Chapter 17: The Heaven-Sent Spiritual Treasure Was Taken Away by the Demonic Cult

"What? Take me over to see!"

Qiu Buping was filled with shock and suspicion.

Could it be that the two had turned their blades against each other and both perished? But as Qiu Buping arrived at the scene, he overturned all his previous deductions; he saw that the two died in exactly the same way, making it impossible for them to have fought each other, as it was clearly a sign of being killed by the same person.

"Wah! This infuriates me!"

Qiu Buping walked up hurriedly, his expression instantly turning cold.

At a glance, he saw that Lao Chong had been dead for longer; it was highly likely that someone had killed Lao Chong first, then used his identity to lurk within the Demonic Cult team, and now had killed Lao Li and fled.

He squatted down, carefully examining the wound on Lao Chong's neck, his brows gradually furrowing.

This was a throat-slitting strike with a single sword, the cut being exceptionally smooth, which meant it was likely a top-tier expert who used a sword; furthermore, the sword technique was extremely sharp, indicating that the sword art practiced must be of a high grade. Looking again at the residual sword Qi, it faintly carried the Yangqing Breath cultivated by the righteous path, indicating that this was a righteous path cultivator.

A righteous path sword cultivator, and their strength was not weak either.

"Who exactly is it!"

Qiu Buping was so angry his teeth itched, and he racked his brains but could not figure it out.

Clearly, their cultivation and strength were not weak, so why did they not take the initiative to attack, but instead ran away after killing only two ordinary Disciples?

"Investigate for me!"

Qiu Buping barked an order to his subordinates at his side.

But in the end, effort does not always yield results; even if Qiu Buping exhausted all means, he could not find the clues left behind by Su Zhangqing, let alone find the person Su Zhangqing himself.

Meanwhile, while the Demonic Cult members were in a state of chaos, the large group from the Qingyun Sect that had come for training also arrived at Jiuyin Mountain.

Led by Dazhu Peak Master Tian Buyi and Xiaozhu Peak Master Shuiyue Dashi, they led over twenty Qingyun Sect Disciples as they descended one after another from their Flying Swords.

"Shuiyue, I see you frowning all the way along the road, unable to hide your worried expression; could it be that there is something in this Jiuyin Mountain that makes you worry?"

Tian Buyi asked Shuiyue about the curiosity in his heart.

Shuiyue was usually a very cold person, and she was of a temperament that was neither pleased by external things nor saddened by herself; it was rare to see her reveal such a worried expression.

"I don't want to talk to you."

Shuiyue was currently incomparably worried about Su Zhangqing and had no desire to pay any attention to this annoying Tian Buyi; after casting a glance, she refused to answer.

Having been rebuffed, Tian Buyi stiffened his face in embarrassment, and knowing that asking further would only be asking for trouble, he did not continue to talk to Shuiyue and turned to walk toward the group of Disciples.

"You Disciples from each peak, form groups and go train in this Jiuyin Mountain. There are many demonic beasts in the mountain; you can use them to practice your cultivation, but if you encounter high-level demonic beasts, you must never be arrogant and go provoke them; seek my protection at the first opportunity."

"There are also Demonic Cult members in the mountain, their numbers and intentions unknown. If you encounter them, capture the weak ones alive and bring them back, and if they are strong, run first. At critical moments, do not be afraid to waste your protective Dharma Treasures."

"In short, to sum it all up, the most important thing in this training is your safety. Do you understand the principle of bullying the weak and running from the strong?"

Tian Buyi exhorted the Disciples.

But why did these words sound so strange?

"Understood! Uncle-Master Tian!"

The group of Disciples bowed and nodded in response.

Then they dispersed to take action. The Qingyun Sect usually had strict rules, and as Disciples, they rarely had the opportunity to leave the sect; having finally come out for training, they were also incredibly excited.

"Xueqi, let's go too!"

After the Disciples dispersed, Shuiyue also took Lu Xueqi, who was by her side, and headed into the mountain, investigating the surrounding anomalies while searching for Su Zhangqing's figure.

On the other side, Longshou Peak's Qi Hao and Lin Jingyu were walking together. "Senior Brother Qi, Master told us to find that Heaven-Sent Spiritual Treasure; do you have any ideas?"

Lin Jingyu looked left and right, searching for something with great hope, while asking Qi Hao.

Long before coming here, the two had already received the decree from their Master, True Person Cangsong, that they must be the first to find that so-called Heaven-Sent Spiritual Treasure.

"I heard from Master that the Heaven-Sent Spiritual Treasure descended into the world with heavenly thunder, so I think that as long as we look for places that have been struck by lightning, it is nine times out of ten the place where the Heaven-Sent Spiritual Treasure descended."

Qi Hao also looked around, searching for the location of the Heaven-Sent Spiritual Treasure.

Hearing Qi Hao's analysis, Lin Jingyu nodded silently in agreement.

With this idea, the two gradually moved from aimless searching to having a plan, and began to look for places along the way that had been struck by lightning.

Suddenly, Lin Jingyu, who was searching earnestly, saw a patch of forest that was bald, and looking at the few withered trees around it, they seemed to have been scorched by something.

He rushed toward that place.

"What's wrong? Jingyu."

Qi Hao did not react in time, but suddenly saw Lin Jingyu beside him run away, so he hurriedly followed, only to see him stop in a patch of forest.

"Senior Brother, look!"

Lin Jingyu stared at the scene before him and said to Qi Hao with a solemn expression.

"What is the situation here?"

Following Lin Jingyu's reminder, Qi Hao saw that the surrounding environment was in a mess, as if it had experienced some kind of battle; trees were neatly shattered, and many had been scorched charcoal-black, while in the center, a large black pit had appeared silently, and the land around the pit was scorched.

"Senior Brother, look, the forest here has been destroyed, and there are scorched scenes in the large pit; is it possible that this is the place where the Heaven-Sent Spiritual Treasure descended?"

Without Lin Jingyu's reminder, Qi Hao had actually guessed this point.

The two looked at each other and walked together to the side of the pit to observe.

They saw that this large pit was five or six meters deep, but there was nothing inside except for carbonized soil.

Where was the promised Heaven-Sent Spiritual Treasure?

Could it be that it had already been discovered and taken away by the Demonic Cult? "Senior Brother Qi, this is not good."

Lin Jingyu furrowed his brows tightly and said to Qi Hao.

The two simultaneously had this ominous premonition; they were the first to find the location, but that so-called Heaven-Sent Spiritual Treasure was nowhere to be seen.

It could only be that it had been found by the Demonic Cult members in advance, and that meant it was already out of their control.

"Jingyu, this matter is already out of our control; we must go back first and report this to Uncle-Master Tian."

Qi Hao also furrowed his brows and suggested to Lin Jingyu.

Lin Jingyu nodded, and the two returned along the original path to find Tian Buyi, who was waiting where they had left him, and told Tian Buyi everything they had discovered.

Tian Buyi was lying under a tree with his eyes closed, sleeping, but upon hearing Qi Hao and Lin Jingyu speak of this matter, he suddenly sprang up from the ground.

"The people of the Demonic Cult found the Heaven-Sent Spiritual Treasure and took it away first?"

"Take me to see it first."

Tian Buyi also knew this matter was of great importance and hurriedly followed the two of them to this large pit.

(End of chapter)