From nearby, Zhao Wanqing watched with her own eyes as the black-robed evil cultivator, wreathed in blood qi, pounded Guan Quan's head into pulp, punch after punch.
Senior's deduction was right!
Those evil cultivators really had sent someone to the wharf, and Guan Quan definitely had secrets he hadn't revealed!
That evil cultivator had chosen to kill him to silence him!
Zhao Wanqing had doubled back while Chu Xingchen was still willing to help, hoping to catch this potentially lurking evil cultivator.
After all, nothing would be more convenient than prying the truth out of this evil cultivator's mouth.
Zhao Wanqing was still far away, but she was only bait, there to draw his attention.
Senior Chu Xingchen had already circled around.
All I can do is put my hopes in Senior!
Soon, Chu Xingchen, in whom Zhao Wanqing had placed such high hopes, charged out from one side.
The spirit sword in his hand suddenly blazed with light.
Despite the distance between them, Zhao Wanqing could clearly feel the oppressive aura unique to a Golden Core Stage expert.
That pressure belonged to someone at least at late golden core!
No wonder Yaoqin recommended him! He really delivers!
The sword in Chu Xingchen's hand became a streak of rainbow light and came crashing down upon the black-robed evil cultivator!
Boom!
That strike carried tremendous power!
Dust instantly billowed up, blocking Zhao Wanqing's view.
Then fierce, frenzied blood qi surged out!
They seemed to exchange several blows within the dust!
Violent flashes of spiritual energy pierced the haze! Several more tremendous explosions stirred up another thick cloud of dust.
The mere shock waves of spiritual energy blowing over from the clash between these two top-tier cultivators were enough to inspire dread!
Those raging shock waves made Zhao Wanqing realize this was not a battle whose outcome she could help change. She might not even qualify to take part.
Zhao Wanqing grew a little worried. With the dust obscuring her view, she had no idea who currently held the upper hand.
But that worry did not last long.
The black-robed evil cultivator was the first to retreat from the dust, fleeing madly toward the southeast.
Immediately afterward, Chu Xingchen raced after him, spirit sword in hand.
Seeing this, Zhao Wanqing promptly let out a relieved breath.
Chu Xingchen followed close behind the black-robed man for about half an hour.
The black-robed man abruptly stopped, turned around, and pulled back his black hood, revealing the Demon Mask beneath it.
His hoarse voice changed. "Master, this is far enough."
Hearing this, Chu Xingchen stopped as well. After spreading his spiritual sense and confirming no one was around, he sighed and put away his spirit sword.
Then he found a large rock and sat down casually.
Li Xingtian also removed the Demon Mask from his face and took two steps forward to stand before his master.
He looked at his master and asked, "Did it go smoothly? Did she suspect anything?"
"It went smoothly. At least she didn't suspect anything." Chu Xingchen looked at Li Xingtian. "You're quite the actor."
"When cultivating out in the world, extra skills are never a burden." Li Xingtian's expression remained calm. Then he cupped his hands. "Then I'll go help Senior Sister tie up the loose ends, Master."
There were still some arrangements that needed wrapping up, and time was hardly plentiful.
Chu Xingchen nodded lightly and stood up as well. "All right, but keep everything within bounds. Don't go too far."
"Don't worry." Li Xingtian nodded in agreement.
Watching Li Xingtian leave, Chu Xingchen sighed before heading back toward the wharf where Zhao Wanqing was.
Everything today, starting with seeking out Zhao Wanqing, had been planned in advance.
But it had not been done solely to frame the Clearwind Sect.
Every lead Zhao Wanqing knew about was actually genuine.
The purchase of grand mystery stone was real, as was the fact that the evil cultivators came from Central Province.
Even their plan to sacrifice a sect was true.
Yesterday, after Zhao Wanqing returned severely injured, Chu Xingchen and Li Xingtian had gone to investigate together.
After all, if someone at foundation establishment late stage could be left behind to clean up, there was a strong chance those evil cultivators included Golden Core Stage cultivators.
Although His Own Disciple had a Protective Talisman to keep him safe, letting His Own Disciple run wild before they understood the situation was still too dangerous.
Besides, His Own Disciple's suggestion had been fairly sound.
Investigating the situation first, then working out how to proceed, had become the natural course of action.
Every formation diagram Li Xingtian drew required large quantities of foundation stones, without exception.
So Chu Xingchen had set his sights on the Cultivation smugglers' wharves from the outset.
Li Xingtian's cultivation method allowed him to control blood qi, making it easy for him to pose as a blood qi evil cultivator.
Chu Xingchen had stayed outside to ensure Li Xingtian's safety.
Once they had an identity to use, they could investigate a few more wharves.
It had been easy to narrow things down to a few names, and using that identity to stage an act had not been particularly difficult either.
Guan Quan deserved to die anyway.
In short...
Everything had gone reasonably smoothly.
Chu Xingchen returned to Guan Quan's wharf.
After Guan Quan's head had been smashed apart, the Qi Refining rogue cultivators had long since scattered like birds and beasts.
Only Zhao Wanqing remained, apparently searching the wharf for any lingering clues.
Chu Xingchen spoke. "Sorry. Someone was there to help him escape, so I couldn't catch him."
Zhao Wanqing did not seem particularly disappointed. "As long as you're unharmed, Senior."
"Did you find any clues?" Chu Xingchen asked.
"A few." Zhao Wanqing took a blood-red spirit stone from the pouch at her waist. "I found this on his corpse."
Chu Xingchen frowned at the spirit stone in Zhao Wanqing's hand and reached out to touch it lightly.
This spirit stone was not something Chu Xingchen and Li Xingtian had planted.
It belonged to Guan Quan.
This blood-colored spirit stone was similar to those in the Clearwind Sect's mine, except the blood qi within it was purer.
The Clearwind Sect's stones were condensed from the blood qi of cultivators at the second or third level of Qi Refining. Even so, their blood qi was a grade below that of the blood-colored spirit stone in Zhao Wanqing's hand.
Chu Xingchen frowned. "They've probably succeeded once already. A sect has likely been sacrificed."
This was probably the secret Guan Quan had been hiding.
He had probably reached the Foundation Establishment Realm through an evil cultivator's methods. No wonder he had been so quick to trust Li Xingtian when approached.
But those evil cultivators moved quickly and were exceedingly greedy. Even after succeeding once, they still refused to withdraw, instead undertaking this again despite the pressure from the Demon-Suppression Bureau.
The situation had now changed completely. This time, the evil cultivators were probably truly coming in force.
Looking at the Blood Qi Spirit Stone before her, Zhao Wanqing nodded gravely.
"I'll head back to the Demon-Suppression Bureau first and send people to investigate the various small sects."
"Then I'll head back first. Come find me at the Courtyard House if you need anything." Chu Xingchen sighed, but still cautioned her, "Act carefully, and don't take on more than you can handle."
With matters developing this way, Chu Xingchen would have to readjust his plans as well.
Zhao Wanqing tightened her grip on the Blood Qi Spirit Stone.
The more she investigated this matter, the more frightening it became.
At first, she had thought it was merely evil cultivators ambushing members of the Demon-Suppression Bureau. Then came the discovery that they had offered an entire village in a blood sacrifice.
In the end, she had discovered that their true intention was to offer an entire sect in a blood sacrifice.
And they had already succeeded at least once.
Even the smallest sect had a golden core cultivator overseeing it.
This matter had developed too quickly, and it had far exceeded Zhao Wanqing's ability to handle.
Senior's battle with the evil cultivator alone had been at a level she could only watch from far behind in the dust.
Now, only an endless sense of helplessness weighed upon Zhao Wanqing's heart.
At that moment, Zhao Wanqing could only answer softly:
"I understand. Don't worry, Senior."
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