Translator: CinderTL
"Senior Bai Wei, have you heard any news about the Six Fiends Hall recently?" Song Wen asked, using divine sense to transmit his words and avoid eavesdropping.
Bai Wei replied, "No news yet. They're likely still hiding in the Primordial Qi Death Zone, too afraid to show themselves."
Though he hadn't obtained any useful intelligence, this outcome was exactly what Song Wen had anticipated.
The two Body Integration Stage cultivators from the Six Fiends Hall had suffered severe injuries and wouldn't dare reveal themselves openly for some time.
After a few more casual exchanges, Song Wen bid farewell and soared back to Cloudstream Valley.
When he was still over two thousand kilometers from Cloudstream Valley, Song Wen's expression suddenly turned grave.
His divine sense clearly detected that the valley's formation had been forcibly breached.
However, the canyon itself and the pavilions at its base remained completely intact. The Nether Fox, the four Gu insects, Guan Lin, and the Spirit Herbs in the Spirit Field had all vanished without a trace.
A flash of murderous intent flickered in Song Wen's eyes, but he didn't rashly approach Cloudstream Valley. Instead, he swiftly retreated over four thousand kilometers before stopping.
"Shadow Void, scan the surroundings. Are there any hidden presences?"
Within his Sea of Consciousness, Shadow Void's eyes glowed faintly as his divine sense rapidly spread outward.
"Master, there are no threats within a five-thousand-kilometer radius. However, that female cultivator under your command is hiding in a cave four thousand kilometers west."
Song Wen's vigilance immediately heightened.
The breaching of Cloudstream Valley's sixth-tier formation, the disappearance of the Nether Fox and the four Gu insects, yet the intact pavilions at the valley's base—all this indicated that the attackers were at least Void Refinement Stage cultivators. Only such power could have rendered the Nether Fox and the Gu insects utterly defenseless.
Yet Guan Lin, a cultivator with only a golden core cultivation level, had survived—an anomaly that raised Song Wen's suspicions.
He suspected Guan Lin might be a pawn deliberately left behind to lure him into a trap set by their enemies.
Despite his apprehension, Song Wen didn't flee in panic.
He had been exposed for quite some time, yet his adversaries had remained hidden. This suggested they were likely only at the Void Refinement Stage.
If they were Body Integration Stage cultivators, they would have sensed his presence long ago. Why would they bother with such clumsy concealment?
While instructing his shadow void to remain vigilant, Song Wen flew low to the ground, slowly approaching Guan Lin. When he was still 2,500 miles away, his divine sense finally detected her.
Guan Lin was concealed within a natural underground cavern, protected by a concealment formation. However, the Third-Tier Formation was utterly ineffective against Song Wen's divine sense.
Song Wen landed on a mountain peak, suppressing his aura and concealing himself within dense undergrowth.
He then summoned his Cosmic Transformation Incarnation and continued his approach toward Guan Lin.
The Cosmic Transformation Incarnation swiftly arrived above the underground cavern.
With a flick of its finger, a surge of spiritual power shot forth.
The spiritual power effortlessly pierced through the thick layers of rock, leaving a vertical hole the size of a human head that plunged several miles deep into the underground cavern. It then shattered the concealment formation Guan Lin had erected, yet left her completely unharmed.
Guan Lin abruptly looked up, her gaze fixed on the vertical hole in the cavern's ceiling, her eyes wide with shock and panic.
"Don't panic, it's me," Song Wen's voice echoed through the cavern.
The panic on Guan Lin's face faded, replaced by a look of relief, as if she had narrowly escaped death.
She hastily conjured a mana shield above her head and shot upward, smashing through miles of rock to reach the Cosmic Transformation Incarnation.
"Master, you've finally returned."
The Cosmic Transformation Incarnation's eyes scrutinized Guan Lin for a moment. Seeing no sign of deception in her reaction, it finally spoke.
"What happened in Cloudstream Valley? Where are the Nether Fox and the Gu?"
Guan Lin replied, "Three days ago, the Gu in your pavilion suddenly erupted with a crimson spiritual light. The blinding red glow illuminated the entire canyon, pierced through your formation, and spilled beyond the valley, bathing the surrounding mountains in a dark crimson hue. The Nether Fox tried to suppress it, but despite its best efforts, it couldn't conceal the red light."
"About an hour later, a thunderous roar echoed above the canyon, lasting for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. Then, Master, the formation you had set up was forcibly breached. A figure cloaked in black robes appeared at the bottom of the canyon. He not only abducted the Nether Fox and the four Gu worms but also plundered all the Spirit Herbs from the Spirit Field."
The Cosmic Transformation Incarnation frowned slightly, asking, "If that's the case, why did he spare you?"
Guan Lin replied, "He deliberately left me alive to deliver a message to you, Master. He said, 'If you want to reclaim what I've taken, find me at the Li Clan in Qingyi City.'"
Hidden over two thousand miles away, Song Wen's frown deepened.
He couldn't understand why the black-robed figure would leave such a message.
Logically, after plundering someone's treasures, shouldn't a robber cultivator erase all traces to prevent pursuit?
Who would intentionally reveal their identity?
Moreover, it took the man the time it takes to brew a cup of tea to breach an unmanned sixth-tier formation, suggesting he was only at the early or mid-stage of Void Refinement.
With such limited power, why would someone who had raided a Void Refinement Stage cultivator's cultivation cave not do everything possible to vanish without a trace?
Song Wen was familiar with Qingyi City, which Guan Lin had mentioned—it lay approximately fifty million li away.
However, he knew nothing of the Li Clan, which was likely a cultivation family near the city.
Using his connection with spirit beasts, Song Wen attempted to confirm whether the Nether Fox and four Gu were indeed in the direction of Qingyi City.
But whether due to the immense distance or some other reason, he couldn't pinpoint their exact location.
All he could confirm was that the Nether Fox and four Gu were still alive.
At that moment, Guan Lin spoke again.
"Master, to prevent my escape, that person left a strand of spiritual power in my dantian. He warned that if it isn't removed within a month, I will explode and die. I beg you to intervene and save my life."
Upon hearing this, Song Wen probed Guan Lin's body with a wisp of divine sense.
As expected, a foreign strand of spiritual power coiled within her dantian.
This power circulated through her dantian without disrupting the flow of Guan Lin's own spiritual power.
Furthermore, the Blood Earthworm Gu that Song Wen had implanted in her dantian remained dormant, yet to awaken.
Based on this, Guan Lin's account seemed credible.
"Don't move. I'll erase that spiritual power for you," the Cosmic Transformation Incarnation said, channeling a surge of spiritual power from its right hand into Guan Lin's dantian.
The spiritual power flowed like a living serpent, precisely coiling around the foreign spiritual power within her dantian.
Sensing the danger, the foreign spiritual power began to tremble violently, but it couldn't escape Song Wen's spiritual power's grasp and was gradually dissolved.
Guan Lin's face turned deathly pale. The process of breaking down the foreign spiritual power had caused her considerable suffering.
"Thank you, Master, for saving me."
(End of the Chapter)
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