Chapter 866: Return to Beiyuan City

"Yes, this is the first time I've ever seen such a shameless person!" Chen Mobai immediately echoed Qing Nü, feeling extreme contempt for Zhu Jun in his heart. *You're a dignified cultivator at the perfected Core Formation stage, after all,* he thought, *yet you resorted to seduction with beauty in the end. Didn't you know I was a renowned gentleman here?*

"I'll go check on the people inside the palace." To prevent Qing Nü from overthinking, Chen Mobai immediately pointed to the golden palace not far away.

Upon arriving, he discovered that the restrictions here were left by three Nascent Soul cultivators, and even with his current strength, he couldn't undo them. Chen Mobai carefully examined them and found that all the restrictions were of the Five Elements attribute. He could melt them simply by using his Primordial Chaos True Qi. However, since the Primordial Chaos True Qi that this Faceless Puppet could activate was limited, it might take some time.

Inside the palace. The Foundation Establishment cultivators, who had been tricked inside by Rogue Cultivator Yuji, were bound by crimson chains and confined in nine different positions. Their wrists had been cut open, and blood continuously flowed onto the ground, drawn by pre-arranged formations towards a red jade stele.

At this point, they all understood that they had been used by Rogue Cultivator Yuji, merely as sacrifices to break the seal.

Some were wailing and cursing, others were disheartened, and some had already closed their eyes in despair, waiting for death.

"Fellow Daoists, please save your strength. Perhaps righteous cultivators will discover this place soon and rescue us." Xiang Xieyuan, the only cultivator from the Eastern Barrens, still held a faint hope and spoke up, trying to persuade the four cursing individuals.

"This isn't the Eastern Land! Where would righteous cultivators come from here?" Miao Yibao, a Foundation Establishment cultivator from Eastern Wu, listened then spoke with a sneer.

"The Five Elements Sect is the righteous path of my Eastern Barrens!" Xiang Xieyuan stated with a serious expression. These words immediately made four or five despairing people raise their heads, a glimmer of hope in their eyes.

But at that moment, a mocking laugh rang out: "There are at least two third-order demonic beasts outside. Unless Sect Master Immortal Venerable Chen personally descends, the Five Elements Sect won't be able to break through, even if all the Core Formation cultivators from the Eastern Barrens arrive, before we bleed to death, relying on the power of this cave dwelling. Do you really think people like us are worth Immortal Venerable Chen personally taking action?"

It was still Miao Yibao speaking. As a cultivator from Eastern Wu, even after living in Beiyuan City for recent years, he firmly believed that the world was dark. The Five Elements Sect only set the rules for the Eastern Barrens to pursue greater interests. Not to mention how the Five Elements Sect would know they were trapped here, even if they did, a dignified Nascent Soul cultivator would never take action for a few people who weren't from the Five Elements Sect!

As soon as Miao Yibao's words fell, the few Foundation Establishment cultivators who had held a sliver of hope immediately fell back into complete despair. Even Xiang Xieyuan was the same; he had only spoken that way to give himself a faint glimmer of hope. However, the clear-headed Miao Yibao didn't even allow him that small hope.

In his grief, indignation, and desolation, Xiang Xieyuan harbored deep resentment towards Miao Yibao.

Although he was the oldest among this group of Foundation Establishment cultivators, and his strength was rapidly weakening due to the loss of vital blood, the fear of death at this critical moment suddenly ignited a surge of unwillingness within him. He immediately lashed back.

"It's all that dog-spawn Yuji's fault! Immortal Venerable Chen shouldn't have let you Eastern Wu dogs into Beiyuan City in the first place..." In his extreme anger, Xiang Xieyuan immediately resorted to regional insults. All the cultivators present, except for him, were from Eastern Wu, and upon hearing this, they glared at him furiously.

"How can one person's mistake be blamed on all of Eastern Wu?"

"Indeed! You can know a person's face but not their heart. Just because she's malicious doesn't mean there are no good people among us Eastern Wu cultivators!"

"As her fellow townsfolk, weren't we also tricked by her...?"

"If I weren't unable to move right now, I'd make you old geezer see the might of us Eastern Wu cultivators!"

In their final moments before death, all these Foundation Establishment cultivators were using words to vent their inner fears.

Just as they were about to become hysterical, a massive tremor suddenly reverberated. They immediately looked in the direction of the tremor and realized it was the palace gate!

Then, as they watched with hopeful eyes, the gate swung open.

After Chen Mobai stepped inside, he saw the nine people whose scapulas had been pierced by chains.

Seeing him, the nine immediately began to struggle, their eyes wide with disbelief!

"The villain from Bathing Sun Sea has been executed. All of you are safe. Please don't get agitated, lest you trigger more powerful restrictions and damage your essence!" Chen Mobai said with a smile, then approached Xiang Xieyuan, who was closest to him, and reached out to touch the crimson chain.

He discovered that these were likely set up by Zhu Jun, merely third-tier materials and restrictions. He didn't even need to activate the Extreme Sun Slash or Primordial Chaos True Qi; a ball of golden flame ignited in his palm, transforming into a Blazing Sun Slash that severed all the chains in an instant. The chains severed by the Blazing Sun Slash broke apart, resembling iron bars melted by high temperatures, dripping with molten crimson metal!

The nine Foundation Establishment cultivators, previously suspended in mid-air, all fell down. Their physical pain, however, could not mask their inner ecstasy. Enduring the intense pain, they quickly stopped the bleeding, then collectively bowed deeply to Chen Mobai!

"Many thanks for your help, Senior! Please leave your esteemed name so that we may honor your longevity tablet for generations to come!" After completing the bow, Miao Yibao was the first to eagerly speak these words.

"No need for such formality. You are residents of my Beiyuan City. Since you encountered this situation, there's no reason for me to stand idly by." Chen Mobai spoke, then with a wave of his hand, he helped them up while also completely removing the chains from their scapulas.

"Senior... are you Immortal Venerable Chen of the Five Elements Sect!?" Miao Yibao's mouth fell open, his face filled with disbelief.

These Foundation Establishment cultivators, none of whom were from the Five Elements Sect, had never met Chen Mobai before.

"I wouldn't dare claim the title of Immortal Venerable. I've merely taken a few more steps ahead of you on the path of cultivation." Chen Mobai said with a smile, acknowledging his identity.

Xiang Xieyuan and the others immediately turned their gazes to Miao Yibao. Without hesitation, he slapped himself across the face, then bowed deeply to Chen Mobai once more.

Hearing Miao Yibao apologizing while slapping himself, Chen Mobai finally understood why he was doing it and immediately stopped him.

"They were just thoughtless words; you don't need to worry about them."

Next, Chen Mobai led them out of the palace.

The moment they stepped out, Xiang Xieyuan and the others felt as if they had seen the light of day again. However, the severe pain and weakness in their bodies reminded them that this was not an illusion, but a narrow escape from death.

Outside, Qing Nü had already finished tidying up the demonic beast's corpse, taking everything that could be used.

"This is Zhu Jun from Bathing Sun Sea, and she's the culprit who harmed you..." Chen Mobai pointed to Zhu Jun, whose head he had severed. Xiang Xieyuan and the other nine Foundation Establishment cultivators immediately gnashed their teeth and began to furiously denounce her corpse.

"There's also a teleportation array here that allows you to leave, set up by Rogue Cultivator Yuji. Come with me; you'll be needed to testify against Rogue Cultivator Yuji's crimes later." Chen Mobai spoke, and Xiang Xieyuan and the others immediately nodded, indicating that whatever Immortal Venerable Chen commanded was fine.

The ancient teleportation arrays allowing entry and exit were also the work of Rogue Cultivator Yuji. Since this place was not far from Fengyu Cove, if people came directly and sensed the fifth-tier spiritual energy, careful individuals might suspect it was the Yellow Dragon Cave Abode. By leading them around to a distant location and then entering through an ancient teleportation array, she made Xiang Xieyuan and the others believe they were exploring an ancient cave dwelling.

Two such ancient teleportation arrays were set up in total: one for entry and one for exit.

After the Faceless Puppet left with the nine people, Chen Mobai's main body, using Void Stride, entered the area.

After confirming there was no fourth-tier venomous dragon, he no longer needed to be so cautious.

After his main body entered the palace, Chen Mobai added another layer to the seal and then destroyed both ancient teleportation arrays to prevent any cultivators from accidentally stumbling into this place in the future.

On a body of water in Yunmeng Marsh.

Rogue Cultivator Yuji and Hong He, who had left the cave dwelling via the ancient teleportation array, surfaced.

"Junior Brother, go into hiding for a while. Once the commotion dies down, I'll take you to meet our master!" Rogue Cultivator Yuji, having obtained the Core Formation Elixir, had an expression of barely suppressed excitement. However, she didn't forget that Hong He, a cultivator of considerable strength, was beside her, and immediately spoke to dismiss him.

"Senior Sister, where do you plan to form your core? By Master's side? Why don't you take me with you?" Hong He asked tentatively.

But Rogue Cultivator Yuji shot him a wary glance, then shook her head.

"Master is currently in secluded cultivation for a great spell, so I won't disturb him. Beiyuan City would be a good choice. I can pretend that I encountered a crisis while exploring the cave dwelling with Xiang Xieyuan and the others, and I was the only one who escaped death."

Upon hearing this, Hong He's mouth twitched slightly.

"Senior Sister, won't that leave too many traces?" Going into a cave dwelling as a team but only one person returning alive—anyone with a brain would know something was amiss.

"Beiyuan City is Immortal Venerable Chen's territory. As long as there's no concrete evidence, no one can arrest me!" But Rogue Cultivator Yuji said with a confident expression.