Chapter 1838: Pursuing the Enemy

Since they had made a decision, the two of them wasted no time and immediately set about their tasks separately.

The old 'woman' walked briskly, passing through a corridor in a moment and entering a room furnished with extreme simplicity.

In this room, a youth in a white robe but with a sallow, gaunt appearance sat at a stone table, intently studying a silver-shimmering book.

"Mother, why have you suddenly come here?" Upon seeing the old 'woman' enter, the youth immediately set down the book in his hand and spoke with a smile.

"Name'er, quickly pack your belongings; we must at once go to the Yingxian Palace where the Long family resides." The old 'woman' faced the youth, her previous gloom replaced by an affectionate expression as she spoke.

"The Long family! It seems the person you captured back is indeed troublesome." The youth frowned upon hearing this, speaking somewhat helplessly.

"You also know of this?" The old 'woman' appeared somewhat surprised.

"Mother, you forget—I may not possess great magic power, but I have already awakened the true dragon's blood and obtained some heavenly ear divine abilities. Though I have never left this room, I have faintly overheard your conversation." The youth chuckled as he spoke.

"Ah, so that is it! However, Name'er, do not worry. No matter what, your father and I will transfer that person's inherited magical artifact safely into your body. Thus, not only can your chronic ailment be cured, but you may also use this inherited spiritual power to break through your bottleneck, with a great chance of immediately forming a Jin Dan. As for the people behind that youth, as long as he enters the Long family, they will absolutely not dare to come knocking." The old 'woman' spoke reassuringly.

"After Tianjing Mr. gave me the prescription for healing my internal malady with inherited objects, the two of you have been searching for cultivators possessing inherited artifacts whose seals remain unopened. I had a premonition that this would bring great trouble. Now that we have finally found such a one, I suppose, even if I urge you, Mother, you will not easily let go." The youth fell silent for a moment, then softly sighed.

"What nonsense are you speaking? I and your father, seeing that we cannot withstand the next great heavenly tribulation, have made this decision only after great difficulty to have this bit of flesh and blood from you. We will certainly not allow the white-haired to send off the black-haired. As long as that person is not among the Three Sovereigns and Seven Demon Kings, with your great uncle and grandfather present, your safety is absolutely assured. Moreover, since you have awakened the true dragon's blood, you are automatically considered a disciple of the Long family. If the Long family does not protect you, what right do they have to call themselves the foremost noble house of true spirits?" The old 'woman's' expression grew somewhat gloomy, her words hinting at resentment.

"Well, since Mother has made up her mind, we had better set off at once. Perhaps that Nascent Soul old monster will soon catch up to us here." The youth shook his head, but suddenly switched to an urging tone.

"Impossible. I had already carefully examined that youth's body beforehand and found no mark left within it." The old 'woman' exclaimed in surprise upon hearing this, half-believing, half-doubting.

"Mother, after all, is not a Nascent Soul cultivator. Moreover, as I know, Nascent Soul cultivators at least have three or four methods to let implanted divine sense marks easily evade the divine sense scans of Void Refinement cultivators. Though I have not practiced magic power these years, I have not read these many scriptures and technique books in vain." The youth said with a wry smile.

"Name'er, what you say also makes sense. Then let us not bother packing; let us hurry and go. Your father has already gone to fetch that youth." The 'woman's' expression changed, and she grew somewhat tense.

At the same time, in another secret chamber, the black-browed old man gazed at a person lying motionless on the ground, his expression somewhat complex.

"Little Daoist, do not blame my wife and I for being ruthless. For my son Name'er to recover, we must take the inherited artifact from your body. Without it, you will surely have your foundation destroyed and wish for death. At that time, I will send you off painlessly and silently." The old man muttered, his expression suddenly turning ferocious.

The person on the ground was indeed the little Daoist of the artifact spirit.

But unknown what the old 'woman' couple had done to him, he lay in a dazed, unconscious state.

The black-browed old man suddenly flipped his hand over; black light flashed between his fingers, and a jet-black talisman, as dark as ink, appeared before him.

With a shake of his wrist, the talisman instantly transformed into a strand of strange gray light; after a flicker, it sank into the artifact spirit's body and vanished without a trace.

Then the old man opened his mouth and spat out a mass of black qi, within which faintly rotated a bluish-green copper bell.

The black-browed old man raised his arm, bending a finger slightly.

With a soft "ding dang" sound, the bell rang from within the black qi.

A strange scene appeared instantly.

The artifact spirit, originally lying on the ground, trembled, then rolled up from the ground and stood facing the old man, eyes tightly shut.

At this moment, the little Daoist showed no expression on his face, as if a puppet.

The old man chanted incantations, and one after another, hand seals shot out; the bluish-green copper bell immediately emitted a series of clear chimes of varying lengths.

Though the bell's sound seemed ordinary, upon entering the artifact spirit's ears, it caused him to slowly open his eyes.

His gaze was first blank, then gradually became somewhat clear, though his face still showed no expression.

Seeing this, the black-browed old man breathed a great sigh of relief, reached out, snatched the bell into his sleeve, and without a word turned and walked away!

Amid the faint bell sounds from his sleeve, the artifact spirit mechanically took a step, following closely without leaving his side.

After a short while, two streaks of light—one black, one gray—shot out from the small mountain, circled briefly, then sped toward the direction of Nine Immortals Mountain.

Within the two escape lights, the sallow youth and the artifact spirit were indeed present.

After a few flickers, the two streaks of light vanished without a trace at the horizon.

Hardly the time of a meal later, a piercing green rainbow shot from another direction; after its light condensed in the sky above the small mountain, two men suddenly appeared.

One had an exceptionally handsome visage, the other an unremarkable appearance.

They were Hai Daoshou and Han Li.

"They are not here!" Han Li swept his divine sense downward over the small mountain like a whirlwind scattering clouds, then muttered in surprise.

"What? They have taken my junior brother elsewhere! Can Master still find them?" Hai Daoshou, upon hearing Han Li's words, asked anxiously.

"Rest assured, though the divine sense marks I planted in you and the artifact spirit are extremely weak, they will occasionally produce a strong reaction, at which time I will naturally know where they have gone." Han Li said calmly.

"Good! But this person is truly audacious, daring to openly abduct others at the Myriad Treasures Assembly. Do those law-enforcing cultivators pay no heed to this?" Hai Daoshou first relaxed his expression, but then grew indignant.

"Hehe! If an ordinary cultivator did this, law-enforcing cultivators would naturally step forward to stop him. But if it is a Void Refinement or higher existence, these law-enforcing cultivators would mostly have to consider carefully. If it is a Nascent Soul existence, most likely, upon seeing it, these law-enforcing cultivators would simply turn away and ignore it." Han Li gave a cold chuckle.

"Could it be that the old 'woman' is a Nascent Soul cultivator?" Hai Daoshou's expression changed upon hearing this.

"A Nascent Soul cultivator is unlikely; otherwise, they would not have been so careful to avoid detection." Han Li shook his head.

"That is also true." Hai Daoshou pondered and nodded in agreement.

After the two lingered in the air for about half an hour, Han Li suddenly raised his eyebrows:

"Found it! They are actually heading toward Yingxian Mountain. Let's go!",

As soon as the words fell, Han Li did not even wait for Hai Daoshou to show his joy; he turned his body, and a burst of green light rose, instantly engulfing both figures.

A green rainbow reappeared and shot toward Nine Immortals Mountain.

……

Three hours later, the figures of Han Li and Hai Daoshou silently appeared above a vast, resplendent palace.

This palace had ten stories, and was indeed one of the ten Yingxian Palaces.

Han Li frowned slightly, gazing intently at a certain level of this palace, his expression dark and grim.

"Master, have you made no mistake? The artifact spirit has truly been brought here." Hai Daoshou's face turned slightly pale as he asked with effort.

【55】 "No mistake. At such a close distance, mere trifling barriers cannot block my perception." Han Li said, his eyes flashing.

Evidently, he clearly understood what it meant for the artifact spirit to appear here.

"It is simple! Either that old 'woman' truly is a Nascent Soul cultivator, and the cave dwelling of Nine Immortals Mountain is merely her temporary abode, used specifically for unspeakable deeds; or, though that person is not a Nascent Soul cultivator, he has some connection with a certain Nascent Soul cultivator residing here, and deliberately came to rely on them as a backer. He intends to use this to deter our investigation!" Han Li said lightly.

"Then, Master, what do you intend to do?" Hai Daoshou hesitated for a while before asking softly.

"It's very simple! Either that old 'woman' is truly a Body Integration cultivator, and the cave dwelling on Xianshan is merely her temporary residence, used specifically for unsavory activities. Or, although that person is not a Body Integration cultivator, they have some connection with a certain Body Integration cultivator residing here, and deliberately sought them out as a backing. They intended to use this to scare off our investigation!" Han Li said indifferently.

"Then what does that master decide to do?" Hai Dasha hesitated for a good while before asking in a low voice.

"You go down first, find someone to ask which family lives on the ninth level here, then talk." Han Li did not directly answer anything, but instead gave orders downward.

"Yes, Master!" Hai Dashaо, upon hearing Han Li's words, could not help but feel invigorated, and hurriedly replied respectfully.

"I will send you down; once you manage to find out clearly, go to that small hill nearest here to find me. I will wait for you there." Han Li added another instruction, shook his sleeve, and instantly a burst of green light enveloped Hai Dashaо, sending him directly to the ground.

He himself then changed direction and flew toward a low hill tens of li away from here.

Although Xianshan is composed of nine giant peaks, besides that, naturally there are also some inconspicuous unnamed hills existing within the entire mountain range.

Hai Dashaо, after his feet touched the ground, glanced toward the direction of Yingxian Palace, but did not walk straight toward it; instead, after taking a deep breath, he ran wildly toward the nearest bustling area.

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