Chapter 661

In the Cloud Ridge Mountains at night, all kinds of insect chirps rose and fell, and occasionally bursts of beast roars rang out.

The moon had already risen over the mountain peak, and Sun Tao, Zhang Hanzhou, and the others waited and waited, but still hadn't waited for Liu Qingyuan to return.

"Elder Liu Qingyuan must have had an accident!" Sun Tao stood up straight.

At this moment, more than an hour had passed since the ambush; if Liu Qingyuan hadn't had an accident, he should have already come to find them.

Even if he were chasing the enemy, he couldn't chase forever. If a great battle had broken out, the winner would have been decided long ago.

"How could there be an accident? There are few who can kill an Elder of our Profound Heaven Sect; Elder Liu might still be chasing the enemy." Qi Xuancheng shook his head.

At the same realm, an Elder of the Profound Heaven Sect was definitely stronger than a Heavenly Origin martial artist in the Jianghu.

Sun Tao ignored Qi Xuancheng!

This guy was too confident, thinking that the Profound Heaven Sect's Elders were invincible. If someone dared to attack, how could they do so without a certain degree of certainty?

His grandfather was the Peak Master of Medicine King Peak, and he had grown up in the Profound Heaven Sect since childhood, knowing nothing of the dangers and cruelty of the Jianghu.

He looked at Zhang Hanzhou and said, "Senior Brother Zhang, shall we continue to wait, or return to the sect to report? Please decide, Senior Brother. If Elder Liu has met with disaster and we keep waiting like this, I worry about punishment from the sect."

Zhang Hanzhou had a headache; what Sun Tao and Qi Xuancheng said could both happen.

With Liu Qingyuan's foul temper, if Liu Qingyuan hadn't had an accident and they returned to the Profound Heaven Sect to report, they would likely be blamed by Liu Qingyuan.

But if Liu Qingyuan really had had an accident and they kept waiting here, they might also be punished by the sect in the future.

After a moment of contemplation, Zhang Hanzhou said, "How about this: you and I will go to the canyon to take a look. If there is no trace of Elder Liu returning, we will return to the sect to report."

"Good!" Sun Tao believed in his own judgment, thinking that Liu Qingyuan had already met with disaster, and was not afraid to return to the canyon.

"You all watch the birthday gifts; Sun Tao and I will go and return."

Zhang Hanzhou and Sun Tao walked out of their hiding place, using their movement techniques to run toward the canyon. In half a quarter of an hour, they returned to the canyon where giant rocks were strewn about, only to see some wild wolves gnawing on the corpses of the horses; there was not a trace of Liu Qingyuan to be seen.

Sun Tao checked everywhere, his heart sinking: "Elder Liu has not returned."

Since they weren't enemies with deep hatred, it was impossible for Liu Qingyuan to chase someone for so long, not to mention they had a mission on this trip; it was impossible for Liu Qingyuan to abandon his official business. The only explanation was that Liu Qingyuan had had an accident and would never return.

"Go!"

Zhang Hanzhou barked, his expression changing drastically, and he hurriedly led Sun Tao back to their hiding place.

"Qi Xuancheng and I have the fastest footwork; the two of us will return to the sect to report. You all follow behind; do not be careless."

After Zhang Hanzhou stated that Liu Qingyuan had not returned to the canyon, he decided that he and the highest-cultivation Qi Xuancheng would return to the Profound Heaven Sect first to report.

Lu Ren, Du Chuan, and the others had no objections.

The two had high cultivation and fast speed; if they reported in time, they might be able to save Liu Qingyuan's life. If everyone slowly returned to the Profound Heaven Sect together, the opportunity would be lost.

"Go!"

Zhang Hanzhou shot out like lightning, rushing toward the direction of the Profound Heaven Sect like a streak of blood. Qi Xuancheng, after knowing the news that Liu Qingyuan had not returned from beginning to end, was also panicked at this moment and quickly followed.

Two figures, one after the other, rushed back to the Profound Heaven Sect like a whirlwind.

They didn't take the main road, climbing mountains and crossing ridges all the way. With the full-speed travel of two Marrow Cleansing Major Success martial artists, they arrived near the Profound Heaven Sect in just about half an hour.

Heavenly Authority Peak at night was silent, with only the Sect Master's main hall brightly lit.

Zhang Jingyuan sat on a large chair, drinking tea while seriously reading the book in his hand.

"Quick, take us to see the Sect Master; Elder Liu has had an accident."

An urgent voice rang out outside the hall, and Zhang Jingyuan's gaze couldn't help but move away from the book: "Is this Zhang Hanzhou's voice?"

The next moment, after a gust of wind, Zhang Jingyuan's figure had already disappeared from the main hall, with only the book slowly falling.

"What happened to Elder Liu?"

Zhang Jingyuan's voice rang out suddenly. Zhang Hanzhou and Qi Xuancheng, who had rushed to Heavenly Authority Peak, looked up to see Zhang Jingyuan's figure appearing before them like a ghost, not knowing when he had arrived.

"Disciple greets the Sect Master."

Qi Xuancheng and Zhang Hanzhou cupped their hands, hurriedly telling them about the ambush they had encountered and the fact that Liu Qingyuan had not returned to this day.

Zhang Jingyuan's expression remained calm, showing no joy, anger, or sorrow, until the two had finished telling the whole story, when he asked, "Was it the work of the Demon Sect?"

Apart from the Demon Sect, he really couldn't think of anyone who would attack an Elder of the Profound Heaven Sect.

Zhang Hanzhou and Qi Xuancheng shook their heads together: "Disciple does not know; the opponent only exchanged one move with Elder Liu in the air before leaving. After Elder Liu chased after them, he did not return."

Zhang Jingyuan nodded and said to Bai Shaoling, who had rushed over, "Quickly go and invite Peak Master Lu."

At this time, rushing to the scene of the incident would take a long time even for a Heavenly Origin expert; it was faster to use a strange beast.

"Forget it, I will go myself!"

Saying this, he grabbed Zhang Hanzhou, and his figure shot into the sky.

"Chirp…"

As the moon hung on the branches, a sharp eagle cry echoed through the Profound Heaven Sect. Countless disciples who were meditating were awakened, walking out of their rooms to look, only to see Beast King Peak Master Lu Tianchen standing on the eagle's back with Zhang Hanzhou, following the giant eagle as it shot into the sky.

"Zhang Hanzhou, wasn't he with Elder Liu Qingyuan to celebrate the birthday at the Haisha Sect? Why is he at the Profound Heaven Sect?"

"So urgent; the birthday celebration team must have had an accident."

"Could it be that the birthday celebration team was attacked by people from the Demon Sect?"

…

For a time, the Profound Heaven Sect disciples were in an uproar, with all kinds of guesses rising.

Xu Yang stood in the courtyard, watching the giant eagle carry Lu Tianchen and Zhang Hanzhou fly out of the Profound Heaven Sect and disappear into the night sky.

He was not afraid of the matter being discovered!

If it were really discovered that he had killed Liu Qingyuan, between him, a genius, and the dead Liu Qingyuan, the Profound Heaven Sect wouldn't be stupid enough to make him pay for Liu Qingyuan's life.

Of course, he wouldn't naively be certain that the Profound Heaven Sect wouldn't take action against him. He had already made the worst preparations; all kinds of important supplies had been packed. Once the situation didn't look right, at worst, he would kill his way out of the Profound Heaven Sect.

"Peak Master Lu, the scene of the incident is right ahead."

The strange beast giant eagle carried Lu Tianchen and Zhang Hanzhou across the sky, arriving near the canyon in less than half a quarter of an hour.

Under Zhang Hanzhou's identification, the giant eagle soon carried Lu Tianchen to the sky above the canyon.

Lu Tianchen leaned down to look; the canyon was strewn with giant rocks, and there was no sign of Liu Qingyuan.

"When Liu Qingyuan was chasing the enemy, in what direction did he go?" Lu Tianchen said.

Zhang Hanzhou pondered for a moment, stretched out his finger and said, "It was this direction."

Lu Tianchen nodded, patted the eagle's back lightly, and the giant eagle immediately flew in the direction Zhang Hanzhou pointed.

"Up ahead!"

After flying for a while, a battlefield that had been reduced to ruins appeared in the mountains ahead. Countless trees had been uprooted, huge blade marks and sword marks appeared on the ground, and there were pits everywhere.

In the very center, the ground had sunk several meters, and the earth and rocks had all been reduced to powder.

"It's Elder Liu!" Zhang Hanzhou gasped.

Only to see a corpse cut into two sections lying on the ground, blood dyeing the ground red, the corpse's head crushed, unable to see the face, but the clothes were exactly what Liu Qingyuan was wearing when he left; he would never recognize them wrongly.

Zhang Hanzhou only felt his head boom; Liu Qingyuan had actually died, cut into two sections by someone, his corpse exposed in the wilderness. A dignified Heavenly Origin martial artist had actually died so miserably.

He couldn't help but feel a lingering fear; if it hadn't been for Sun Tao's repeated insistence, they might also have been killed.

"Beast!"

Lu Tianchen's face was full of anger; he also recognized that it was Liu Qingyuan's corpse.

Grabbing Zhang Hanzhou, he jumped off the eagle's back and landed on the ground, walking quickly to Liu Qingyuan's corpse.

Leaning down to look, he discovered that besides the fatal blade strike, there were two other blade wounds on his body that were not too severe.

"First cut in half at the waist, and then the head was crushed to death…"

He looked around and continued, "There was only one murderer. The opponent also cultivated a supreme-yang cultivation method, the blade technique realm is unfathomable, the blade intent is already about to reach the supreme realm of slashing through illusions, reflecting the true self, and turning the virtual into reality. Within the blade intent, it is filled with death and slaughter…"

At this moment, in the air, there was still blade intent that had not yet dissipated. Even on Liu Qingyuan's corpse, there was still a terrifying blade intent remaining, sharp and fierce, filled with the aura of death.

Lu Tianchen's expression became increasingly solemn. This level of blade technique realm made even him feel wary, thinking to himself that if he encountered it, he might not be an opponent.

"Strange!"

Continuing to look around, he became suspicious again.