Chapter 71: No, There Is Someone Behind

The setting sun dipped low, painting the bamboo forest behind Tianxuan Peak in a layer of dappled gold.

Chu Chang walked back to his new Immortal Cave with a steady gait, the reborn Golden Geng Demon-Suppressing Sword hanging at his waist.

Although he deliberately activated a secret technique to conceal his aura, suppressing his surging True Qi fluctuations to the level of an ordinary Early Stage Foundation Establishment Realm, the ethereal and transcendent aura of having crossed a major Realm to reach the Middle Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm still caused the Inner Sect Disciples he encountered along the way to cast side-long glances.

Just as he reached the entrance of the courtyard, a fragrance of elegant tea and the faint sweetness of pastries wafted toward him.

Chu Chang pushed open the wooden gate and paused in slight surprise.

Beside the stone table sat two stunning beauties.

The one on the left wore white robes as pure as snow; she was cold and aloof, like an ice lotus blooming quietly on the Peak of a snowy mountain.

Her slender fingers held a teapot, and she gazed indifferently at the tea leaves floating in the cup; it was Senior Sister Lin Ruoxue.

The one on the right was dressed in a slightly tight, pale blue flowing dress, which perfectly outlined her exquisite and graceful figure.

She held her head slightly high, her delicate face also bearing a frosty expression, but her bright, spirited eyes occasionally darted around, revealing that she was not as cold as she appeared. This woman was the head Disciple of Qingyun Peak, Eldest Miss Gu Lingshuang.

"Junior Brother Chu, you have finally returned."

Seeing Chu Chang push open the door and enter, Eldest Miss Gu Lingshuang spoke first.

She cleared her throat slightly, trying hard to make her voice sound as cold and indifferent as Senior Sister Lin Ruoxue's, but the concern in the corners of her eyes and brows could not be hidden.

"Greetings, Senior Sister Lin, Senior Sister Gu." Chu Chang smiled, cupped his hands in greeting, and walked forward.

"Sit," Senior Sister Lin Ruoxue said concisely, her voice so cold it lacked even a hint of warmth.

With a gentle push of her fair hand, a cup of freshly brewed Spirit Medicine tea slid steadily in front of Chu Chang.

Chu Chang lifted his robes to sit, picked up the teacup, took a sip, and praised, "Good tea. It is slightly bitter at first, but the aftertaste carries the essence of growing vegetation. It must be the Three-Leaf Green Luo plucked from the Spirit Medicine garden."

"You have some discernment, at least." Eldest Miss Gu Lingshuang lifted her chin slightly, pretended to be indifferent as she picked up her teacup to hide the smile at the corner of her mouth, and said, "I heard you stayed in the Weapon Washing Pool for three full hours today? The baleful energy there is something ordinary newly promoted Inner Sect Disciples cannot withstand."

"It was indeed quite dangerous, but I was fortunate to gain something." Chu Chang followed her lead and placed the Golden Geng Demon-Suppressing Sword horizontally on the stone table.

Senior Sister Lin Ruoxue's cold gaze fell upon the sword, and her dark eyebrows arched slightly.

With her discernment, she could naturally see that this sword already showed signs of developing a spirit, and it was by no means comparable to an ordinary Medium Grade Magical Artifact.

"The sword is a good one, but in cultivation, one must cultivate oneself; weapons are ultimately external objects."

Although Senior Sister Lin Ruoxue's voice was cold, her words carried a hint of guidance. "During the grand competition, your Physical Body strength was extremely strong. But upon reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm, the True Qi in your body transforms into True Liquid, and what is compared is the depth of your True Qi and your comprehension of the Law. Relying solely on brute force will not get you far."

Eldest Miss Gu Lingshuang nodded repeatedly in deep agreement from the side and continued, "Junior Sister Lin is right. There are nine levels of Foundation Establishment, and each step requires a massive amount of spiritual power to open up the Dantian. I am currently at the third level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, and I know well that the further one goes, the more difficult the condensation of True Liquid becomes. You have just achieved a Breakthrough, so do not be ambitious; you should prioritize stabilizing your Foundation."

Chu Chang watched these two proud daughters of heaven, who had distinct personalities yet were both determined to guide him, and found it amusing in his heart, though he wore an expression of being taught on his face. "Senior Sisters are right to admonish me. When I achieved my Breakthrough, I did indeed feel my Meridians swelling with pain, and my True Qi showed signs of becoming uncontrolled. I wonder, when you two Senior Sisters condensed your True Liquid, how did you reconcile Yin and Yang?"

Upon hearing the words "Yin and Yang," Eldest Miss Gu Lingshuang's pretty face flushed slightly. She pretended to be calm, took a sip of tea, and turned her head away.

Senior Sister Lin Ruoxue's expression remained normal, and she calmly analyzed, "Yin and Yang must intertwine, and water and fire must aid each other. You primarily cultivate Golden Geng and Pure Yang Qi techniques, and your Yang Qi is too excessive, which easily damages the Meridians. In your future cultivation, you need to find some Spirit Medicine with ice-cold attributes, or…"

She glanced at Chu Chang and said indifferently, "Find a fellow Cultivator who practices ice-attribute techniques to spar and discuss the Dao, using cold energy to neutralize your masculine energy."

"I see, I have been taught." Chu Chang nodded with a smile, but inwardly he thought: If Senior Sister Lin Ruoxue knew that not only was he not backlashed by Yang Qi, but instead, by using Pure Yang Qi, he had drained the Devilish Heart beneath the Weapon Washing Pool until it was nearly exhausted and achieved a Breakthrough to the Middle Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm in one go, he wondered what she would think.

The three of them sat around the stone table, eating spirit fruits and pastries, chatting about trivial matters of cultivation under the moonlight. Although the atmosphere was cool, it exuded a rare warmth and comfort.

"Bang!" A sudden, muffled sound shattered the tranquility of the small courtyard.

Immediately following, the courtyard gate was violently pushed open by a great force, and a bloodied, ragged figure tumbled in, crawling and rolling.

"Boss Chu! Help me, Boss Chu!"

The newcomer's voice was shrill, filled with terror and anxiety.

Chu Chang's expression tightened. With a flash of his figure, he reached the courtyard gate and pulled the person up.

"Zhang Erniu?!"

Looking at the injured Outer Sect friend before him, whose aura was withered, Chu Chang's eyes sank instantly. "What happened? How did you get injured like this?"

Zhang Erniu gripped Chu Chang's sleeve tightly. Because of extreme fear and anxiety, his whole body trembled violently, and his lips quivered, making him unable to speak clearly. "Yu… Senior Sister Yu Xiaoxiao! Senior Sister Xiaoxiao, she… she has gone missing!"

"What?!"

Chu Chang's pupils constricted sharply.

Senior Sister Yu Xiaoxiao, that quirky Outer Sect Senior Sister who had secretly helped him many times, how could she suddenly go missing?

"Speak slowly, what exactly happened?"

At this moment, Senior Sister Lin Ruoxue and Eldest Miss Gu Lingshuang had also stood up and walked over. Senior Sister Lin Ruoxue waved one hand, and a wisp of gentle, ice-blue True Qi was injected into Zhang Erniu's body, temporarily protecting his heart Meridians and suppressing his injuries.

Zhang Erniu took a deep breath, his eyes filled with panic, and said with a sobbing voice:

"This afternoon, Senior Sister Xiaoxiao and I had originally agreed to meet outside the Spirit Medicine garden to discuss going to the market to exchange Materials for Foundation Establishment pills. But I waited for two hours and didn't see her. I sent sound transmission Talismans, but there was no response."

"Later, in a desolate valley behind the Spirit Medicine garden, I found this…"

Zhang Erniu tremblingly took out a jade pendant that had been broken into two pieces from his bosom.

Chu Chang recognized at a glance that it was the personal warm jade that Senior Sister Yu Xiaoxiao had worn at her waist for years. On the jade pendant, there remained a trace of dried blood, as well as a disgusting, faint Devilish Qi.

"Devilish Qi again!"

Chu Chang narrowed his eyes, and a bone-chilling killing intent erupted from the bottom of his heart.

…

A fine drizzle like silk shrouded Qingshi Town at the foot of the Divine Sword Sect.

This was a vast market built in attachment to the Sect, where bustling Loose Cultivators and low-level Sect Disciples came and went, peddling various Spirit Medicine, Talismans, and Yao Beast Materials.

Chu Chang, Lin Ruohan, and Eldest Miss Gu Lingshuang were currently walking side by side on the street paved with blue flagstones.

Because the incident was sudden, Zhang Erniu was left in the Sect to heal his wounds due to his severe injuries, while Lin Ruohan and Eldest Miss Gu Lingshuang insisted on going down the mountain together to investigate.

"There was Devilish Qi remaining at the place where Xiaoxiao went missing, and Qingshi Town has the largest flow of people; it is also a place where filth and corruption are hidden. If someone forcibly took her away from the Sect, they would most likely pass through here." Eldest Miss Gu Lingshuang lowered her voice, her originally playful eyes now filled with vigilance.

Lin Ruohan did not speak, but silently spread her Divine Sense, keenly scanning every corner of the street.

Chu Chang walked at the very front.

Although he appeared to be an ordinary Early Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator on the surface, in reality, after his Pure Yang Qi advanced to the Middle Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm, it had reached an extremely profound Realm.

"Hoo…"

Chu Chang secretly activated the breathing technique of the "Eight Desolations Demon-Suppressing Fist," and the sixty drops of Pure Yang Qi True Liquid within his body trembled slightly. Wisps of invisible Pure Yang Qi overflowed through his pores, like an invisible net, capturing strange auras in the Void Realm.

Senior Sister Yu Xiaoxiao had once gifted him an amulet bearing her personal scent. Although the Talisman was destroyed, that unique, cool fragrance and the aura of her Cultivation Technique had long been familiar to Chu Chang's Pure Yang Qi.

Suddenly, Chu Chang's footsteps paused slightly.

In his Pure Yang Qi perception, two extremely discordant, cold auras suddenly appeared in the surging crowd ahead.

Within that coldness, there was a faint, extremely weak, thread-like familiar aura.

It was Senior Sister Yu Xiaoxiao!

Chu Chang looked up abruptly, his gaze piercing through the heavy rain, and instantly locked onto two tall figures a hundred meters ahead, draped in black cloaks and wrapped tightly from head to toe.

"Chu Chang, what is it?" Lin Ruohan noticed the tension in Chu Chang's body immediately and asked softly.

"There is a lead." Chu Chang remained calm and sent a voice transmission in a very low voice, "The two black-clad men ahead have Xiaoxiao's aura on them. But their cultivation is not weak, and with so many people and eyes here, if we act rashly, we might alert the enemy, or even force them to fight to the death."

"Then what should we do?" Eldest Miss Gu Lingshuang asked with some anxiety.

"You follow openly from behind and attract their attention. I will take the dark path and follow them alone." A cold glint flashed in Chu Chang's eyes. "Once they leave the market and reach a secluded place, I will act."

Lin Ruohan looked at Chu Chang deeply and nodded slightly. "Be careful in everything; do not be reckless."

"Don't worry."

Chu Chang's figure flickered slightly, and he became like a wisp of light smoke, instantly blending into the cluttered stalls along the street. With his current Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Realm strength, if he deliberately concealed himself, ordinary Cultivators would simply be unable to detect him.

Those two black-clad men had extremely strong anti-reconnaissance awareness.

They did not leave the market directly but led Lin Ruohan and Eldest Miss Gu Lingshuang in circles between street corners and tea houses.

After confirming that they were indeed being followed by Divine Sword Sect Disciples, the two exchanged a glance, then suddenly accelerated and sped toward a desolate graveyard outside the market.

"Hmph, they took the bait. The greenhouse flowers of the Divine Sword Sect really think they are hunters."

One of the shorter black-clad men sneered, his voice sinister.

"Stop talking nonsense; the task assigned by the Young Lord is important. Catching that woman is only the first step; the one named Chu Chang behind is the big catch. Since bait has been delivered to our door, we might as well deal with it along the way at that place ahead." The other tall black-clad man said in a low voice.

The two moved extremely fast, leaving two blurred afterimages in the rain, and soon left the area of the market, entering a desolate mountain range shrouded in dense fog.

This was Black Wind Ridge, where for several miles around there were only scattered rocks and withered trees, and the Yin Qi was extremely heavy; it was rarely visited by people on normal days.

However, they did not know that less than fifty zhang behind them, in a blind spot, Chu Chang was following closely behind like a ghost.

"These two people's cultivation… is the third level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, which is the Peak of the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment."

Chu Chang, while moving through the trees, silently calculated the opponent's strength. "And the aura within their bodies is cold and dead, exactly the same as the Devilish Qi on Great Elder Zhao Wuji. It seems the power behind them really cannot wait to take action against me."

As they went deeper into the desolate mountains, the two black-clad men ahead suddenly stopped at the entrance of a narrow canyon.

Inside the canyon, jagged rocks were scattered everywhere, and the sheer cliffs on both sides towered into the clouds, blocking the sky completely and appearing incredibly gloomy.

"Come out, the two beauties of the Divine Sword Sect. You have followed us all the way; aren't you tired?"

The tall black-clad man slowly turned around and pulled off the cloak on his head, revealing a terrifying, shriveled face like a mummy, and his eyes appeared a weird, sickly green.

Behind, the figures of Lin Ruohan and Eldest Miss Gu Lingshuang slowly emerged from the fog.

"Where is Senior Sister Yu Xiaoxiao?" Lin Ruohan's expression was cold, and in her hand, she already held an ice-blue longsword emitting bone-chilling coldness.

"Hehehe, want to know? Go to the underworld and ask her!"

The tall black-clad man gave a strange laugh, and his Devilish Qi erupted with a boom. However, at the very moment he was about to strike, the face of the shorter black-clad man beside him changed abruptly, and his figure retreated like lightning.

"No! There is someone behind!"