Chapter 361: Catching a Turtle in a Jar!

Under the Withered Glory Tree.

Xu Chuan opened his eyes, a sudden realization dawning upon his heart. He immediately investigated the source of the anomaly.

[Xu Deyue: Xu Family Third Generation]

[Age: 77]

[Spirit Root: Top-tier Earth Spiritual Root (Spirit Root Purity 6.9)]

[Talent: Lunar Cold Splendor Yin]

[Physique: Cold Moon Spirit Body]

[Bloodline: Peak Seventh-Grade Bloodline]

[Realm: Early Third Layer of the Golden Core Stage]

Comprehension of the corresponding divine abilities is greatly enhanced.]

[Note: Peak Seventh-Grade Bloodline. It provides a ten percent boost when breaking through to the Golden Core stage. An ordinary Seventh-Grade Bloodline would only provide a five percent boost.]

'What tremendous fortune. It actually allowed Deyue to completely sublimate her foundation,' Xu Chuan thought.

'It seems this couple both obtained a great opportunity on this trip.'

'Is this the benefit of having an old spirit mentor?'

Xu Chuan smiled knowingly.

He then used the Heavenly Secret Dao Derivation to deduce their situation, but found it obscured and impossible to calculate.

'Never mind. I will try again later. They must be receiving an inheritance right now.'

The Dao of Heavenly Secrets was profound.

Whenever one performed a deduction, if the target was also skilled in this path, they would definitely notice.

At the exact moment Xu Chuan performed his deduction, the dragon soul of Little Cold Mountain abruptly opened its eyes.

"Someone is deducing Little Cold Mountain? I want to see exactly who it is!" it rumbled.

However, after attempting its own deduction, the dragon soul yielded no results. The heavenly secrets were shrouded in dust, making it impossible to uncover even a sliver of information about the other party.

"Forget it. I doubt they can deduce the specifics anyway."

The Little Cold Mountain dragon soul coiled around, shifted into a more comfortable posture, and resumed its nap.

At the foot of the mountain.

The numerous factions of Flowing Moon Prefecture had made their attempts.

Although one or two people were selected to enter the inheritance space, not a single person had passed.

However, these people were all incredibly shrewd.

Since Ye Fan and Xu Deyue had yet to descend the mountain, there was a high probability they were no longer on it.

Instead, they must have entered the inheritance trial, or perhaps they were already inside the inheritance grotto-residence.

Because of this, the six major factions each left behind a Golden Core cultivator to keep watch nearby, ready to send an immediate transmission if the couple was spotted.

But days passed, one after another.

Nearly half a month went by without a single trace of the two.

"Could that Ye couple already be dead?" a green-robed Golden Core elder from the Rogue Cultivator Alliance muttered, sending a voice transmission to the Golden Core cultivators of the other factions.

"It is rather peculiar," a Golden Core cultivator from the Flowing Moon Sect agreed.

"Let us wait for another two hours. If they still do not emerge by then, we must leave. Otherwise, we will not make it out in time and will be trapped inside the Secret Realm.

Historically, no one who stayed behind has ever survived until the Secret Realm opened again."

"Daoist Friend Pei makes a valid point. We will wait another two hours," the Golden Core cultivator from the Du Family stated.

The others nodded in agreement.

In the blink of an eye.

Two hours passed.

The result remained the same. Sighing softly, the group finally departed to regroup with their respective forces and report the news.

This situation left only two possibilities.

Either they were still inside the grotto-residence and had another method of leaving, hence their absence.

Or, they were dead.

No one knew the exact details of the inheritance trial.

Perhaps venturing deeper entailed mortal danger.

Before long.

The surviving cultivators within the Cold Mountain Secret Realm emerged one after another.

"We finally made it out."

Many Foundation Establishment disciples wore joyful expressions.

However, the True Lord level powerhouses of the six top factions gathered together to discuss the matter of Ye Fan and Xu Deyue.

"What are your thoughts on those two outsiders, Daoist Friends?" True Lord Yunshui asked calmly.

An elder from the Cold Moon Sect declared, "If they truly obtained the profound inheritance of Little Cold Mountain, we absolutely cannot let them take it away. Otherwise, where will the prestige of our Flowing Moon Prefecture be?"

A burly man from the Green Mountain Sect nodded slightly. "Exactly. Even if those two hail from some top-tier Nascent Soul force, once they are dead, the matter ends there.

Even if they are backed by a Grand Cultivator, how would they ever find out how the couple died?"

True Lord Yunshui looked toward the representatives of the Du Family, the Pei Family, and the emaciated elder of the Rogue Cultivator Alliance. "What do the three of you think?"

"We dispatch people to guard a hundred and fifty-kilometer radius around this area. If there is no news within three months, then they are highly likely dead," a purple-robed elder of the Du Family suggested, stroking his beard thoughtfully.

"Then we shall act according to Daoist Friend Du's words. Our six factions will blockade a five-hundred-kilometer radius around this area. Each of us will leave behind a portion of our Foundation Establishment disciples and two Golden Core elders.

Even if the two of them emerge, they will find it impossible to escape."

Another half a month passed in a flash.

Ye Fan continuously refined the heart blood of the Divine Transformation stage Flood Dragon. He had already completely assimilated one drop.

His physical body surged to the peak of the early Third-Tier.

The residual energy within the Flood Dragon's heart blood also pushed his cultivation to the middle stage of the Second Layer of the Golden Core.

In just one short month, his strength had increased significantly.

Meanwhile, Xu Deyue had undergone a complete physique transformation. She now possessed an early Third Layer Golden Core cultivation base, but her mana and divine sense reserves rivaled that of the Late-Stage Golden Core. Furthermore, her mastery of the Vast Cold Sword Art had reached Minor Success.

Combined with her Second-Tier physical body, even while wielding mid-grade magic treasures, she would not fall short against any Late-Stage Golden Core powerhouse.

If she were to draw the Supreme Yin flying sword, she would be perfectly capable of trading blows with a True Lord at Golden Core Perfection.

When the one-month time limit arrived, the two were teleported out of the grotto-residence.

However, before leaving, they swept the desks, shelves, and even the jade bed into their storage rings.

Witnessing this, the dragon soul of Little Cold Mountain blew its whiskers and glared in outrage, cursing, "Just how impoverished is their family?! They didn't even spare the tables and chairs!"

With a flash of light, the two appeared simultaneously at the foot of Little Cold Mountain.

"Husband."

"Yue'er."

They called out to each other at the same time, sharing a smile as their eyes met.

"Yue'er, our harvest this time was massive. However, I doubt those factions in Flowing Moon Prefecture are fools. It is highly likely they have set up a perimeter outside."

Xu Deyue pondered for a moment. "Let me try contacting my grandfather first."

As she spoke, she retrieved a Natal Jade Talisman from her storage pouch and rapidly tapped it six times with her divine sense.

But an hour passed, and Xu Chuan still hadn't pulled her into the Xu Clan's Grotto-heaven.

"It seems we truly cannot contact the outside world from within the Secret Realm. The divine sense connection is completely severed," Xu Deyue said, her eyes rippling slightly. "But as long as we get out, I will definitely be able to reach him."

"I wonder what kind of forces they've arranged outside to ambush us," Ye Fan murmured.

"Those True Lords at Golden Core Perfection wouldn't stoop to waiting outside themselves. Most likely, each faction has left behind one or two Golden Core cultivators," Ye Fan analyzed thoughtfully.

"What you say makes sense, Husband. With our combined strength, breaking through the blockade of a single faction won't be difficult. The hard part will be shaking them off completely."

Ye Fan smiled. "Honored Master gave me a Third-Tier Thousand-Mile Talisman. It can be used three times and should be enough to help us escape.

But leaving Flowing Moon Prefecture entirely will not be easy.

By then, there will be thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people searching for us. If we are spotted, the chances of being heavily surrounded are immense.

Even Nascent Soul powerhouses might be alarmed and drawn over."

Acquiring the inheritance did not mean it truly belonged to him.

Only by fully digesting it and turning it into his own strength could he be considered to have truly obtained the inheritance.

In the Cultivation World, countless genius cultivators ultimately ended up merely paving the way for someone else's success.

Pausing for a moment, Ye Fan continued, "Honored Master once said that the most dangerous place is often the safest. After we escape their encirclement, we can circle back and hide near Little Cold Mountain.

I believe we should be able to hold out for quite some time.

Then, Yue'er, you can contact Honored Master and have him come to rendezvous with us.

The inheritance of Little Cold Mountain is of massive use in elevating the heritage of our Xu Clan. We cannot afford to lose it."

"I still have the peak Second-Tier Cloud Heaven Illusionary Array that my father gave me. Unless an Early-Stage Golden Core cultivator scrutinizes the area meticulously with their divine sense, they will be hard-pressed to discover any clues."

"That is perfect!" Ye Fan's eyes lit up.

With their plan set, the two immediately activated their Little Cold Mountain in-name disciple tokens and exited the Cold Mountain Secret Realm.

In the very next instant, the couple materialized at the foot of Little Cold Mountain.

On the desolate plains.

Just as they had predicted, several groups of people were stationed there.

These were precisely the surveillance disciples left behind by the six top factions of Flowing Moon Prefecture, mostly at the Foundation Establishment cultivation realm.

As for the Golden Core stage cultivators, none were immediately visible; they were likely guarding the perimeter of the blockade.

The moment their figures solidified, Ye Fan did not hesitate. He ruthlessly crushed the Third-Tier jade talisman he had kept concealed in his palm!

The Xu Family only possessed a single piece of this specific jade talisman.

The talisman erupted with a soft, pale cyan light, completely enveloping him and Xu Deyue.

"Go!"

Amidst his low shout, the cyan light suddenly flared with blinding intensity!

Their figures shot forward like arrows fired from a heavy bow. Almost like teleportation, they left behind only faint afterimages.

Their actual bodies had already transformed into a streak of light imperceptible to the naked eye, shooting toward the eastern horizon at a terrifying, unheard-of speed!

The Thousand-Mile Talisman activated, traversing five hundred kilometers in a single breath!

Everything happened far too quickly. From the moment the two appeared to when they transformed into streaks of light and vanished, barely one or two breaths had passed.

Before the present Foundation Establishment cultivators could even react, their targets were gone.

All that remained was the majestic surge of spirit power left in the wake of the activated jade talisman.

"Someone came out!"

"It's that rogue cultivator couple!"

"Why are you yelling?! Hurry up and send a transmission, they've already escaped!"

Following a brief moment of shock, the scene instantly erupted into chaos.

Disciples from the various factions hastily fished out their transmission tokens, contacting the Golden Core elders deployed around the perimeter.

[Elder, the Golden Core couple surnamed Ye has emerged from the Secret Realm! They used an escape talisman to head east. We suspect it is a Third-Tier Thousand-Mile Talisman!]

After sending out the transmissions, the Foundation Establishment disciples launched themselves into the air, drawing streaks of light across the sky as they chased toward the east.

"A Thousand-Mile Talisman!"

Receiving the transmission, a mid-stage Golden Core elder from the Flowing Moon Sect underwent a drastic change in expression. Without another word, he ordered his subordinates to contact the sect while he personally flew off toward the east.

The Cold Moon Sect, the Green Mountain Sect, the Du Family, the Pei Family, and that old beggar from the Rogue Cultivator Alliance all reacted in the exact same manner.

The beggar had originally intended to monopolize the spoils.

However, the couple had vastly exceeded his expectations, clearly obtaining an extraordinary inheritance from Little Cold Mountain.

The various factions weren't stupid either. Under such circumstances, the rewards could only be divided based on each faction's relative strength and contribution.

The news spread like wildfire, rapidly reaching the upper echelons of the six top factions in Flowing Moon Prefecture.

The matter of the inheritance was of monumental importance.

It could potentially involve an opportunity for the Nascent Soul stage. Therefore, absolutely no faction would give it up easily!

With the six top factions moving in unison, the energy they unleashed was truly terrifying.

In just a short amount of time, thousands upon thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators, along with quite a few Golden Core cultivators, rushed toward the direction of Little Cold Mountain.

Their plan was to enforce a total blockade over a radius of tens of thousands, or even fifty thousand kilometers, centered entirely around Little Cold Mountain.

An invisible, inescapable net was quickly cast wide.

Meanwhile, after Ye Fan and Xu Deyue had fled five hundred kilometers away, they swiftly doubled back.

They came to a halt in a dense forest approximately a hundred kilometers away.

Upon landing, Xu Deyue immediately pulled out a set of formation flags.

It was precisely the peak Second-Tier Cloud Heaven Illusionary Array gifted to her by Xu Mingxian.

Her delicate hands moved in a flurry, precisely burying the formation flags into the surrounding void as she channeled her mana to activate them.

In an instant, an array space was established.

Xu Deyue formed hand seals with both hands, manipulating the array to conceal their figures using illusory projections.

From the outside, the area looked completely deserted and entirely devoid of anomalies.

Even if the divine sense of an Early-Stage Golden Core cultivator were to casually sweep over the area, it would likely overlook them entirely.

Inside the array, the two held their breath and focused their minds, waiting in silence.

Sure enough, in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, several tyrannical auras streaked past them high in the sky.

Not long after, the Golden Core cultivators of the six major factions who were enforcing the blockade convened.

They scoured the area within a radius of a few dozen kilometers.

However, their current location was over fifty kilometers away from where Ye Fan and his wife were actually hiding. No matter how thoroughly they searched, they would find nothing.

Half an incense stick of time later.

Small squads of Foundation Establishment cultivators arrived one after another.

The mid-stage Golden Core cultivator from the Flowing Moon Sect commanded them, "Search the vicinity. Four of us will remain here, while the rest will follow me further ahead. Perhaps they used the talisman to fly another five hundred kilometers."

"I just hope the encirclement set up by our six major factions will fully form in time. If we let those two slip away, we will have truly lost all face."

"Who could have imagined they'd possess a Thousand-Mile Talisman? My Du Family only has one, and we wouldn't dare use it unless it was a critical life-or-death moment."

"It appears the two of them do indeed hail from some major Nascent Soul power."

They conversed as they flew, yet their resolve to murder the couple and seize the inheritance remained as firm as ever.

After all, the top factions of Flowing Moon Prefecture knew just how significant the Little Cold Mountain inheritance was. If any supreme treasures were to leak out, even Nascent Soul cultivators would personally step onto the battlefield to fight over them.

Ye Fan and Xu Deyue waited in place for roughly half a day.

Then, retracting their auras, they flew at a low altitude, doubling back toward Little Cold Mountain.

The most dangerous place was, ironically, the safest.

At least for the time being, this held true.

By the time their pursuers realized the trick, four or five days would likely have passed.

In a concealed mountain hollow just a few kilometers away from Little Cold Mountain, Xu Deyue deployed the Cloud Heaven Illusionary Array once more.

"Husband, I have contacted my grandfather. He should be aware of the situation very soon," Xu Deyue whispered.

"Then we shall wait for Honored Master to arrive. With just our own methods, I fear it will be exceedingly difficult to completely escape Flowing Moon Prefecture."

Afterward, the two sat cross-legged on the ground and began to adjust their breathing to recover.

Cloudstream City.

The Xu Residence.

Xu Chuan abruptly opened his eyes.

'Deyue is trying to contact me?'

'It seems they've made it out of the Secret Realm.'

After muttering to himself, Xu Chuan pinched his fingers together and performed a quick deduction. 'The signs point to catching a turtle in a jar... Did they poke the hornet's nest of the entire Flowing Moon Prefecture?

'Even the Flowing Moon Sect alone shouldn't be capable of such an omen.

'The inheritance they obtained must be truly extraordinary!'

Since the information gained through deduction was limited, it couldn't compare to simply asking the parties involved face-to-face.

He hadn't pulled them into the spatial realm previously because he guessed the Secret Realm likely possessed some form of artifact spirit that controlled everything within. Using that spatial power so rashly might have caused complications.

Xu Chuan immediately invited Xu Deyue into the Xu Clan's Grotto-heaven.

Xu Deyue didn't resist, allowing a wisp of her divine sense to slip into the void.

"Grandfather," Xu Deyue's divine sense phantom greeted respectfully, bowing toward Xu Chuan.

"Tell me, what is the current situation? I just performed a deduction and it seems you two are currently trapped within an inescapable net."

Xu Deyue immediately recounted everything that had transpired within the Secret Realm, along with their present circumstances.

"The ancient inheritance of Little Cold Mountain... And it was left behind by a peak Body Integration stage mighty figure—a master of greater divine abilities who could fight above their realm against Great Vehicle stage experts?!"

Hearing this, even Xu Chuan was astonished.

"It seems Senior Sister Murong Yun is sparing no effort in grooming you."

"Honored Master truly treats Yue'er exceptionally well. This physique transformation is entirely thanks to Honored Master's Supreme Heaven-Mending Foundation Technique.

Unfortunately, the foundation materials required by this secret art are of exceedingly high quality. Suitable Rank 5 spiritual items only produce a mediocre effect; only those of Rank 6 and above will show significant results.

Otherwise, I would have been able to let Father, First Uncle, and Second Uncle all use it once.

Cold Light Liquid is excellent, but it is only applicable to people with cold-attribute physical talents like mine."

"That is not a problem," Xu Chuan chuckled softly. "As long as we have the secret art in hand, we can slowly search for suitable spiritual items in the future."

"Yue'er, you two just wait patiently for two days. Your grandfather will set off immediately and take a trip to Flowing Moon Prefecture."

"I will have to trouble Grandfather then."