The Missing Xu Changqing! Fengdu!

Tang Xuejian was gone when Xu Changqing extracted the Thunder Spirit Orb from Yun Ting’s body and sealed it away.

Without the Thunder Spirit Orb, Yun Ting was somewhat listless. It had been a spiritual object that had accompanied him since childhood, so its sudden removal inevitably affected him.

Seeing this, Chu Yang fed him a Blood Bodhi, and his complexion quickly returned to normal.

"Finally, I’ve rid myself of this curse. From now on, I, Yun Ting, am a free man."

Yun Ting’s smile carried a trace of bitterness. He thought of the beloved who had died on their wedding night. If Xu Changqing and the others had arrived sooner, perhaps the tragedy would never have happened.

One could only say that fate toyed with people.

Chu Yang said softly, "Young Master Yun, the days ahead are still long. You have plenty of time and opportunities ahead of you. The dead are gone, but the living must continue facing life."

Yun Ting clasped his fists. "I will keep your teachings in mind, Daoist."

"Why not rest here for the night and wait for Brother Jing and Miss Tang to return? Now that the clouds have cleared, Lei Zhou City is bustling everywhere. Why not take a look around before leaving?"

Xu Changqing shook his head. "The situation is urgent. We have no time to rest. Every moment we delay puts Shu Mountain in greater danger."

Lin Yueru advised, "Daoist Xu, we should wait. Xuejian needs time to settle her emotions. We can’t just leave her behind and set off, can we? She’s a young woman. What if something happens…"

Li Xiaoyao hurriedly nodded. "Exactly, Brother Xu. That girl doesn’t look very bright. What if someone sells her off halfway there? We’d be committing a huge sin!"

Xu Changqing smiled bitterly. "What sort of things are you two saying?"

Chu Yang patted Xu Changqing on the shoulder. "Senior Brother, we found the Earth Spirit Orb and Thunder Spirit Orb so quickly already. Be careful not to overdo things."

"All right… We’ve been rushing these past two days. You’re probably tired too, so let’s rest for a while."

With that, Xu Changqing walked alone toward the outside of Yun Estate. "I’ll take a look around nearby. You don’t need to come looking for me."

"Hey! Brother Xu…"

Li Xiaoyao was about to chase after him, but Chu Yang stopped him.

"He’s probably planning to hunt demons nearby. So many demon souls escaped from the Demon Imprisonment Tower, and he’s been thinking about it all along. Making him rest would be harder than killing him."

Li Xiaoyao sighed at that.

Lin Yueru could not help but be moved. "Daoist Xu truly has the heart and courage of a hero. He commands respect."

What a joke!

As Shu Mountain Sect’s designated next Sect Leader, his character had naturally won the approval of Qing Wei and the others.

The sky gradually darkened.

Jing Tian and Tang Xuejian still had not returned.

Li Xiaoyao and Lin Yueru went out into the streets, though the two did their own thing. Judging from the current situation, they probably would not have any further entanglements.

Chu Yang stayed alone in Yun Estate, feeling a bit like an empty-nest elder. He simply entered the Soul Palace.

Inside the palace, those three were still working day and night.

Magic Chu Yang, Pirate Chu Yang, and Marvel Chu Yang.

The Golden Silkworm Gu had only completed the extraction of Lineage Factors. They had yet to conduct further replication experiments.

The three wanted to overcome the difficulties surrounding the Demon Devouring Gu first, then study the Golden Silkworm Gu.

After all, one had to eat one bite at a time.

Xianxia Chu Yang brought good news: they might be able to obtain Demon Lord Chonglou’s Lineage Factor in the future.

The three were greatly excited upon hearing this.

The Demon Lord’s bloodline power was far more badass than the Otsutsuki Bloodline.

There were two reasons Chu Yang had not added any new Lineage Factors to himself.

First, he had not broken through his limiter. Recklessly adding other Lineage Factors could cause conflicts, something already proven in the One-Punch World.

Second, among all these Lineage Factors, none had power clearly stronger than the Otsutsuki Bloodline, so none were worth attempting.

But Demon Lord Chonglou’s Lineage Factor was another matter entirely.

Magic Chu Yang joked, "If the Soul Palace can truly connect to countless worlds in the future, we could become something like the Main God Space, using Lineage Factors as rewards to cultivate our own force."

Marvel Chu Yang seriously considered it, then nodded. "Theoretically, it’s feasible. I already intend to cultivate Hydra and have them become superpowered individuals through Lineage Factors."

Pirate Chu Yang spread his hands, his tone full of resignation. "You do your best. I have no use for such a grand plan anymore. I’ve cleared the game."

Marvel Chu Yang turned his head away irritably.

What are you showing off for?

Xianxia Chu Yang leaned closer and asked curiously, "How is Vegapunk’s infinite-energy research coming along?"

Pirate Chu Yang looked troubled. "If I hadn’t stopped him last time, he almost would have dismantled Pluton’s power source. Progress is slow, but it’s proceeding steadily."

Marvel Chu Yang suddenly asked, "Has the research into artificial Devil Fruits been suspended? That thing could be quite useful in other worlds."

"Caesar, Queen, and Judge are still researching it. They should make a breakthrough before long."

Pirate Chu Yang saw through Marvel Chu Yang’s thoughts at once. "You want to imitate Professor X from the X-Men and start a school for superpowered people, don’t you?"

"Use fake superpowered individuals made with Lineage Factors to attract the real ones, then fleece them and steal their Lineage Factors?"

Marvel Chu Yang snapped, "Watch your mouth. What do you mean, steal? Can a scientist’s business be called stealing?"

Magic Chu Yang smacked his lips. "You’re really pulling the old Kong Yiji routine."

Xianxia Chu Yang suddenly realized something. "Could the backdoors you left in the Lineage Factors fail? What if the hosts grow stronger and turn on us?"

Magic Chu Yang tossed his hair and revealed a confident smile. "Don’t worry. For a host to break free from our control, they would need to master magic, Ninjutsu, cursed techniques, and Kido simultaneously. When I get the chance later, I’ll add spellcraft as well."

Xianxia Chu Yang shuddered. "Sometimes, you really are pretty terrifying."

Magic Chu Yang glanced at him and sighed. "It would be great if we had another Hogyoku. If we could fuse all these techniques and skills into one, making these things in the future would be much easier."

Pirate Chu Yang took a deep breath. "We must have the incomplete Hogyoku in Aizen’s hands. If he keeps refusing to attack Soul Society, we may have to make the first move."

Magic Chu Yang nodded. "We’ll discuss it when Shinigami Chu Yang comes next time."

The four chatted for a while longer before Xianxia Chu Yang returned to the Chinese Paladin world once more.

Yun Estate.

An entire night passed.

Li Xiaoyao and Lin Yueru returned first, each falling into a deep sleep in their rooms.

Jing Tian and Tang Xuejian returned somewhat later. Their behavior seemed a little more intimate than before.

As for Xu Changqing…

He had not returned all night.

"Something’s wrong. That thick-browed, big-eyed fellow has never stayed out all night. Something must have happened."

Chu Yang was worried, but on second thought, Demon Lord Chonglou had not appeared to challenge him to a second round. Xu Changqing probably had not encountered a life-threatening crisis.

"Need to go look for him…"

"Get up, all of you! How can you sleep at your age?"

Early in the morning, Chu Yang knocked violently on everyone’s doors.

The two men and two women emerged with dark circles under their eyes and weary expressions, looking exactly like four people who had pulled an all-nighter gaming together at an internet café.

The four glared at Chu Yang with unfriendly expressions.

Then Chu Yang’s next sentence made all of them shudder.

"Senior Brother is missing. Hurry up and find him!"

An entire day passed.

They searched all around Lei Zhou City, yet still could not find Xu Changqing.

Logically, even if he had gone far in one night, it was impossible for him to have left Lei Zhou.

Yet they simply could not find him.

Even Observation Haki could not sense Xu Changqing.

There were two possible reasons for this. Either Xu Changqing was no longer in Lei Zhou, or someone like Zhao Ling’er was beside him, constantly radiating spiritual power and interfering with Observation Haki’s senses.

A figure suddenly flashed through Chu Yang’s mind.

Zi Xuan!

There was a strong chance Xu Changqing and Zi Xuan had met last night. Coupled with Xu Changqing’s overnight absence…

A teasing smile appeared at the corner of Chu Yang’s lips.

Well, well, well. You thick-browed, big-eyed senior disciple of Shu Mountain. You’ve been getting up to something wild behind our backs?

Just as Chu Yang was about to tell everyone to wrap up the search, the Demon Sword behind Jing Tian suddenly flew out and spun continuously in the sky.

After spending the night together, Jing Tian and Tang Xuejian already knew about Long Kui. They kept waving toward the sky and shouting, "Long Kui, come down!"

Li Xiaoyao and Lin Yueru were utterly confused.

Long Kui’s unusual behavior made Chu Yang feel that something was wrong. He raised a hand and used Banshō Ten’in to pull Long Kui down from the sky.

Jing Tian hurried forward. Chu Yang handed him the Demon Sword, then said, "Ask her what exactly is going on."

Holding the Demon Sword, Jing Tian asked Long Kui with his thoughts. The answer changed his expression.

"Long Kui says she smelled resentment, extremely powerful resentment! That resentment stayed in the Demon Imprisonment Tower for decades and came out of the tower with her."

Even Jing Tian’s voice trembled as he spoke.

"Could it be that thing Brother Xu told us about?" Lin Yueru looked flustered. "The evil thoughts of the Shu Mountain Sect Leader and four elders."

Chu Yang took a deep breath. "It’s the Evil Sword Immortal."

Li Xiaoyao anxiously asked, "Was Brother Xu captured by the Evil Sword Immortal? That guy wants to snatch the Five Spirit Orbs, right?"

"I had all my attention on Moon Worshipper and overlooked that guy…"

Chu Yang felt a headache coming on.

Xu Changqing had most likely been ambushed by the Evil Sword Immortal while hunting demons in the wilderness, then rescued by Zi Xuan.

The only question was where Zi Xuan had taken him.

Jing Tian asked, "Daoist Chu, what should we do now? Should we return to Shu Mountain and inform the Shu Mountain Sect Leader?"

Tang Xuejian also chimed in, "Yes, maybe the experts of Shu Mountain Sect can find Xu Changqing! It’s better than us running around like headless flies, isn’t it?"

Chu Yang raised a hand to quiet everyone.

"There’s no need to worry about Senior Brother’s safety. Since Demon Lord Chonglou promised me he would appear at critical moments, he will not break his word. Everyone, calm down and focus on finding Senior Brother’s trail."

Chu Yang knew they still had many questions, but finding Xu Changqing was more important now. He vaguely felt that the other man’s current situation was not optimistic.

There were many things in this world more painful than death.

Hearing this, everyone said no more and resumed their aimless search. Realizing the severity of the situation, Chu Yang secretly released Shadow Clones while the others were not paying attention.

Tens of millions of Shadow Clones left Lei Zhou and headed farther away in search of Xu Changqing.

A day later, the Shadow Clones sent back news.

Xu Changqing had indeed left Lei Zhou. He was somewhere even Chu Yang had not expected.

Fengdu.

Once he learned Xu Changqing’s location, Chu Yang immediately called everyone to leave Lei Zhou. This time, he no longer concealed his strength and used the Sword Control Technique to carry everyone toward Fengdu Ghost City.

The moment they entered the city, Chu Yang felt Fengdu’s agitation deep within his soul.

Fengdu City in Chinese Paladin led directly to the Demon Realm, and all the wandering ghosts in the Demon Realm were tremendous nourishment for Chu Yang’s Fengdu.

"Wow! Why is this place so creepy? It feels so scary…"

Tang Xuejian’s hair stood on end as she quietly hid behind Jing Tian. She felt as though something was secretly watching her.

Jing Tian shielded Tang Xuejian with one hand, only for the Demon Sword to smack the back of his hand. He cried out in pain, then heard Long Kui laughing.

She has such a mischievous side too?

Jing Tian thought helplessly.

Li Xiaoyao and Lin Yueru, on the other hand, were quite bold. Not only were they unafraid, but they looked around with curiosity. If they were not worried about Xu Changqing’s safety, they probably would have already run off somewhere.

From the perspective of simply traveling, Li Xiaoyao and Lin Yueru truly made excellent companions.

Tang Xuejian pointed into the distance and muttered softly, "Daoist Chu, can we hurry and find Daoist Xu? There’s someone over there looking at us strangely."

Everyone followed the direction of her finger and saw a middle-aged man with a hunched posture, a thin frame, and a lecherous-looking face.

When the middle-aged man met Chu Yang’s eyes, he was not afraid at all. He swaggered over.

"I am Zhao Wuyan. Judging by your appearances, this must be your first time in Fengdu City. If you need anything, ask me. In this area, there’s nothing I can’t handle."

Zhao Wuyan examined them with a grin, his gaze wandering over Tang Xuejian and Lin Yueru.

His sleazy demeanor made disgust appear on both women’s faces.

Chu Yang said coldly, "Take us to Granny Ma’s inn."

Zhao Wuyan’s eyes darted around as he said sneakily, "Are you honored guests here for sightseeing, or do you have important business? Interested in visiting the Demon Realm? I have something good here, and for a very cheap price, you can…"

Before Zhao Wuyan could finish, sword energy pierced his shoulder. He howled in pain in the middle of the street.

The other passersby took one look and quickly sped up, afraid of getting dragged into the matter.

"I know you’re a ghost soldier who walks between the worlds of yin and yang. I know you understand a few tricks, and I know how you use herbal tea to pretend it’s soul-severing soup to deceive people."

"Don’t try those petty tricks in front of me. I’m afraid I won’t be able to resist sending you down there for real, so you’ll never return in this life."

The indifference in Chu Yang’s voice sent chills down one’s spine.

When Zhao Wuyan heard this stranger expose all his secrets, he immediately realized he had encountered someone formidable. He said nothing more and silently led Chu Yang’s group to the inn.

The moment Chu Yang entered the inn, Zhao Wuyan began shouting threats behind them.

"If you have the guts, don’t let me run into you below! Otherwise, you’ll suffer for it!"

After delivering his threat, Zhao Wuyan vanished before everyone’s eyes.

Lin Yueru and Tang Xuejian stomped their feet in anger.

Tang Xuejian cursed, "You bastard! You’d better not let this lady run into you! Otherwise, I’ll beat your teeth all over the ground!"

Lin Yueru cursed along with her.

Their voices drew out the inn’s shopkeeper, Granny Ma. The plump Granny Ma approached with a smile and asked, "I heard Zhao Wuyan cursing from far away. Looks like he didn’t gain anything from you honored guests. Over the years, quite a few people have been tricked by him!"

Granny Ma sighed. "Most people who want to visit the Demon Realm are pitiful souls who cannot let go. Lovesick men and women make up the majority. Just hearing their stories is heartbreaking. I don’t know how that bastard Zhao Wuyan can bring himself to do it!"