The Beginning of Chaos

"Stop!" After chasing for several mountain peaks, Hundred Charm Demoness waved her hand and shouted. The group stopped in mid-air. A subordinate asked, "Palace Master! Why aren't we chasing anymore? Lu Wanqian definitely can't escape."

"Let him live to report back to Qingguang Sect. With over ten Nascent Soul stage Elders dead and so many Spirit Stones lost, Qingguang Sect will feel the pain for a while," Hundred Charm Demoness said with a smile.

The subordinate frowned, "Palace Master, shouldn't we silence him? This might bring trouble to our 'Illusion Demon Palace'."

"Hmph! Do you think Qingguang Sect won't know it was us if we killed Lu Wanqian?" Hundred Charm Demoness said coldly, "I want Qingguang Sect to know it was my 'Illusion Demon Palace'. I doubt they have the guts to come to my Illusion Yin Mountain. They're all cowards." A hint of hatred flashed in her charming eyes as she gazed in the direction Lu Wanqian had fled.

"Return and transport the Spirit Stones back to the palace." With a delicate shout, everyone flew towards the Spirit Stone mine.

Above the Spirit Stone mine, where severed limbs were scattered, Hundred Charm Demoness scanned the surroundings with confusion. She had clearly planted a strand of divine sense on that young man, so why couldn't she sense him? As she pondered, her body suddenly trembled. Hundred Charm Demoness's beautiful face turned ashen. She could clearly feel that the divine sense she had planted had been easily dissolved by someone else. She herself was in the early Tribulation stage. Without someone at the mid Tribulation stage or above, how could they so casually dissolve her divine sense? Moreover, it happened in an instant. This indicated that the person who dissolved the divine sense was likely in the late Tribulation stage, otherwise, it wouldn't have been possible to go from detection to dissolution in such a short time.

"Palace Master! Please come down and see, something strange has happened." A subordinate reported from the cargo bay of the transport dragon.

The beautiful figure in the air flickered, and a phantom figure darted into the cargo bay. Looking at the empty cargo hold, all the charming demeanor vanished from Hundred Charm Demoness's face. Her delicate brows furrowed, and her expression turned solemn. An entire cargo hold of Spirit Stones had completely disappeared. How was this possible? She had clearly acted after seeing Qingguang Sect transport the Spirit Stones in. Who possessed such divine ability to transport all the Spirit Stones away in such a short time? It was simply unbelievable!

Thinking of the divine sense being dissolved moments ago, she was suddenly startled. Hundred Charm Demoness's figure flashed into the sky, and she shouted, "Everyone return to 'Illusion Demon Palace' immediately! This place is not safe to linger!" Her subordinates heard the urgency in their Palace Master's voice and dared not delay. They flew into the sky, following their Palace Master as they rapidly streaked towards the horizon.

As soon as Yue Qianchou entered the golden bead, he saw the conspicuous 'mountain'. He shouted, "I'm rich!" He immediately pounced towards it with a happy heart, made intimate contact, rolled around on it with his hands and feet dancing, and laughed heartily while patting the bags filled with Spirit Stones. After a long while, he stood up, looking at the grandeur before him with an expression of complete contentment.

As he was shaking his head and humming, he saw Shi Xiaotian walking back and forth nearby. He was slightly stunned, then remembered that he had brought him in too. He hadn't intended for him to know about the golden bead, but in his haste, he hadn't considered it. He was in now! After observing for a period, he felt this kid should be trustworthy.

Suddenly, he realized something was wrong. Shi Xiaotian seemed to be pacing in circles within a radius of dozens of meters. Could this kid be bored and just taking a stroll? It didn't seem like it! He couldn't help but call out, "Xiaotian, what are you doing?"

No reaction! He called out several more times, but there was still no reaction. It was as if he couldn't even see Yue Qianchou standing in front of him. Yue Qianchou found it strange and walked over to see what he was doing. However, as soon as he entered the dozens of meters range where Shi Xiaotian was circling, a force repelled him. The more he exerted himself, the greater the repulsive force became.

Yue Qianchou understood. Besides Sister Bai, there was no one else here. It must have been her doing. He immediately passed through the woods and arrived at the bamboo hut. The zither music in the bamboo pavilion continued, and the beautiful woman sat upright. He clapped his hands with a grin, "Beautiful lady, you truly play the zither and sing beautifully!"

The white fox didn't even lift an eyelid and ignored him. Yue Qianchou sat down opposite her and said sheepishly, "Good sister, please let the person outside out! He's my friend!"

The zither music stopped abruptly. The white fox glanced at him coldly. Yue Qianchou was startled. He had never seen such a sharp gaze from her before. The former said coldly, "Precisely because I know you sent him in, otherwise I would have already dug out his eyes that like to look around carelessly. He is not welcome here. When you decide when to send him out, I will let him out."

"Uh..." Yue Qianchou was stunned. He thought, how did Shi Xiaotian's eyes offend you? Looking at the peerless face before him, he immediately understood and shook his head with a wry smile. With your devastating beauty, which man wouldn't glance at you more than a few times? Forget it, I won't say anything more. Xiaotian, consider yourself unlucky.

"Turn around," the white fox said, her eyes showing a hint of surprise.

"What?" Yue Qianchou asked, stunned. The white fox glared, reprimanding, "I told you to turn around, didn't you hear me?"

"No! Elder Sister! You won't even let me look?" Seeing the cold expression on the beautiful face opposite him, Yue Qianchou didn't dare to argue further and obediently turned around.

Two slender fingers extended and joined, then pointed at the back of Yue Qianchou's neck. Before he could react, he heard the white fox say, "Done!" He turned back and saw a wisp of flame, as transparent as water, held between her fingers.

"What is this? On me?" Yue Qianchou asked suspiciously. The beautiful face opposite him furrowed her delicate brows, "Someone planted a strand of divine sense on you. If it hadn't been discovered in time, as soon as you appeared outside, this person would immediately be able to track your whereabouts. Judging from this strand of divine sense, this person is a woman, and her cultivation has likely reached the early Tribulation stage."

"Could it be her?" Yue Qianchou exclaimed. He had already suspected Hundred Charm Demoness, but he couldn't be sure why she would do this. Did she find out he stole the Spirit Stones? The white fox said nothing more. A flame emerged from her fingertips, engulfing the strand of divine sense, instantly turning it into smoke.

Looking at the strand of divine sense that turned into wisps of smoke, Yue Qianchou's expression became solemn. He tapped the stone table cheerfully with his fingers, considering his future path. The white fox didn't disturb him. This scene felt familiar from many years ago, like a scholar with a furrowed brow pondering a difficult question in his books, and she quietly watching by his side. She liked this feeling very much.

Why Hundred Charm Demoness planted divine sense on him was something he couldn't figure out, so he decided not to think about it for now. He wouldn't return to Qingguang Sect. The existing Spirit Stones were enough for him, and it was time to find a place to cultivate properly. He couldn't cultivate here. Hundred Charm Demoness would definitely leave, and Qingguang Sect would eventually return to the Spirit Stone mine. He should take advantage of the time when neither side was present to get out and run far away. Otherwise, even if he improved his cultivation here, he would eventually have to go out. He couldn't hide inside forever.

With his current cultivation, hiding in the golden bead made it easy to avoid capture, but it would be difficult to escape the Spirit Stone mine when the time came. He wondered if there were still people at the Spirit Stone mine. No! He had to go out and check now. If it was too dangerous, he could immediately hide back.

As soon as he decided, his divine sense moved, the scene changed, and he was already on the Spirit Stone mine site. The surroundings were silent, the smell of blood had not yet dissipated, and the disgusting severed limbs were unattended. No one was there! It was a good opportunity to escape. Yue Qianchou was overjoyed. He pushed his Mysterious Heaven Skill to its limit and immediately ran desperately in the opposite direction of Qingguang Sect's arrival.

His cultivation was still far from Sword Flight, but his speed in running and jumping was not comparable to ordinary people. He fled like a streak of light through the desolate mountains. In a short time, he had already distanced himself from the Spirit Stone mine.

Thinking back to the scene now, he felt a bit of lingering fear. He truly had to thank Lu Wanqian. If he hadn't forced him and Shi Xiaotian to carry those last two bags of Spirit Stones, they might have ended up like the other miners, with their bodies and heads separated, torn to pieces. The situation was so sudden at the time; even with the golden bead, there wouldn't have been enough time. Alas! Cherish life and flee with all your might!

Some time after Yue Qianchou had left, nearly a hundred streams of light flew from the direction of Qingguang Sect and landed on the Spirit Stone mine site. Anyone familiar with Qingguang Sect would have been greatly surprised, as almost all of Qingguang Sect's Elder-level figures were present. Qingguang Sect's Sect Master Liu Changqing and Elder Lu Wanqian were among them. Standing at the forefront were three elders with white beards and hair; even if Yue Qianchou were here, he probably wouldn't have seen the three of them before.

Everyone scanned the Spirit Stone mine site, which resembled a slaughterhouse, their faces turning ashen. The eyes of the three elders at the forefront shot out sharp rays of light as they closed and opened, a clear indication of their profound cultivation. Furthermore, their ability to stand in front of Sect Master Liu Changqing clearly showed their extraordinary status. The elder in the middle's facial muscles twitched, and he slowly said, "Search the surroundings!"

Except for the elders on the left and right, the crowd behind them received the order with a roar and scattered. Before long, the Elders returned and reported the situation one by one. Upon hearing that all the Spirit Stones had been robbed and no one survived at the mine, the elder at the forefront snorted coldly, "Liu Changqing, how did you manage as Sect Master? Why were the Spirit Stones held back for over half a year before being transported back to the Sect?"

Liu Changqing's expression changed drastically. He immediately knelt down, saying fearfully, "Master! The Sect's Spirit Stone reserves are still abundant, and the output from the five major Spirit Stone mines continues to increase. If all the Spirit Stones were transported at once, it might not have been possible to store them..."

"Enough!" the elder interrupted with a shout, "Spirit Stones are for the Sect's disciples to improve their cultivation. What's the point of storing so many Spirit Stones? Since the output has increased, why hasn't the distribution to the disciples increased? If the overall cultivation of the Sect's disciples improves, won't they have enough Spirit Stones in the future? Short-sighted fool, why did I choose you as Sect Master back then! All the disciples in the entire Spirit Stone mine are dead, and all the Spirit Stones have been robbed. This is truly a disgrace! Liu Changqing, how can I explain this to the Old Ancestors when I return!"

"Master, please don't be angry. Your disciple knows his mistake and is willing to accept punishment!" Liu Changqing, who looked like an old man himself, had completely lost his Sect Master's dignity.

"Hmph!" The elder glanced at his kneeling disciple, then looked at the two elders on his left and right and said solemnly, "My two junior brothers, it seems our Qingguang Sect has been dormant for too long. A while ago, Daluo Sect killed our disciples and stole our Spirit Grass, and now 'Illusion Demon Palace' has come to slaughter and rob again. I wonder who will visit next. I just broke through to the mid Tribulation stage a few days ago, and it's time for me to play a role. What do you two junior brothers think?"

One elder said coldly, "If I remember correctly, Qingguang Sect is one of the top ten cultivation sects in the Huaxia Empire!" Another elder smiled faintly, "It seems the current Cultivation World is a bit too quiet."

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