Chen Gongmin and Wei Yanzi discussed how to help this fellow female immortal recover from her injuries;
Li Ping'an held the map, his thoughts racing.
Li Ping'an understood the two things the severely injured female immortal had said as follows:
'I wanted to use the Sect Return Token to return to the sect, but the formation blocked me, so I was transported here.'
'Do not worry about me. Leave quickly.'
Senior Qing Su showed no joy at having been rescued. Instead, she urged them to leave quickly?
This was bad!
Li Ping'an suddenly looked up, his handsome face grave, nearly shouting, "Run!"
The two Daoist priests beside him frowned at him.
Li Ping'an said steadily, "A large number of powerful enemies may be pursuing her, and they may have sealed off her path back to the mountain! Quickly erase all traces of this place and leave. If we delay, we will not be able to get away!"
Daoist Priest Chen asked, "This? Ping'an, why do you suddenly say that...?"
"Are you two willing to trust me?"
Wei Yanzi immediately nodded. "I do!"
"Deacon, later use True Fire to burn down this Daoist temple!"
"Burn, burn down ours?" Chen Gongmin stared wide-eyed. "Have no enemies even come knocking yet? This poor Daoist does not need to sever his worldly ties just yet!"
"Once powerful enemies arrive, none of us will be able to escape."
Li Ping'an took a magical pouch radiating soft Immortal Light from his sleeve and said quickly:
"Deacon, this is an Immortal Treasure I prepared to capture spirit pets. It can store living creatures. Temporarily place Senior Qing Su inside it!
"We need to find a way to contact the sect, but we cannot use the Message Transmission Jade Talisman now. Those things can easily be intercepted by people with ulterior motives.
"The sect's experts must also be searching for Senior Qing Su. We only need to help her survive this calamity and rendezvous with the sect's experts!"
Wei Yanzi seemed somewhat distracted as he muttered, "Why would she attract pursuit by powerful enemies? Would anyone dare hunt down an immortal of the Myriad Cloud Sect?"
Li Ping'an: ...Then where did her injuries come from?
"Perhaps it is related to the Ancient Ruins in the East Sea."
Li Ping'an explained further:
"I observed Senior's injuries just now. She should have been wounded by several people attacking within an extremely short time. Several wounds overlapped, and the remaining Dao Rhyme was all over the place.
"Perhaps this senior seized some great treasure and became the target of all, then barely escaped with the Cloud-Returning Token while being besieged."
Wei Yanzi sucked in a breath. "Right! There is an indescribable spiritual power inside her, merging with her primordial spirit!"
Wei Yanzi had come back to his senses.
If things were truly as Li Ping'an said, then countless powerful enemies would surely come flooding in from the direction of the East Sea.
Li Ping'an bent close to the female immortal and asked softly, "Senior, have you been struck by some tracking mark secret art, or are there Gu insects capable of finding your whereabouts?"
The female immortal's lips moved faintly. She formed the word "no," then, with considerable effort, said the word "go."
She was clearly someone with a strong and unyielding nature as well.
Wei Yanzi dared not delay. He took Li Ping'an's Spirit Pet Bag, said a word of apology to Qing Su, covered her body with immortal power, and placed her inside the Spirit Pet Bag.
A moment later.
A mass of orange flames surged up from the Daoist temple, but the firelight was completely concealed by the surrounding formation.
Wei Yanzi used the Rainbow Light transformation technique, grabbing Li Ping'an with his left hand and Chen Gongmin with his right as he fled southwest at full speed.
At Li Ping'an's suggestion, they found an abandoned, dilapidated temple near a large city. Wei Yanzi used immortal power to excavate a simple cave dwelling underground, using the turbid air of the mortal world as concealment.
After discussing matters briefly, the three decided not to send out any Jade Talismans. Chen Gongmin would next head north, find a way to return to the sect or contact its experts, then come back here to meet them.
Li Ping'an had actually intended to deliver the message himself, but Wei Yanzi and Chen Gongmin stopped him together.
Wei Yanzi said seriously, "Ping'an, you are only at the Light Condensation Realm. Your speed while controlling objects is far too low. Even flying straight back would take ten days, not to mention that you would need to stay alert against powerful enemies along the way. Stay by my side and do not wander anywhere."
Chen Gongmin also said, "Though this poor Daoist is not an immortal, I have at least reached the seventh level of the Void Refinement Realm and do not lack the ability to adapt."
Li Ping'an did not insist further. He took out the map and planned two relatively safe routes for Chen Gongmin. Once Chen Gongmin had memorized them, he swiftly departed.
Only a short while after Daoist Priest Chen left, Wei Yanzi had yet to recover any of his depleted immortal power.
Holding a spherical Immortal Treasure, Li Ping'an pondered for a moment before saying:
"The more I think about it, the less secure this seems. Deacon, why do we not travel six hundred li southeast underground and hide beneath the neighboring large city?"
Wei Yanzi frowned. "Ping'an, I know you are cautious by nature, but this... Could it be that you do not trust Chen Gongmin?"
"Daoist Priest Chen and I have known each other for many years. How could I not trust him?"
Li Ping'an said:
"A Heavenly Immortal can move mountains and fill seas. If the enemies capture Daoist Priest Chen, they may easily pry into his mind.
"Deacon, you entered the immortal realm only two years ago. My cultivation is weak, and I have not even completed Foundation Establishment. If we encounter powerful enemies at the True Immortal Realm or above head-on, there is a ninety-nine percent chance that we will die!
"Our lives are important. We cannot be too careful at a time like this!"
Wei Yanzi smiled helplessly. "I truly boarded your pirate ship. Fine, fine. We will do as you say."
Thus, Wei Yanzi went through another round of trouble, taking Li Ping'an and the female immortal stored in the Spirit Pet Bag as they traveled underground.
Wei Yanzi possessed some of an immortal's bearing to begin with. His first instinct had been to soar into the air and race away on clouds;
but under Li Ping'an's earnest persuasion, this Daoist priest of the Origin Immortal Realm gradually grew accustomed to traveling underground. If they could find an underground river, he could use his own immortal power to perform the Water-Controlling Concealment Technique, leaving not the slightest trace.
After finding a new hiding place underground, Wei Yanzi followed Li Ping'an's instructions and opened two simple cave dwellings.
The first cave dwelling lay three hundred zhang beneath the ground. Two empty jade bottles that had once contained Immortal Pills were deliberately placed there, along with a piece of cloth stained with the female immortal's blood.
It was clearly a decoy.
The second cave dwelling lay one thousand zhang beneath the ground, hidden within a fold of the earth veins and carefully protected by an immortal power barrier laid down by Wei Yanzi.
This was their true hiding place.
After finishing all this, Wei Yanzi sat on the little folding stool Li Ping'an had taken out, and his Dao heart gained a faint, wonderful... sense of security.
Wei Yanzi asked curiously, "Ping'an, were you often hunted down in the past?"
Hunted down!
Li Ping'an smiled bitterly. "I merely value my life. The things I prepared before leaving home have all come in handy."
"You are far too skilled at running for your life!"
Wei Yanzi laughed, then remembered something. He took the Spirit Pet Bag from his sleeve, muttered an apology, and released the heavily injured female immortal onto the carpet Li Ping'an had laid out.
The injuries on her immortal body had already recovered considerably;
though she remained covered in blood, most of the terrifying wounds from before had begun to heal.
Li Ping'an observed the healing ability of a Heavenly Immortal's Dao Body with great interest, his eyes full of admiration.
"Ping'an, you are a junior!"
Wei Yanzi frowned and said:
"Do not stare at a senior from the sect like that. It is rather improper."
Only then did Li Ping'an remember that she was a female immortal. He cupped his hands and made a Daoist salute.
"Eh?"
Wei Yanzi frowned as he took a thin jade slip from his sleeve. The jade slip trembled lightly, then shattered.
The Origin Immortal's expression instantly froze, and his face turned somewhat pale.
"The formation at that Daoist temple has been broken... So many immortals passed over it... At least three or four Heavenly Immortal auras!"
Wei Yanzi swallowed, turned to Li Ping'an, and said firmly:
"P-Ping'an, hurry and leave! They will definitely search everywhere for us next! We cannot hide here for long!"
Li Ping'an was instead quite calm as he asked with a smile, "Why does Deacon not leave this senior behind and depart with me?"
"Abandoning a fellow sect member is unrighteous!"
Wei Yanzi sighed.
"Though this poor Daoist holds little standing in the sect and does not know Immortal Qing Su of Colorful Cloud Peak, I absolutely cannot do something like abandoning a fellow sect member!"
Li Ping'an asked again, "Then why does Deacon urge me to leave?"
Wei Yanzi froze.
Li Ping'an said seriously, "Deacon, why not think of it another way? This group of immortals has already entered the Linzheng Immortal Dynasty. Their Immortal Sense can search a thousand li. At this moment, they must be searching everywhere for Myriad Cloud Sect disciples stationed here and interrogating them. How could I escape? If I fled now, how could my father and I ever hold our heads up in the sect afterward?"
"Hiss—"
Wei Yanzi inhaled sharply.
"That is indeed true."
Li Ping'an smiled. "Has Deacon forgotten? I still have this."
He took out his Myriad Cloud Return Sect Token.
"If I wish to leave, I can return directly to the mountain with this. No formation is blocking me.
"I carefully calculated it just now. When Senior Qing Su used the Cloud-Returning Token, she should have been inside the Ancient Ruins, which was why the formation obstructed her.
"I am actually safe right now."
"Right, I almost forgot that you have one of those too. This poor Daoist can finally rest easy."
Only then did Wei Yanzi relax, grinning as he said:
"You are still young and have yet to enjoy your wonderful life. This poor Daoist has already reached the Origin Immortal Realm and has no regrets.
"So what should we do next?"
Li Ping'an said gravely, "Deacon's immortal power is our support. Besides that, I have a way to give us one more helping hand."
"What?"
Li Ping'an took out the Jade Thumb Ring his father had first given him, removed the brocade box inside, and revealed the medicinal pill bestowed by their Golden Immortal Grandmaster.
A rich medicinal fragrance mixed with a trace of obscure Dao Rhyme, circulating through the narrow cave dwelling.
Wei Yanzi's eyes went somewhat blank.
Golden Immortal Great Medicine!
A life-preserving Immortal Pill refined by a Golden Immortal!
With only a slight sense of the Dao Rhyme within the pill, Wei Yanzi immediately recognized its preciousness.
"Ping'an, this is Golden Immortal Great Medicine..."
"I have several kinds of Immortal Pills on me that can preserve the lives of Foundation Establishment Qi cultivators."
Li Ping'an crouched beside the female immortal and sighed softly.
"A pill like this would not be wasted only if used by someone at the True Immortal Realm.
"My mind is made up. Deacon need not say more. If Grandmaster were here, he certainly would not stop me."
With that, he brought the pill to the female immortal's lips and gently pressed it in.
A faint Immortal Light lit up within the cave dwelling.
Dong—dong—
The bell that suddenly rang from the Myriad Cloud Sect's Main Peak disturbed the living creatures of every peak.
Flocks of Immortal Cranes circled above the mountain forests as figure after figure flew from their places of cultivation toward the Main Peak.
On Colorful Cloud Peak.
"Ningning!"
True Immortal Qing Xu changed into a gray Daoist robe, held the Cloud-Turning Fan she had refined for many years, and said with a solemn face:
"A few days ago, Ancient Ruins appeared in the East Sea. Your Martial Uncle Qing Su came out on top and gained a great opportunity, but she was besieged by immortals from various sects. She is now severely injured, and her whereabouts are unknown!
"The Sect Leader is enraged and is gathering all the immortals in the sect to go out and rescue her.
"Cultivate peacefully in the mountains. Your master will see just who dares to bully the Myriad Cloud Sect like this!"
"Master!" Mu Ningning was full of worry. "You must take care of yourself!"
"Do not worry!"
Qing Xu sighed and muttered softly:
"Disputes over treasures in Ancient Ruins are common. We gained a great advantage this time, and the immortals of the other sects are resentful. As long as we make a grand enough show of force, those people will naturally retreat."
Only then did Mu Ningning relax.
From her master's manner just now, it had seemed as though she was going to fight someone to the death.
"Your master is leaving first. Cultivate peacefully on your own."
Qing Xu said sorrowfully:
"Your Martial Uncle Qing Su cultivates the Pure Heart Dao. Normally, she can barely even speak to people.
"Do not let her usual cold, arrogant appearance fool you. Your master entered the mountain at almost the same time as her and knows perfectly well that she simply does not understand how to talk to others.
"Alas! Who knows where the Sect Return Token transported her!"
Mu Ningning stared blankly at her master's departing figure for a while, then returned to her prayer mat. She took a Small Wooden Puppet from her sleeve, placed it before her, and meditated together with it.
In the Bamboo Forest behind the Main Peak.
Li Dazhi was disturbed by the bell. His brows lifted slightly, as though he was about to awaken from meditation.
"Just cultivate peacefully."
Daoist Master Kongming said slowly:
"An immortal in the sect obtained treasure from Ancient Ruins and was attacked by many others. The Sect Leader is gathering the immortals of each peak to go out and rescue her.
"Focus on your Ascension."
"Master," Li Dazhi said softly, "this disciple seems to be lacking some insight. I always feel as though I am only short of that final trace."
"Continue waiting," Daoist Master Kongming said gently. "Becoming an immortal is not easy. This is no longer a threshold that can be crossed through aptitude alone. You need resonance of the Great Dao. You will be able to do it."
"Yes."
Li Dazhi exhaled softly, but his thoughts remained somewhat unsettled.
Daoist Master Kongming understood his disciple. He took out the Yin-Yang Mirror, intending to check on Li Ping'an's safety, but his wrinkled old face visibly stiffened.
The Yin-Yang Mirror had failed?
There were only two possibilities for such a situation:
Either the other Yin-Yang Mirror was too far away, or it was inside a grand formation that blocked all detection.
After all, this was merely a communication treasure he had casually refined back then, not some spiritual treasure. It was easily rendered ineffective by interference from various formations.
Daoist Master Kongming pondered briefly but said nothing to Li Dazhi. Instead, he sent an order directly to the current Sect Leader of the Myriad Cloud Sect in the great hall, telling them to keep an eye on Li Ping'an's whereabouts and safety as they headed south.
The Sect Leader accepted the Founding Ancestor's order and summoned two Inner Sect Elders, asking them to go ahead and search for traces of Li Ping'an near Wan'an City.
Half an hour later, Immortal Light soared into the sky from the Myriad Cloud Sect as several hundred immortals transformed into Rainbow Light and fled toward the coast of the Eastern Sea.
The course of events also caught the Sect Leader of the Myriad Cloud Sect completely off guard.
Two hours later, the two Heavenly Immortal Elders who had rushed to the Linzheng Immortal Dynasty sent word:
The Treasure-Hunting Immortals had tracked Qing Su to the Linzheng Immortal Dynasty and had already injured over a hundred disciples stationed there. Fortunately, most had not dealt killing blows.
The immortals of the Myriad Cloud Sect immediately changed direction, racing from the coast of the Eastern Sea to the Linzheng Immortal Dynasty.
Upon hearing the news, most of the immortals pursuing Qing Su immediately scattered. A smaller number still refused to give up and continued searching everywhere for the slightest clue.
After a full day of turmoil, the immortals of the Myriad Cloud Sect had intercepted and slain several dozen enemy immortals. They had also confirmed that Qing Su was currently hiding within the mortal Immortal Dynasty.
At this point, only the Sect Leader and several Inner Sect Elders knew that Li Ping'an, who had previously been participating in the Outer Sect Trial, had also vanished. Li Ping'an and Qing Su seemed to have become involved somehow.
What happened next left the immortals of the Myriad Cloud Sect rather embarrassed...
They turned the Linzheng Immortal Dynasty upside down, yet could find neither Li Ping'an nor Qing Su.
Two days passed like this before Chen Gongmin arrived at the Myriad Cloud Sect, finally bringing accurate news—Li Ping'an and Wei Yanzi had rescued Qing Su and were evading pursuit by numerous powerful experts.
But when several elders of the Myriad Cloud Sect brought Chen Gongmin to Li Ping'an's first hiding place, they discovered that the Underground Cave Abode had been blasted apart. The Dao Rhyme of three or four Heavenly Immortals lingered there.
Qing Su's immortal trail was elusive;
Ping'an's whereabouts were unknown.
For a time, the entire Linzheng Immortal Dynasty fell into an eerie atmosphere.
Immortals flew chaotically across the sky, mortal soldiers searched door to door, and all one hundred great cities were gripped by panic.
Meanwhile;
On the coast of the Eastern Sea, within a large Market Town not far from the place where the Ancient Ruins had emerged.
Li Ping'an, wearing a different face, sat within the Spirit Gathering Formation in a private room at an inn, considering his next move.
They should have shaken off all their pursuers by now. Next, as long as he brought Qing Su safely back to the sect, the mission would be complete.
I wonder what kind of reward the sect will give.
Three feet before Li Ping'an stood a female immortal in an icy blue long dress. The horrifying wound on her shoulder was slowly healing, while wisps of Black Qi continuously drifted out.
"I owe you my life."
The female immortal spoke in a somewhat cold, stiff tone.
"You overstate it, Senior," Li Ping'an said with a smile. "Just repay me with a Golden Immortal Life-Preserving Pill someday."
"Mm."
Before you continue