That day, after lunch, Jiang Liu was cultivating the Saintly Sky Art in the cultivation square at home.
Suddenly, Jiang Liu sensed a strange yet somewhat familiar aura rapidly approaching.
Jiang Liu didn't think much of it and quickly stopped cultivating, because this person could very well be an enemy.
After all, an unfamiliar aura indicates someone you don't usually interact with.
As soon as Jiang Liu's figure flew into the air, he saw an old figure appear before him.
Upon closer inspection, Jiang Liu recognized that this was the Old Man Tianhun who had given him the Annihilation by Thought Technique.
He was still dressed the same as when I first met him, wearing clothes covered in patches, looking slovenly and unkempt, but the strange smell was gone.
Jiang Liu cupped his hands in greeting to Old Man Tianhun and said, "Soul Old, hello!"
The Old Man Tianhun laughed heartily and said, "You lad, it's been a few years, and your strength has increased so rapidly. This old man truly did not expect it!"
Jiang Liu sensed the aura emanating from the Old Man Tianhun, and immediately felt a tremor in his Divine Sense sea.
Jiang Liu was surprised to find that the Old Man Tianhun's cultivation of spiritual power was so profound, and he immediately abandoned his contempt.
"I wonder what brings Soul Old here to see me?" Jiang Liu cupped his hands in greeting to Old Man Tianhun.
Upon hearing Jiang Liu's question, the Old Man Tianhun finally put away his playful expression.
He put on a serious expression and said, "I have come to you today hoping that you can help our Soul Valley disciples."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Liu frowned. He knew that he had spent a considerable amount of time in several states of Daqian and had been gathering information through the Ascension Tower.
However, he had never heard of Soul Valley before. Now, the Old Man Tianhun was asking him for help?
Seeing Jiang Liu's expression, the Old Man Tianhun seemed to disbelieve him, and then began to tell Jiang Liu about what had happened in Soul Valley.
It turns out that the Soul Valley's base has always been located in the Yunzhou section of the Ten Thousand Mountains.
It's just that it's located in a remote area, which is why it hasn't been discovered yet.
However, recently, for some unknown reason, disciples of Soul Valley have been mysteriously disappearing.
Each time a disciple went missing, the Old Man Tianhun would search the surrounding mountains for a long time, but he could not find any trace of them or even any clues.
Although only one or two disciples go missing each time, Soul Valley doesn't have many disciples!
If they continue to disappear like this, Soul Valley will be destroyed without anyone even needing to attack it.
That's why Soul Old decided to come and seek help from Jiang Liu, because he had learned that the kid he met near Chiling back then was not from Soul Valley.
Moreover, he is now True Inheritor Disciple of the Flowing Cloud Sect, and most importantly, he now has the entire Yunzhou under his control.
After listening to Old Man Tianhun's account, Jiang Liu thought for a moment and asked, "Soul Old, do you have any clues about the disappearance of the Soul Valley disciples?"
The Old Man Tianhun shook his head and said, "There are no clues, but we'll talk about that later. Right now, I just want to move the remaining Soul Valley disciples out as soon as possible. They can't stay there any longer. I hope you can take them in."
Jiang Liu nodded and asked, "Then, according to Soul Old, where would be the best place to put them?"
The Old Man Tianhun thought for a moment and said, "The situation is unclear at the moment. We don't know which force is targeting us. Let's settle them here in Cloud City!"
"Alright! Let's settle them in Yuncheng for now! I'll find them a place to stay later. Would you like to go in and rest for a while?"
The Old Man Tianhun shook his head and said, "No, let's talk after we've brought them all here!"
Jiang Liu nodded and said, "That's fine. After all, their situation isn't good right now, so safety should be the priority!"
The Old Man Tianhun didn't say anything more and simply turned and left.
Jiang Liu then flew into the house and instructed the messenger from the Listening Wind Pavilion beside him, "Tell the madam to find a secluded house in Yuncheng, one that can probably accommodate twenty or thirty people."
The messenger nodded and went to deliver the message to Murong Yin.
Not long after, Murong Yin sent the news back, saying that they had found a place, and it was a house that had been left over from before. It could easily accommodate thirty or forty people.
After hearing the news, Jiang Liu put the matter aside and continued to cultivate the Saintly Sky Art.
Five days later, Old Man Tianhun appeared at the mansion by the mountain with more than twenty disciples of Soul Valley.
This group of Soul Valley disciples included both men and women, and half of them appeared to be over a hundred years old.
Looking at their clothes and appearance, Jiang Liu was a little speechless. They all had long, flowing hair and wore white robes.
Encountering this in the middle of the night, one would probably really think they'd encountered a ghost! What kind of taste is this? Do all the people of Soul Valley have this kind of preference?
However, Jiang Liu did not complain directly. Instead, he had someone take them to the house that had been prepared in advance.
These disciples of Soul Valley probably don't interact with others much in their daily lives, so they don't like to talk much.
After simply nodding to Jiang Liu, he left with the people from the Listening Wind Pavilion.
As for Old Man Tianhun, he stayed behind, intending to have a proper conversation with Jiang Liu.
After all, they were now on Jiang Liu's territory, even though he had once taught Jiang Liu martial arts.
However, he knew very well that he had only thought that he had encountered an elder who had just accepted a new disciple, which was why the Annihilation by Thought technique was passed on to him.
Later, he realized that Jiang Liu was not a disciple of Soul Valley at all, and he didn't want to investigate where Jiang Liu got the Soul Technique from.
Because it is very difficult to successfully cultivate the Soul Technique, and Jiang Liu was able to obtain it and cultivate it successfully.
That means he has a connection with Soul Valley and also possesses talent.
The results proved his judgment correct. Jiang Liu not only won first place in the Martial Arts Tournament of the Realm, but also became True Inheritor Disciple of the Flowing Cloud Sect.
Now, at such a young age, he has advanced to the rank of Grandmaster, which can be considered as creating a positive connection for Soul Valley.
This made Old Man Tianhun sigh in his heart, thinking how wonderful it would be if Jiang Liu were really a disciple of Soul Valley.
Then Soul Valley wouldn't be in such an awkward situation now, facing the crisis of being destroyed at any time.
Because the Old Man Tianhun had already vaguely guessed that the reason why the Soul Valley disciples kept disappearing was because someone was secretly targeting Soul Valley.
Moreover, their goal is definitely to destroy Soul Valley.
As for which force was responsible, Old Man Tianhun has no clue yet.
However, given enough time, they will eventually slip up.
After all, they've put in so much effort, they're definitely not going to give up halfway.
Jiang Liu had already guessed these things, which is why he needed to have a detailed conversation with Old Man Tianhun.
What force is targeting Soul Valley? He knew nothing about Soul Valley before and hoped that Old Man Tianhun could give him an answer.