Chapter 162: Temporary Separation

Although Yang Hong’s voice was soft, everyone present was a Foundation Establishment stage expert, and everyone, including Wang Lingfei, heard it clearly. They quickly gathered around.

Wang Lingfei, in particular, had been solely focused on searching for Chu Xin'er earlier and hadn't paid much attention to this area. Now, upon careful inspection, he immediately sensed something was amiss and couldn't help chiming in:

"If this senior truly is one of the founding patriarchs of our Lingtian Sect, the legacy treasures upon his person must have been taken by that妖女 (sorceress/demoness). We must find her quickly and take them back."

"Indeed, Senior Brother Wang is right."

The Lingtian Sect had a long heritage. At its peak, it did not lack mighty figures in the Dao-Slicing and Tribulation-Crossing stages. Today's Pingzhou cultivation world had declined far too much, with the Spirit Severing stage being the absolute pinnacle of strength.

The legacy treasure of a legendary mighty figure—who wouldn't be moved by that? Wang Lingfei's assertion naturally won the agreement of everyone present.

Soon, while someone was dispatched back to report to the sect's high-level officials, the others began searching in all directions.

The spiritual imprint on Zhou Peng's and Xue Panyun's storage bags was harder to erase than those of the other three weaker youths. Therefore, the two top-grade Earth-Escaping Talismans Chu Xin'er obtained at the very beginning were acquired from those two unfortunate fellows.

As time passed, the imprint on the third youth was also gradually dissipating. Before the power of the earth-escaping talisman outside her body was completely exhausted, she easily shattered the imprint and restriction on the storage bag.

Discovering that there really was a spare top-grade Earth-Escaping Talisman inside, she couldn't help letting out a long breath of relief.

By now, she was already more than three hundred miles away from the spirit stone vein, and the search parties she encountered were becoming fewer and fewer. As long as nothing unexpected happened, temporarily shaking off her pursuers should not be a problem.

However, before truly securing her safety, Chu Xin'er still did not dare to lower her guard. She carefully scanned her surroundings and maintained her speed as she moved forward.

"Grand Patriarch, this disciple is unfilial, disturbing your mortal remains. Please do not blame me!"

Inside the pavilion on the peak of the Lingtian Sect, staring for a long moment at the skeleton that had been dug up and brought back, the old man with the demeanor of an immortal knelt down directly, his voice filled with trembling agitation.

Seeing his attitude, the middle-aged man with black beard and the woman in white also knelt and kowtowed, their attitudes extremely humble.

Due to the immense passage of time, there were very few records within the sect regarding the founding patriarch Liang Tianyun. However, the records did indicate that the Lingtian Canyon had suddenly closed for a million years, and even now, cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage still could not enter. Perhaps all of this was related to Patriarch Ling's return in a severely wounded state.

The specific circumstances were not described in the ancient texts, but based on the wound on the skeleton's chest and the disciples' description of the cave at the center of the spirit stone vein, the old man was basically certain that this was indeed the Patriarch Liang Tianyun they had been desperately searching for.

The patriarch had truly died without leaving behind his inheritance. No wonder the Lingtian Sect was growing increasingly desolate; as for what hidden secrets lay beneath this, the old man and the others had no way to investigate.

Yet, after careful observation, they found no ancient texts or treasures left within the remains. Elder Wu and the others could only send them to the forbidden grounds at the back of the mountain and choose a place with supreme geomantic energy to bury them.

Shortly after, the middle-aged man with the black beard spoke with a solemn expression: "Elder Wu, the inheritance left by the patriarch must be in the hands of that young girl. What should we do now?"

The fact that Chu Xin'er was able to take away the treasures left by the patriarch indicated that she had a fated connection with him, and in the future, she might even become a powerhouse surpassing them.

Whether to continue hunting her down and forcing her to hand over the inheritance, or to change their approach, lure her with benefits, and bring her into the sect for key cultivation—this delicate balance required careful consideration. The woman in white also gazed with a solemn expression toward Elder Wu, who possessed the demeanor of an immortal.

"To fight or to make peace? It is hard to conclude right now. Let us find her first. Of course, we can also let the disciples use kind words to persuade her to surrender..."

It was hard to say whether Chu Xin'er was a spy sent by hostile forces such as the Extreme Demon Sect or the Spirit Fiend Gate. Moreover, she had successively slaughtered Lingtian Sect disciples. If they directly altered their attitude toward her, it would undoubtedly wound the feelings of Wang Lingfei, Yang Hong, and the others.

Besides, even if she had obtained the patriarch's inheritance, she wouldn't be able to master it overnight. With so many elite disciples out there, they refused to believe they couldn't find her.

As long as Chu Xin'er heeded the persuasion to leave the Lingtian Canyon, with them making a move, everything would be under their absolute control.

At that time, whether to kill her or spare her would be entirely up to their whim.

Chu Xin'er was still utilizing the earth-escaping talisman to shuttle through the deep underground. She did not dare to return directly to the surface, because once her whereabouts were discovered, her fate would be an endless hunt.

Fortunately, she was already more than five hundred miles away from the spirit stone vein, and there were no search parties ahead. She could continue breaking the imprint on Zhou Peng's storage bag while moving forward.

Xue Panyun's storage bag had already been unlocked earlier, and the top-grade Earth-Escaping Talisman Chu Xin'er was currently using belonged to him.

Soon, the imprint on Zhou Peng's storage bag was also worn away. Discovering that it didn't contain many spiritual stones or treasures, but did hold two spare earth-escaping talismans, Chu Xin'er couldn't help letting out a long sigh of relief.

With these two top-grade Earth-Escaping Talismans, she could travel at least a few hundred miles further. Presumably, the enemy would be unable to lock onto her exact location for a short time to come.

Time flowed on. When these two top-grade Earth-Escaping Talismans were also exhausted by Chu Xin'er, she was already more than a thousand miles away from the spirit stone vein.

Hum—a wave of demonic energy undulated within the spirit beast pouch, and Xiao Wenzi's body grew larger by another circle. He had finally used the flesh and spiritual power of Zhou Peng to break through to the early stage of the thirteenth level of the Qi-Demonic stage.

After stabilizing his realm, Xiao Wenzi halted his actions, spread his demonic sense, and communicated with Chu Xin'er to inquire about the current situation.

"Xin'er, we should temporarily part ways. You can send me out, then find a place to carve out a cave dwelling for secluded cultivation. I will go draw away the pursuers."

Knowing that Chu Xin'er could not return to the surface, and that her current escape merely expanded the enemy's lockable radius to a thousand-odd miles—far from true safety—he spoke thus.

Choosing to temporarily separate was not only for Chu Xin'er's safety; his own cultivation also required the blood of cultivators and he could not remain underground indefinitely.

Otherwise, once Chu Xin'er entered long-term seclusion and the blood within Zhou Peng's corpse coagulated, he, having nothing to do, would surely be driven mad with suffocation.

As for cultivating with high-grade fire spirit stones, the Demonic Flame Cauldron was already approaching minor completion. Based on his initial attempts, wanting to refine it once more to major completion would likely require tens of thousands of fire spirit stones, if not more.

That would yield half the results with double the effort and be a massive waste. Furthermore, a more crucial point was that having broken through to the thirteenth level of the Qi-Demonic stage, he was now able to unlock the technique for the early stage of the Blood Spirit Grand Magic's Spirit Wheel realm. He had to obtain the blood of those trial-takers before they left.

Chu Xin'er did not know Xiao Wenzi's specific intentions, but she felt a warm glow in her heart at his willingness to bear the firepower alone. However, she also knew that if she didn't draw the enemy's line of sight away, they would sooner or later find her again.

And with the stone platform that could accelerate cultivation and purify spiritual power, as long as she was given enough time, Chu Xin'er was confident she could continue breaking through. Reaching the late Foundation Establishment stage or even the Great Circle would not be a difficult task.

After a brief consideration, Chu Xin'er agreed. She tunneled toward the surface above until her spiritual sense could sense the mountain forest outside. Staring at Xiao Wenzi, she murmured softly, "Thank you, Xiao Wen. You must survive and wait for me to come take you away."

"Rest assured, Xin'er."

Whether Chu Xin'er's emotions were feigned or not, Xiao Wenzi knew very well in his heart. He responded via voice transmission, then clawed through the rocks and soil above, charging directly toward the outside world.