Chapter 268: Successful Capture!

The Longevity Mo Sect is despised by all.

Bai Yun City is no exception.

When the Baicao Pavilion shop opened, Bai Yun City didn't notice.

Now that it's been uncovered, we will crush it completely.

Correct.

Chen Mu's strategy was to get Bai Yun City to act!

The five vice-mayors are all Tiangong realm experts.

Sending out just one of them can lure the Longevity Sect's helmsman out of his hideout.

The moment the enemy leaves the cave, Chen Mu can use Earth Submersion to enter and seize Zhu Jiuchuan!

Thinking of this,

Chen Mu took out the Heart-Bonded Bamboo Sliver, surged his Qi, and sent a message to Su Donglai, revealing the location of the Longevity Sect's hideout.

Zhu Jiuchuan is also inside the hideout, but he didn't say so!

Chen Mu hasn't forgotten that Bai Yun City's vice-mayors also want the spy list.

If they learn Zhu Jiuchuan was captured by the Longevity Sect, they'll almost certainly cause trouble.

Even if they rescue Zhu Jiuchuan, Chen Mu can't take him away.

Hum~

The bamboo sliver vibrated, shimmering with radiant light.

【Location confirmed?】

Chen Mu glanced at it and replied in the affirmative.

Hum~

【Good】

Su Donglai confirmed the message; now it's just a matter of waiting!

……

The sea breeze blew.

On the bay, corpses floated, flames flickered.

The chaos sparked by the "Cloud Lotus" was drawing to a close.

The "lanterns" beneath the sea had mostly been harvested; the martial artists who succeeded withdrew, returning to shore.

Chen Mu waited a while, then his figure blurred as he skimmed low across the ground.

【Corpse detected. Collect?】

"Yes!"

……

Circling the bay, he collected over a hundred more cards.

Only then did Chen Mu return to Bai Yun City.

This time observing the wonder "Clouds Rise Over the Sea," his gains were still considerable.

Besides the cards, Chen Mu attained insight from the wonder—his Water Intent reached the Third Heaven realm!

At this realm, the Water Force, when used with the supreme technique "Ninefold Wave Surge," would be multiplied many times over compared to before.

And there was Zhu Jiuchuan's whereabouts!

He didn't know when Bai Yun City would strike…

Chen Mu naturally hoped it would be as soon as possible.

……

It did not disappoint Chen Mu.

As dawn broke, Bai Yun City deployed its forces.

The five vice-mayors each dispatched a hundred-man squad; they merged into a five-hundred-man force and exited Bai Yun City through a secret gate.

Chen Mu, who had been monitoring the mayor's mansion, trailed the group from afar, several li behind, entering Shenshan.

……

In a desolate, vast stretch of Shenshan, about one hundred and thirty li northwest of Bai Yun City.

Suddenly, the morning silence shattered.

The five-hundred-man elite force of Bai Yun City, led by Vice-Mayor Situ Xiaoyue, descended like divine troops, launching a surprise attack on the hidden Longevity Sect hideout.

The group moved like lightning; before the Longevity Sect's hidden sentries could raise the alarm, they struck with lethal force.

"Intruders—"

The shrill alarm came too late—shouts of battle, clashing weapons, and dying roars erupted instantly through the valley.

From the concealed cave, a flood of Longevity Sect disciples surged out, locking in fierce combat with Bai Yun City's troops; blood splattered instantly.

Yet, the gap in strength could not be bridged by numbers.

Situ Xiaoyue hovered in midair; the terrifying pressure of a Tiangong realm expert enveloped all around. She didn't even draw her weapon—merely waved her hand, and the power of heaven and earth coalesced into an invisible giant palm, crashing down!

"Boom—!"

A thunderous crash shook the ground; dust exploded skyward.

In a single strike, more than half the Longevity Sect disciples died without even screaming, reduced to pulp.

"Situ, you old hag, you're asking for death!"

A furious roar erupted from deep within the cave.

Immediately, a figure cloaked in thick black qi shot upward—its overwhelming aura stirred heaven and earth; it was the Tiangong realm helmsman of the Longevity Sect's hideout!

He burst out in a frenzy, going to meet Situ Xiaoyue in battle.

The two great Heavenly Palace realm experts clashed in an instant; as fists met palms, the sound of wind and thunder erupted, and violent ripples of energy swept outward.

Mountain peaks collapsed, ancient trees were pulverized, as if doomsday had descended.

……

Several li away, atop an unremarkable mountain peak.

Chen Mu收敛了 his entire aura, gazing from afar at the world-shattering clash, and for the first time gained a clear understanding of the power of the Heavenly Palace realm — and was horrified by it.

That sight of heaven-and-earth's might stirred with every gesture was far beyond what the Earth Altar realm could compare to.

But very quickly, Chen Mu suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and his gaze returned to calm.

Whoosh~

His figure flickered, as if merging into the earth, and employing "Earth遁," Chen Mu instantly sank into the mountain's body.

Following the directional guidance from Fang Hui's memories, he swiftly traveled underground, precisely heading toward the core area of the Changsheng Sect stronghold.

In no time at all, Chen Mu evaded all the fighting and sentries on the surface, and silently infiltrated into a cave within the interior of the stronghold.

His spiritual force spread out like invisible tentacles, and he quickly locked onto a solitary cell located in a corner.

Inside the cell, a figure was bound to a Shi Zhu with thick iron chains, his clothes ragged all over, his body covered with crisscrossing wounds; some of the wounds had even festered, emitting a stench of rot.

The figure's aura had withered to the extreme, his dantian shattered, his Wu Gong completely废 — it was the defected Zhu Jiuchuan!

At this moment his head hung limp, as if only the last breath was keeping him alive.

Like a ghost, Chen Mu slowly emerged from the earth in the corner of the cell, not making the slightest sound.

Yet, the very instant Chen Mu appeared, the originally奄奄一息 Zhu Jiuchuan suddenly raised his head; on his blood-filthy face, a pair of eyes, though dim, carried a beast-like wariness, and stared fixedly at the spot where Chen Mu had appeared, his voice hoarse and dry like a cracked gong.

"Who?!"

Chen Mu's heart gave a slight jolt.

He swiftly scanned his surroundings, activating the "Listening Wind" skill, confirmed there was no one else within several dozen meters, then quickly walked to Zhu Jiuchuan's side, lowered his voice, and got straight to the point.

"Hand over the name list, and I'll get you out of here."

This was the most crucial probing step!

Chen Mu stared intently at Zhu Jiuchuan's reaction, trying to determine whether the spy name list had already been handed over by Zhu Jiuchuan to the Changsheng Sect.

Hearing this, in Zhu Jiuchuan's blood-filthy eyes a flash of disbelief first appeared, then a strong will to survive and delight burst forth; without the slightest hesitation, he used all his strength to rasp out.

"Deal! It's a deal! The name list is still with me!"

It worked!

Chen Mu was likewise delighted in his heart — the worst-case scenario had not occurred.

Without further words, he held his fingers together like a blade; as true qi pulsed, with several "clangs," he severed all the iron chains binding Zhu Jiuchuan.

Then, grabbing the utterly feeble Zhu Jiuchuan, he once again employed the Earth遁 technique, and the two figures swiftly sank into the ground, fleeing rapidly in the direction away from the battlefield.

Traveling underground with a person who had no true qi protecting him and was gravely wounded and near death placed an abnormally enormous drain on his spiritual force.

Chen Mu clenched his teeth, pushed his speed to the极限, ignoring the expenditure, and traveled underground in one breath for nearly ten li; only when he felt his spiritual force had been more than half consumed did he find a hidden mountain hollow, and with Zhu Jiuchuan broke out of the earth, returning to the surface.

Setting the nearly limp Zhu Jiuchuan down beside a rock, Chen Mu's gaze sharpened as he spoke in a low voice.

"Where is the name list?"