect was for them to find the suspicious person who had released the demonic mosquitoes. Although the fact that there was only one demonic mosquito inside the beast-taming pouch struck him as somewhat bizarre,

there was no doubt whatsoever that the young maiden before him was connected to the previous demonic mosquitoes. With a disdainful smile, he let his powerful spiritual pressure envelop Chu Xin'er.

It's actually because of Xiao Wen? But why do the higher-ups of the Lingtian Sect place so much importance on this? Could it simply be because Xiao Wen killed the Luan brothers? That shouldn't be the case, or perhaps they saw something extraordinary about Xiao Wen?

Hearing Xu Feng mention the demonic mosquito, Chu Xin'er finally grasped the crux of the matter, though her doubts only deepened.

However, the Xu Feng before her was not going to answer her questions; instead, he was preparing to capture her by force. Her mind raced as she considered how to extricate herself from this predicament.

"What? You demonic female, have nothing more to say? If you don't surrender obediently, don't blame someone here for showing no mercy!"

Seeing Chu Xin'er fall silent, Xu Feng's lips curled into a sneer of ridicule as he prepared to make a move.

"Wait! This maiden has a clear conscience. I will go with you to clear everything up."

Seeming to have made up her mind, Chu Xin'er smiled bitterly, reached out to remove the beast-taming pouch, and sent it floating toward Xu Feng enveloped in spiritual energy.