"Elder!"
Seeing Jiang Yantian approach, the busy disciples of the Law Enforcement Lineage rose and bowed with their hands clasped.
"Mm. Once you enter the Forbidden Ground at midnight, you won't be able to rest properly for a long time. Take this chance to refresh yourselves."
Jiang Yantian's expression was impassive.
The disciples of the Law Enforcement Lineage all respected Jiang Yantian deeply and always treated his words as imperial decrees.
"Yes, Elder!"
Jiang Yantian swept his gaze over the camp and headed toward a tent.
This tent belonged to the female disciples, and men generally did not go near it.
But Jiang Yantian was different.
The Law Enforcement Lineage's camp stood some distance from those of the other lineages.
This was mainly because its disciples did not get along particularly well with those of the other lineages.
After all, they administered punishments. The other lineages more or less disliked the Law Enforcement Lineage, while some feared it.
Of course, some with guilty consciences also tried to curry favor with them.
That was precisely why there were so many pickings to be had in the Law Enforcement Lineage.
After he entered the tent, the three female disciples inside bowed and knowingly stepped outside.
Only Jiang Yantian and Nuandong remained.
"Young Master..." Nuandong curtsied, deep affection shining on her charming, lovely face.
Jiang Yantian naturally drew her into his arms and lifted her fair chin, his fingers brushing skin as smooth as jade.
Nuandong also ranked among the top ten on the sect's beauty rankings, and her peach-blossom eyes glimmered enticingly.
Most captivating of all was the tear mole at the corner of her eye, which added a few touches of allure.
Without another word, Jiang Yantian lowered his head and pressed his lips against Nuandong's soft, moist red lips.
"Mmph..."
"Mm~"
Stirred with passion, Nuandong wrapped her arms around Jiang Yantian, eagerly working her tongue to meet his.
Only after kissing her for a good while did Jiang Yantian slowly pull away.
Nuandong leaned weakly against his chest, her eyes filled with happiness.
"Dong'er!"
"Mm~ Young Master..."
"When we enter the Forbidden Ground this time, take our people west. Whatever you hear along the way, don't get curious."
"Tell the disciples that if they want opportunities and want to grow stronger, the first thing they must do is keep out of other people's business!"
"I shall obey your command, Young Master!" Nuandong did not ask why. In her mind, all she needed to do was obey Jiang Yantian.
"Young Master... do you... need Dong'er to serve you?" Affection shimmered in Nuandong's beautiful eyes, and her body seemed to grow even more fragrant.
This was also Nuandong's special constitution: whenever passion stirred within her, she gave off a natural, seductive fragrance.
"Someone might come looking for trouble in a little while. You can serve me after we return!"
Jiang Yantian greatly disliked being disturbed, especially being interrupted in the middle of the act.
But he also believed that Ye Feng would arrive before long.
At those words, a cold glint flashed through Nuandong's eyes. "Someone wants to harm you, Young Master?"
"Looking for trouble is one thing. Actually harming me is unlikely. All right, let's get some fresh air!"
Jiang Yantian ruffled Nuandong's hair and walked out of the tent.
Outside, a canine spirit beast had been mounted over a fire and was roasting.
Its aroma wafted into his nose.
Jiang Yantian sat down on a stump, casually picked up a burning coal, and extinguished it to make a charcoal pencil.
Some routines needed constant work.
Since he wanted to obtain something, he had to invest some time and thought.
Sitting alone on the stump, Jiang Yantian took out a sheet of paper nearly as stiff as a greeting card and began to draw.
Exquisite painting skills abounded in this world, but sketching did not exist.
Naturally, Jiang Yantian had taken the charcoal pencil to make a sketch.
Scratch, scratch, scratch!
As the charcoal pencil moved in his hand, the outline of a person gradually emerged on the white paper.
He worked very quickly, and before long, the basic likeness was already there.
Throughout this, no one dared disturb Jiang Yantian. Everyone busied themselves with their own affairs.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Ye Feng was already asking around at the Pill Lineage's camp.
"Senior Sister, do you know where Hua Jiao is?"
Ye Feng questioned a female disciple.
"Junior Sister Hua? No, I haven't seen her for ages. Didn't she go over to your place?"
"Uh... she did come over, but she left a while ago, and I haven't seen her since."
The senior sister shook her head. "Then I don't know. Perhaps she just finds this place novel and is looking around."
"That's just how she is. Besides, with Elder Luo and Elder Jiang here, no one would dare approach her. She'll be fine."
Hearing how casually she spoke, Ye Feng did not dare say outright that Jiang Yantian's presence was precisely what made it dangerous.
Hua Jiao had chased after Jiang Yantian earlier. Ye Feng did not know what had happened in between, and she did not dare jump to suspicions yet.
But now Hua Jiao was missing, and she could not find her. She could not help overthinking it.
She had already asked many people, but they all said they had not seen her.
Ye Feng decided to look again. If she still could not find her, she would report it to her master.
She searched another round and even got quite a few people to help.
Word of this eventually reached Luo Xingcai.
Luo Xingcai flew into a rage.
Someone had gone missing, yet instead of reporting it immediately, they had gone blindly searching on their own.
How could Ye Feng be so stupid?
Someone in the Nascent Soul Realm could locate a person directly by sensing their presence. There was no need to go to such lengths.
After dragging things out this long, if something really had happened, even the food at the funeral feast would probably have gone cold.
Ye Feng also knew she had been too arrogant and had underestimated the matter.
She knelt on the ground without a word.
As Ye Feng's senior sister, Tantai Yue said nothing either.
Luo Xingcai immediately released a powerful presence, spreading it outward with the camp at its center.
In just two breaths, Luo Xingcai pinpointed the location.
She turned into a streak of light and rushed toward it.
Ye Feng and the others did not dare delay and hurried after her.
When they arrived, they saw Luo Xingcai standing there, looking at a red cauldron on the ground.
It was Hua Jiao's Pill Cauldron.
An alchemist would not abandon their own Pill Cauldron. From this, it was clear that something truly had happened.
Ye Feng was also dumbstruck. She approached and picked up the red cauldron, her hands trembling slightly.
Others might not be able to tell, but Ye Feng could be certain: Hua Jiao was gone, truly gone.
A soul stone was embedded in this Pill Cauldron. Back when Hua Jiao received the red cauldron her father had passed down to her, Ye Feng had given it to her as a decoration.
Hua Jiao had playfully infused it with her own presence.
She had said that if she ever perished, the soul stone on the Pill Cauldron would lose its luster.
Now the soul stone had cracked. The outcome needed no further explanation.
"Jiaojiao... Jiaojiao..." Even Ye Feng's lips trembled. "Master, she... she's perished..."
Luo Xingcai had also noticed the cracked soul stone.
"What exactly happened?!" Luo Xingcai's lovely brows were furrowed, and she could not make sense of it no matter how she thought about it.
She and Jiang Yantian had been keeping watch all along. Never mind this mere few li-even if people from other sects approached from far away, she would have sensed them.
How could a living person perish for no reason!
"Jiang... Jiang Yantian! It was him! It must have been him! He killed Jiaojiao!" Ye Feng's eyes were blood-red, and the blood and Qi throughout his body surged violently.
"Insolence!" Luo Xingcai snapped.
A powerful pressure burst forth, forcing Ye Feng straight down onto his knees.
Somewhat enraged, Luo Xingcai reprimanded him, "Ye Feng, I know you have a grudge against Jiang Yantian, but an Attendant Elder is not someone you can slander at will!"