Chapter 316: Ulterior Motives

Xu Chen wore an expression of inexplicable gratitude, following the old man the entire way while thanking him and chatting incessantly. The old man was also very enthusiastic and talkative, repeatedly stating that he would certainly put in a good word for Xu Chen later, guaranteeing that he would not let Xu Chen down.

Lin Qiu Ya followed behind the two, looking at Xu Chen's back with a mix of confusion and trepidation.

She did not know that Xu Chen would actually have so many high-grade Soul Beads on him.

Any one of these, if taken out, could be sold for a hefty price at any Immortal Sect.

Especially the Soul Bead he had taken out last; it was extremely rare in the Immortal World. At the very least, Lin Qiu Ya had never seen such a large Soul Bead, and the aura it emitted made her feel terrified—even a Spirit Transformation Great Cultivator would inevitably feel greed upon seeing it.

Although her cultivation was not high, she knew the principle that one should not flaunt one's wealth.

At the same time, she could also sense that these three from the Xuanhua Sect were harboring ulterior motives, clearly hiding an unspeakable agenda.

But she had witnessed Xu Chen's strength and knew that his power was not to be taken lightly; for Xu Chen to act this way, he must surely have his own plans.

Furthermore, if they wanted to inquire about the situation of the two female cultivators from the Taiyuan Sect within the Xuanhua Sect, they indeed needed to go deep inside.

It was just that the Xuanhua Sect was not like those small or medium-sized Immortal Sects; it was a large Immortal Sect with several True Spirit Realm cultivators sitting in command, possessing formidable strength. Once trapped here, the consequences were hard to predict.

Therefore, Lin Qiu Ya was terrified the entire way, feeling her heart pounding uncontrollably.

Soon, the three entered the backyard. At this moment, a young cultivator wearing black Daoist robes with a spirited and heroic appearance was striding out of a large hall. Seeing the three, his gaze instantly landed on Lin Qiu Ya, and a look of astonishment appeared on his face.

Xu Chen also swept his gaze over briefly before withdrawing it.

If he had not seen wrong, this young cultivator was also a figure ranked high on the Prodigy Ranking, named Shen Gonghao, ranked seventeenth. He was the disciple with the highest ranking on the Prodigy Ranking from the Xuanhua Sect, thirty years old, with a Danyuan Realm early-stage cultivation.

Basically, among the younger generation, cultivators who reached the Golden Core before the age of thirty-five could all be considered top-tier geniuses.

Therefore, although Shen Gonghao's ranking had not entered the top ten, his strength was still very formidable; his aptitude was actually quite a bit stronger than that of Yi Zhen, Song Qingzhi, and the others.

The reason he was overshadowed by the Yuqing Hall this time was simply because the Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill was too heaven-defying.

Xu Chen now knew that the white Qi he had fused into the Spirit Pill was actually Fairy Spirit Qi, meaning it was something only True Immortals could come into contact with; it did not exist at all in the mortal realm.

Fairy Spirit Qi was, in fact, a type of heaven and earth energy higher than Spirit Qi, and it was the source of the Five Elements Qi.

And the Five Elements Qi was the foundation that formed all things in heaven and earth.

Therefore, after the Yuqing Hall obtained dozens of bottles of Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pills from Xu Chen, the Core Disciples and Personal Disciples were allocated the most. Consequently, their aptitudes had all undergone significant improvement and strengthening. Coupled with the vast resources of the Yuqing Hall, they suddenly erupted, with eight Golden Core cultivators emerging in a burst, causing the sect's strength to rise greatly.

Of course, this also caused the great name of the Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill to cause a violent tremor in the Shenzhou Immortal World.

"Ninth Elder, where do these two Daoist Friends come from, and where are you preparing to take them?" the young cultivator asked, standing on the steps at the entrance of the large hall, his tone not appearing very respectful.

The old man did not mind, instead smiling: "These two are Daoist Friends from the Xuanqing Sect of Dongwu. I am preparing to take them to pay a visit to the Supreme Elder."

Shen Gonghao could not help but frown and say: "Xuanqing Sect? A sect I've never even heard of. Why would the Supreme Elder grant an audience? Ninth Elder, did you take some benefits?"

The old man choked, his expression turning somewhat ugly, but he instantly returned to normal and chuckled: "What are you saying? The two Daoist Friends came here to seek refuge with the Xuanhua Sect. With a great battle imminent, introducing them to the Supreme Elder is just to make some more preparations for the coming war. If you have matters to attend to, go ahead!"

After speaking, the old man turned to Xu Chen and the other and smiled: "Two Daoist Friends, please this way!"

"Hmph, so sneaky. Do you really think I'm an idiot? The Supreme Elder isn't even in the hall right now; you're introducing them for nothing!"

Watching the three leave and enter the rear hall, Shen Gonghao let out a cold snort and flicked his sleeves, leaving with a face full of disdain.

The speaker had no intention, but the listener did. Although Shen Gonghao's voice was not loud, Xu Chen was currently releasing his Divine Sense, observing everything in six directions and listening to all sides, and was secretly searching for the whereabouts of his two senior sisters. Naturally, he heard this sentence clearly, so he glanced at the old man in front, a trace of icy coldness appearing in his eyes, while simultaneously transmitting his voice to Lin Qiu Ya:

"Daoist Friend Lin, this old man harbors ulterior motives. This trip will likely have some trouble. No matter what happens later, do not panic!"

Lin Qiu Ya felt a wave of panic in her heart, but she still endured the terror and nodded slightly.

Soon, the three passed through the rear hall and, after several twists and turns, arrived at a very remote small courtyard.

It was piled everywhere with rubble, and there were some houses that had not been repaired, looking as if they had been abandoned.

On the stone wall chiseled out in the northeast corner of the courtyard, there was a stone door covered in Ancient Runes and lines, flickering with intense Spirit Qi fluctuations; it was clearly an Array.

The old man stood still in front of the stone door, placed both hands on it, activated the Array, and then shouted loudly at the stone door: "Elder Tianhong, this disciple has brought two Daoist Friends from the Xuanqing Sect of Dongwu to pay a visit!"

After speaking, the old man pretended to be listening intently. A moment later, he seemed to have received a Divine Sense Transmission, so he said to Xu Chen and the other with a face full of joy: "Daoist Friend Xu, Elder Tianhong has agreed to grant you an audience. Please."

With a few 'click' sounds, the stone door slowly opened, revealing a pitch-black cave.

Xu Chen probed inside with his Divine Sense and discovered it was empty, so he pretended to be surprised and said: "Ninth Elder, it seems there is no one inside!"

"Haha, how could that be? Elder Tianhong is right inside. Go in!"

After the old man finished speaking, he raised his hand and threw out a pitch-black Array Disk, which boomed and expanded to over ten zhang in size. The light and shadow of the Array flashed, wrapping Xu Chen and Lin Qiu Ya and causing them to disappear from the courtyard.

When the light and shadow dissipated, the two discovered they had been imprisoned in a damp, pitch-black stone grotto, with several illusory light chains wrapped around their bodies.

"Ninth Elder, what is the meaning of this?" Xu Chen pretended to be full of surprise and shouted loudly.

"Hahahaha..."

The old man walked out from the darkness with his hands behind his back, laughing as he looked at the two who were bound.

"Two ignorant, heaven-defying wild cultivators, actually daring to run around with so many high-grade Soul Beads. It is only right that I make a fortune today."

After the old man finished speaking, he walked up to Xu Chen, reached out, and rolled up his sleeve. When he saw the dark gold bracelet on his arm, he was slightly stunned, but then he laughed even more happily.

"I never imagined that in the Dongwu region, there would actually be an Immortal Sect that could afford such a high-grade storage Magic Treasure. Today, this fortune far exceeds my imagination..."

After the old man finished speaking, he took the bracelet off Xu Chen's arm and probed it with his Divine Sense for a moment, discovering he could not open the Soul Lock Array. Therefore, he looked at Xu Chen and said: "If you are sensible, hand over the secret method to open the Soul Lock. Once the Immortal Alliance Assembly ends, I will naturally spare your lives. Otherwise..."

"Otherwise what?" Xu Chen asked with a face full of terror.

"Otherwise, it's a dead end. Once I kill you, I'll find the answer from your young and beautiful junior sister!" the old man sneered.

"You... I warn you, don't mess around. If you dare to touch my junior sister, I will definitely kill you!" Xu Chen struggled, both shocked and angry.

"Hahahaha, if you are sensible, this old man naturally won't touch her. To tell you the truth, this old man has no interest in women; I am only interested in this bracelet and the things inside it. As long as you tell me the method to open the Soul Lock, I guarantee I won't hurt a hair on either of you," the old man laughed loudly.

"You... will you really not kill us if I open the bracelet?" Xu Chen asked, stuttering while feigning terror.

"Naturally. At any rate, this old man is a Golden Core cultivator from a righteous sect. Killing you is as easy as turning over my hand; why would I need to put on an act?"

Xu Chen hesitated for a long time before gritting his teeth and saying: "Fine, then I will tell you. However, our sect's Soul Lock secret method is somewhat special; it is not just a matter of incantations and cultivation techniques, it also requires coordination with a Soul Magic Spell. You must temporarily release my restrictions, otherwise, I cannot perform it!"

The old man hesitated for a moment and nodded: "Fine, but I warn you, do not have any thoughts of escaping or resisting. This is a dungeon used by our sect specifically to detain cultivators, and it is a killing Array set up by a Great Cultivator himself. Even if you break free from the restrictions, you will absolutely not be able to escape. Once the Array's counter-measures are activated, you will be ground into dust instantly, so don't blame this old man for not warning you if you die."

Xu Chen's face turned pale and he hurriedly nodded: "Yes, yes, as long as the Elder doesn't kill me and my junior sister, I will absolutely not run!"

"Hmm, cooperation has no downsides for you. The Immortal Alliance Assembly will be held in two days, at which time all cultivators will withdraw, and this great Array will also be abandoned. You will naturally be able to leave alive..."

As the old man spoke, he pinched a magic seal and tapped in the air a few times. The light chains bound around Xu Chen's body immediately loosened slightly, and Xu Chen felt the power pressing down on his soul vanish by more than half.

In reality, this Array Disk restriction could not trap him at all, but breaking free by force would inevitably cause a great commotion; once the entire Xuanhua Sect was alerted, drawing in a large number of cultivators at the Danyuan Realm or even the Spirit Transformation Realm, whether he could successfully escape would be a question, and even if Guiling Shenjun arrived in time to rescue him, there was no guarantee that Lin Qiu Ya would be able to survive.

Moreover, Xu Chen's purpose in coming was not to cause trouble, but to plant a few secret agents within the Xuanhua Sect, so that he could more accurately inquire about the whereabouts of his two senior martial sisters and secretly provide them with protection.

What he did not expect was that this matter had been unexpectedly smooth up to this point.

From this, it can be seen that for so-called prestigious sects, bullying the weak, swindling and bluffing, killing and looting, and oppressing men and women have already become the norm; behind their sanctimonious facades are nothing but shameful and filthy dealings that cannot be seen in the light.

Although Xu Chen believed that it was a bit excessive to paint everyone with the same brush, and that there was no lack of decent Immortal Sects like Yuqing Hall, a sect like the Xuanhua Sect that could capture his two senior martial sisters and imprison Xuan Chen Zhenjun to force him to hand over the formula for the Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill was absolutely the dregs and trash of the Immortal World, and there should be nothing good in this sect from top to bottom.

Just a moment ago, he only tried revealing a small amount of treasure, and it immediately incited their greed.

Right now, it was time for him to reap the fruits.

(End of this chapter)