Chapter 917: Affair Jing Ziyu?

On the other side, Perfected One Yangming gripped a long sword, his expression unreadable. Even after so many years, most of the disciples from recent generations in his sect were unfamiliar with Perfected One Ziyu, or had never even heard of him. Even Yangming's junior brother, Qiufeng, had little impression of Perfected One Ziyu. Yet, for Yangming, his impression of Martial Uncle Ziyu remained profound, though not necessarily a positive one.

"Master, is this Grand Perfected One Ziyu's sword?"

Both Guan He and Shang Yiyi looked at the long sword in their master's hand with inexplicable surprise. Especially with a cracked, blood-stained jade pendant wrapped around its hilt, they knew the sword's owner had certainly met with trouble.

"Yes, there's no mistake. But this is not the time for discussion. Martial Uncle Ziyu must be in danger. Yiyi, go to the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets and find fellow Daoist Xuanjizi; take this flying sword with you. He'er, hurry to the nearest Southwest Hill of Hengshan and request aid from the fellow Daoists of Xiangyuan Sect. If you cannot persuade them, then go to the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets."

"Master, what about you?"

Shang Yiyi took the purple jade flying sword her master handed her, asking with concern. Just as she expected, she heard the answer she had anticipated from Perfected One Yangming.

"Naturally, I will immediately go investigate the direction the flying sword came from. Don't worry, I won't be reckless. I also carry the Grand Void Jade Talisman, so nothing will happen to me. Both of you, go quickly!"

Guan He and Shang Yiyi exchanged glances, then could only agree and accept their orders, swiftly departing on the wind. Perfected One Yangming, meanwhile, tucked the jade pendant into his sleeve and once again set off with urgent speed.

Though anxious, Yangming remained very cautious. While his speed was swift, his observation of the surroundings was meticulous. After flying straight for half an hour, he detected no special aura whatsoever. If not for the blood-stained jade pendant in his hand, an ordinary person would have questioned if what they had just seen was an illusion.

However, in the eyes of an immortal cultivator of Yangming's caliber, there are no ordinary illusions; if there were, it would be illusory magic. Moreover, with Ziyu's flying sword and jade pendant in hand, he was compelled to investigate thoroughly.

Yangming no longer relied on divination or the art of observing auras. Instead, he flew according to the faint sensation in his spiritual awareness, continuously speeding westward. Occasionally, he would stop to adjust his direction or return to a previous point to choose a new path.

'Strange, why are there no traces of a fight? Even the surrounding spiritual energy is utterly peaceful.'

Just as Perfected One Yangming was pondering, a streak of immortal light suddenly appeared high in the sky, causing him to instinctively look up. Before long, an old-looking cultivator came riding on the wind.

"Fellow Daoist, please don't be alarmed. I've observed you lingering in this area for quite some time, and it seems you might have encountered something, so I specifically appeared to inquire."

The newcomer was still some distance away, but his voice had already reached Yangming's ears. By the time his words ceased, he was already close to Yangming, bowing with cupped hands, wind gathering beneath his feet.

Yangming dared not be slow and quickly returned the bow with cupped hands.

"Fellow Daoist, I previously observed someone engaged in a magical confrontation in this area, so I came to investigate. However, upon arriving, I couldn't detect the slightest trace of spellcasting, which I find quite peculiar."

Yangming did not directly reveal his identity as a Yuhuai Mountain cultivator or the matter concerning Perfected One Ziyu, nor did he display the jade pendant or other items. The old man, after hearing this, stroked his beard and looked around, a slight frown on his face. His fingers constantly made calculations, as if he too were investigating something.

Yangming waited quietly. The cultivator before him seemed to possess a higher cultivation level than his own, and it would naturally be excellent if he could lend assistance.

After a long while, the old cultivator shook his head.

"Indeed, there are no suspicious traces. However, given your cultivation level, it certainly couldn't be an illusion. I fear some highly cultivated individual smoothed out all spiritual energy fluctuations and cleared away all lingering auras before you arrived."

Yangming had, in fact, considered the same possibility, but he was not as certain as the old cultivator before him.

"Fellow Daoist, what do you mean?"

"In my opinion, if the battle you witnessed was legitimate, there would be no need to specifically smooth out the auras. There must certainly be something clandestine!"

"You speak wisely!"

Perfected One Yangming nodded, and before he could say anything, the old cultivator spoke plainly.

"These are troubled times. Since I have encountered this matter, I should investigate it to the best of my abilities!"

"Fellow Daoist, what you say is absolutely correct. I was thinking the same thing. Should we encounter any unforeseen circumstances, the two of us could face them together. What do you think?"

The old cultivator nodded.

"That's excellent. Even if a master smoothed out the auras, there might still be omissions. Let us travel together. Fellow Daoist, which direction do you believe we should take?"

"West."

"Very well, then we shall head west!"

After a brief discussion, the two rode their clouds together and flew westward, simultaneously paying attention to movements and auras both above and below them.

Indeed, just as the old cultivator had said, as they continued their investigation, they gradually picked up traces of residual auras. However, the further they went, the more doubt Yangming felt. Looking at the old cultivator beside him, the latter also appeared to be expressing similar doubts.

"Fellow Daoist, are you also harboring significant doubts?"

Hearing the old man's question, Yangming pondered for a moment and replied truthfully.

"Yes, it seems these concealed traces are all from righteous immortal cultivators, without any demonic or malevolent aura from evil spirits or monsters. Could it be that those who fought earlier were all practitioners of the immortal Dao?"

The old man's tone was more assertive than Yangming's.

"In my opinion, it is just as you say, Fellow Daoist. Even if there are conflicts among righteous immortal cultivators, they would not hide their tracks in a fight. This is truly suspicious; I fear it might be malevolent beings impersonating the righteous path!"

"Hiss… if the aura is so natural, then wouldn't the opponent's cultivation be immeasurable?"

"That's precisely what I fear. If the two of us recklessly delve deeper, we might never return..."

Hearing this, Yangming understood that the old cultivator was getting cold feet. However, he had already traced Perfected One Ziyu's aura, so how could he give up? He also greatly hoped that the cultivator before him could offer assistance, so he finally spoke plainly.

"To be frank, Fellow Daoist, my Daoist name is Yangming, and I am a cultivator from Yuhuai Mountain in Yunzhou. The aura I detected earlier was indeed a distress signal from a senior member of my sect…"

As he spoke, Yangming took out the cracked, blood-stained jade pendant from his sleeve.

"The token is here, and I have traced the aura. How can I possibly give up now? I must pursue this no matter what, and I hope you will assist me. Rest assured, Fellow Daoist, my Yuhuai Mountain's Grand Void method is unparalleled in the world. Yangming is, after all, a cultivator of the Perfected One rank from Yuhuai Mountain, and I carry a Grand Void Jade Talisman. Should we find the situation unwinnable during our investigation, we can immediately use this talisman to conceal ourselves!"

The old cultivator's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Yangming, then he slowly nodded.

"I didn't expect Fellow Daoist to be from the renowned Yuhuai Mountain. My apologies for the oversight. Since you are so certain, then this old man will risk his life to accompany a gentleman. By the way, to the west, there is a sect called the Spirit Control Gate. Although its reputation isn't prominent, it has profound foundations. We could go visit them; perhaps there are masters there who have also detected this matter."

"Excellent, let's go!"

Yangming put away Ziyu's token and flew westward on his cloud.

On the other side, Guan He was flying towards the Southwest Hill of Hengshan, but he did not know the exact location of Xiangyuan Sect. He was extremely anxious, not only worried about his master but also afraid of failing to find Xiangyuan Sect. After all, even immortal cultivation families would conceal their auras, and it was impossible for renowned immortal Dao sects to openly display their mountain gates.

Meanwhile, Shang Yiyi, who was flying towards the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets, stopped midway, a look of pleasant surprise on her face. She had encountered an unexpected acquaintance on her cloud: Ji Yuan.

"Mr. Ji! Is it truly you?"

Ji Yuan nodded, rode his cloud closer to Shang Yiyi, and looked at her with a questioning gaze.

"Shang Yiyi, why are you traveling alone? Are no seniors from your sect accompanying you?"

Ji Yuan recalled that he had once owed Shang Yiyi a favor. Just now, a ripple had emerged in his spiritual awareness, and he had followed the sensation to investigate, unexpectedly encountering Shang Yiyi. Given her cultivation level, it was unlikely she would be traveling alone to the Southern Wilderness.

"Mr. Ji, it's so good to see you! I came with my master and senior brother. Something terrible has happened. We received Grand Perfected One Ziyu's distress signal. My master has already gone ahead to investigate, and my senior brother and I split up to seek help. Oh, and this is Grand Perfected One Ziyu's sword!"

Upon seeing Ji Yuan, Shang Yiyi felt as though she had found her anchor, and immediately took out Perfected One Ziyu's flying sword and handed it to him.

Ji Yuan took the flying sword and examined it closely. The sword was a pale purple with a crystalline luster. At first glance, it appeared to be made of metal, but it was actually refined from a single piece of purple jade, the entire sword, from blade to hilt, being one integral piece.

"Is it him?"

Ji Yuan had never met Perfected One Ziyu of Yuhuai Mountain, but the impression he had of him was profound. In his understanding, Perfected One Ziyu was someone very prone to causing trouble.

"Mr. Ji, could you come with me to find my master? I'm afraid something might happen to him!"

In Shang Yiyi's heart, her concern for Grand Perfected One Ziyu, of whom she had heard ill reports, was far less than her concern for her own master. And Ji Yuan, of course, could not stand idly by.

"Alright, let's go after them immediately."

"Mr. Ji, I'll lead the way. When I came earlier, it was from..."

Ji Yuan waved his hand.

"There's no need for such trouble."

Saying this, Ji Yuan took out a scroll from his sleeve. He did not unroll it, but merely whispered.

"I would like to ask for your assistance, Fellow Daoist."

After speaking, Ji Yuan pointed the scroll at the purple jade flying sword, simultaneously infusing it with his own magical power.

The next moment, the purple jade flying sword glowed brightly, hovering in the air as if circles of water were rippling. With his right hand, Ji Yuan, forming a sword-finger, lightly tapped the hilt of the flying sword.

Whoosh—

The flying sword flashed and vanished, streaking directly towards the distant southwest. This was Ji Yuan's Trace-Back Method, performed by borrowing the power of the Xiezhi. It could also be considered a divine ability of the Zhuyan. While certainly not as potent as the Zhuyan's own, it was far simpler, as he wasn't grasping at an aura from thin air, but had the flying sword right there.

"We'll follow."

Ji Yuan said this, and without waiting for Shang Yiyi's reply, he took her and flew off, directly pursuing the purple jade flying sword.