Deep within Juezhuang Baolin.
“This damned formation is truly infuriating—damn it all!”
Xuanya Shigu’s furious roar, laced with overwhelming immortal power, shook the surrounding wilderness!
The ground beneath her feet trembled violently with thunderous rumblings.
Within a hundred-mile radius, venomous insects and ferocious beasts cowered deep within their nests, emitting terrified wails beneath the oppressive pressure.
All were exhausted.
If not for this trapping formation’s lockdown, this entire forest would have long since been torn apart by her wrathful fury!
In a shadowed corner, Baiyan and Zhuangyang leaned against the cold rock wall, faces pale and spirits wilted like frost-bitten autumn grass.
Having been trapped for so long, their minds frayed, and after Xuanya Shigu vented her anger, she folded her arms across her chest and hovered three feet above the ground, sitting cross-legged.
Her tightly knit brows twisted with impatience.
Baiyan forced himself forward, voice hoarse:
“Shigu… try to calm your heart for now. Fortune always favors the virtuous. Qingfeng Senior Brother and the others… perhaps they’ve already escaped and are waiting for us in the town behind us…”
“Waiting?” Xuanya sneered coldly, her eyes boiling with violent intent. “No news for so long! They’re probably dead and cold by now!”
“Shigu…”
Baiyan’s voice faltered.
“You yourself said yesterday… by now, the sect’s reinforcements should have arrived, right? Escape is imminent…”
“Ahhh!”
Xuanya stomped the air violently!
The void shattered in three explosive shockwaves under her invisible force!
“Those three little brats! Whether alive or dead, they should’ve made a sound!”
“If Lu Qiancha is truly gone… what face do I have to show her master?!”
“And Shangguan Yunzhu and Qingfeng, those precious seedlings! If they’re lost, I’ll have to pay with my entire lifetime’s salary!!”
Several black lines dripped down Baiyan’s forehead, but in his heart, he understood well the agonizing worry hidden behind Shigu’s fierce yells.
Suddenly! A subtle breeze brushed past the silent formation.
A long, drawn sigh seemed to gather from all directions, carrying supreme dignity.
Following this came an ancient voice as calm and deep as a still well: “Xiao Mo… do you know your sin?”
Xuanya shivered! Her arrogant fury instantly vanished, and her voice dropped eight degrees: “Ma-Master?”
Baiyan was shocked, astonished: “Is it Zuo Yin Shangren personally coming to find us?”
The thick white mist blanketing the world instantly receded like a tide.
The long-imprisoned spiritual senses and immortal awareness suddenly broke free of their shackles, wildly rushing toward the long-missed heavens and earth.
Just then—
Bang! Bang!
Two dark figures were flung through the air like torn sacks, landing heavily on the dusty ground before Xuanya.
They were two elderly cultivators in black robes, hair and beards all white, both in the Great Ascension stage.
Each bore a deeply sunken palm print on their chests, their breaths faint, already unconscious.
“It’s them! Shigu! These two old scoundrels ambushed us!” Zhuangyang’s eyes were bloodshot as he pointed at the fallen men, shouting angrily.
Without hesitation, Xuanya bent her legs and knelt to the ground, forehead touching the earth, voice choked with remorse and despair:
“Master! This disciple is incompetent! We were ambushed, causing three younger disciples from our sect to go missing…”
“I am willing to accept the harshest sect punishment! Please, Master, immediately use your profound skills to probe their lives and deaths…”
As the mist cleared, the view ahead suddenly opened, and several figures radiating profound aura slowly appeared.
Leading them was a Daoist clad in the Bagua robe, with immortal bearing and a venerable presence.
Seeing Xuanya so solemnly prostrate and pleading, a faint embarrassment flickered across his face.
He quickly cleared his throat and forced a sheepish smile: “Our master hasn’t come; it’s me—cough—your clever and dashing Senior Brother…”
“Hmm?!”
A chilling murderous intent instantly locked onto the Daoist!
Before his words had finished, a white immortal skirt suddenly transformed into a lightning strike tearing through the void!
“Xuan—ping—!!”
Accompanied by a thunderous roar and a sharp sonic boom—
Smack!!
An immortal-powered slap landed heavily on Xuanping’s handsome face!
Half his cheek instantly swelled up!
He clutched the burning side of his face, mumbling in grievance: “J-just a joke to lighten the mood… no need to hit so hard…”
This Daoist was Xuanping.
Though he and Xuanya were senior and junior siblings, they often teased each other like real siblings.
Seeing the sparks of anger flaring wildly in Xuanya’s eyes, clearly ready to slap again, Xuanping’s heart skipped a beat.
He quickly covered his cheek and shouted: “Business! Business!!”
He swiftly turned his head and pointed at the still shaken Baiyan and Zhuangyang, speaking rapidly as if pouring out beans:
“Their masters have all arrived. Who’s missing? Where did they go missing? How long have you been trapped here?”
Xuanya’s anger had not fully dissipated, but when her gaze landed on the figures behind Xuanping, especially the one standing at the far end, her fury was suddenly doused with icy water, turning bitter and heavy.
For a moment, she was speechless, biting her lip tightly and bowing her head in sorrow.
Baiyan and Zhuangyang, however, were overjoyed and hurried forward, bowing repeatedly to the Immortals as “Master,” “Shibo,” and “Shishu.”
Behind Xuanping stood several Immortals: Li Qinghong, Peak Lord of Zaohua Peak, an immortal cultivator and master of Shangguan Xuanya; Zhang Xingyi of Zaohua Peak, a terrestrial immortal and master of Qingfeng; and two Immortals from Tiangong Peak and Shijian Peak.
The latter two quickly glanced at their own unharmed disciples, nodded slightly, and said no more.
Xuanya’s gaze felt like it had been seared by a branding iron, finally fixing on the quietly standing woman at the very end—
Xuanya of Tianquanfeng—Lu Qiancha’s master.
At this moment, Xuanya appeared frail as frost-laden branches, her once ink-black hair streaked with glaring white, her weariness undeniable.
Xuanya Shigu felt a chill shoot from her feet to her head, unable to meet her master’s eyes…
She sighed quietly, knowing deep down how important Lu Qiancha was to this senior sister—how much hope and hesitation she carried.
Her voice dry and tight, throat rolling: “Senior Sister Xuanya, the last time I saw Qiancha, she went north.”
“Yunzhu and Qingfeng headed northwest, accompanied by a general of the Yunzhu family, named Shigong. If my guess is right, this is a calculated scheme targeting Yunzhu and Qingfeng.”
“Ah,” Xuanya sighed softly, cupping her hands and bowing deeply to Xuanya Shigu.
“Life and death are fate for cultivators. Going out for experience is fraught with dangers and uncertainties.”
She raised her head, voice thick with suppressed difficulty, eyes sweeping over the group with a plea as heavy as a mountain:
“Everyone, my Dao cultivation is shallow, and I have yet to prove my immortal status. I cannot do much in Beizhou.”
“Please… please help me search for my disciple’s whereabouts. The Tianquanfeng sect will remember this great kindness forever.”
Xuanping hurriedly said, “We’re family, no need for formalities. Senior Sister Xuanya, don’t worry. We’ll split into two groups now—Xuanya Shigu and I will accompany you to search north.”
Then he turned sharply to the still frozen Xuanya Shigu:
“Xiao Mo, don’t just stand there. Pull yourself together. If you want to accept punishment, you have to find them first! If they’re alive, we must see them; if dead…”
He left the last words unspoken, turning serious as he pointed to the two unconscious Great Ascension cultivators on the ground:
“These two were guarding outside the formation. When I found them, they were repairing the formation, obviously conspirators behind your ambush. We’ll each take one to interrogate. We’re sure to get some answers!”
“No time to waste! Let’s move!”
Behind them, Li Qinghong and Zhang Xingyi responded almost simultaneously in deep voices, faces overflowing with anxiety.
Xuanping waved his sleeve, summoning a gale like a dragon, and the two Great Ascension cultivators were immediately lifted by invisible forces.
“Pass one to me!” one was thrown toward Li Qinghong.
Without further words, everyone focused on the true task: searching for and rescuing the missing disciples.
They quickly finalized the messaging methods and search directions before splitting into three teams.
Baiyan’s master accompanied Baiyan and Zhuangyang to the nearby town to gather intelligence.
Zhuangyang’s master joined Li Qinghong and Zhang Xingyi to search northwest.
Xuanping, Xuanya Shigu, and Xuanya headed north.
The three teams became streaks of light, rushing off at full speed.