'This is impossible!'
But his gaze was clearly filled with mockery, as if he had already seen through everything.
The four Jiang Family Elders' expressions were livid. They were hiding atop the tower to avoid unwanted attention. Otherwise, if it got out that they, the four Elders of the Jiang Family, had stood by and watched as Jiang Family disciples were bullied at their own front door without intervening, it would be terrible for their reputation.
"Isn't that little bastard a Spirit Cultivation Wasted Body? His Spiritual Sense can't possibly be sharp enough to detect our presence."
Second Elder Jiang Qingyun couldn't help but curse aloud, feeling a deep disgust for Jiang Jichen.
In truth, even if they disliked Jiang Jichen, as a disciple of the Jiang Family, it shouldn't have reached the point of loathing. But ever since Second Elder Jiang Qingyun's second son, Jiang Haiyun, had his legs broken by Jiang Jichen, and with Jiang Qingsong and Jiang Qinghe also being injured by him, several of the Elders had developed a profound animosity toward the boy.
Furthermore, deep down, they knew that Jiang Jichen, a Spirit Cultivation Wasted Body, had still managed to so easily defeat their descendants. Didn't that imply their own offspring were inferior even to a so-called "wasted body"? This was perhaps the true root of their animosity toward him.
"So what do we do now? The boy has already made his declaration. Do we still try to get the Mid-Level Storage Bag back?"
Third Elder Jiang Qingsong asked.
The Grand Elder had the calmest expression. He watched Jiang Jichen walk through the gates of the Five Mansions until his figure disappeared. Only then did he speak. "This matter requires careful consideration. It's not just about the Mid-Level Storage Bag anymore, but also the ten thousand-plus First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills. While they mean little to us, they represent a vast amount of cultivation resources for the Jiang Family's younger generation. They could raise their overall Cultivation, which would benefit the family. Besides, Jiang Jichen is a Spirit Cultivation Wasted Body; these Condensing Spirit Pills are useless to him. Therefore, we must get those First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills back. I am doing all of this for the good of the Jiang Family!"
The Grand Elder didn't forget to tack on his hypocritical catchphrase at the end. But his words were logical, and the other three Elders all nodded in agreement.
Fourth Elder Jiang Qinghe spoke up. "He's supposed to be in the Moonlight Trial Competition the day after tomorrow! So when do we go to take back the Mid-Level Storage Bag and the First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills?"
The Grand Elder pondered for a moment before saying, "If we go demand them the moment his battle ends, it will look bad. Let's wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, the four of us will go together as his elders. He shouldn't be able to refuse us. Besides, we will be making our request under the noble cause of acting for the good of the Jiang Family. If he resists, we'll just suppress him directly. We can let him out when it's time for the Moonlight Trial Competition."
...
Jiang Jichen returned to the Five Mansions covered in wounds. When Xing'Er moved to help him change out of his blood-soaked clothes, she saw his horrifying injuries, and tears began to stream down her face again.
"Xing'Er, don't worry. These are all superficial wounds. I'm a Body Refiner; I'll recover quickly. What's more concerning are the Jiang Family Elders. I'm afraid they'll come calling tomorrow morning, wanting to take the Mid-Level Storage Bag and the Spirit Pills. Therefore, I need to leave the Five Mansions in secret and only return after the Moonlight Trial is over!"
Only the old butler, Xing'Er, and he were in the room, so there was no need to hold back.
The old butler was old and experienced. He thought for a moment and said, "If you're going to leave, you should go immediately. They'll never expect you to leave right after returning, especially not while so heavily injured."
It was dusk, and the sun was setting. Jiang Jichen thought for a moment. "There's still a bit of time before it's completely dark. I'll leave through the back door as soon as night falls!"
Having made his decision, Jiang Jichen then asked, "Has there been any news about my aunt in the last few days?"
At his question, the expressions of both Xing'Er and the old butler grew grim. Xing'Er even began to wipe away tears again.
Seeing their reactions, Jiang Jichen's heart sank. He knew something must have happened to Jiang Ling'Er.
Still, his mental fortitude was anything but ordinary. He asked calmly, "What's the situation? Tell me everything."
The old butler, being more composed, began to speak. "News came two days ago. A Secret Treasure fell from the sky and crashed into the Moonlight Forest. Since then, a constant stream of experts has been heading there. But after these experts went in, they didn't find the Secret Treasure. Instead, they found the bodies of Spirit Moon Sect disciples who were there for training. It was later confirmed that only some of the disciples had died. The Young Mistress and some other Spirit Moon Sect disciples are missing and haven't been found. For the past two days, experts have been entering the deeper parts of the Moonlight Forest, but they still haven't found the Young Mistress and the others. However, news did come back. An expert found their tracks, which disappeared deep within the Moonlight Forest. That is a place that even Innate Seventh Layer experts don't dare to tread lightly..."
After listening to the old butler's account, Jiang Jichen had a general idea of what had happened.
To him, nothing else mattered now. The top priority was entering the Moonlight Forest to find Jiang Ling'Er.
He was originally supposed to enter the Moonlight Forest in two days for the Moonlight Trial Competition, but he could no longer wait. He had to act immediately.
In truth, the Moonlight Trial Competition didn't have a strict time limit, but those who entered in two days would have protectors—powerful experts who would, of course, only intervene in moments of life and death.
Very few people chose to enter the Moonlight Forest early.
The only exceptions were people like the Ouyang siblings, who had protectors from both their family and their Sect. That was why their team had already entered the Moonlight Forest two days prior.
In fact, most people were going for the Secret Treasure.
Legend told of the boundless void that lay beyond the sky. Hidden in its depths were small worlds—Void Realms carved out by the Ancient Great Powers.
After these Ancient Great Powers fell, some of their Void Realms would remain intact. They persisted through the ages until they reached the end of their lifespan and finally crumbled into nothingness.
The undying treasures left within these realms would then fall from the heavens, reappearing in the mortal world.
Each time such a treasure emerged, it would attract countless powerful cultivators to fight over it, triggering a storm of blood and slaughter.
Moreover, these treasures possessed spirits of their own and would naturally seek out hidden, treacherous lands to settle. These were not places that ordinary experts could ever hope to reach.
Even peerless experts who went in search of them faced immense peril; the slightest misstep could lead to their demise.
Evidently, the Secret Treasure that fell from the sky had chosen a perilous location within the Moonlight Forest to take root. Merely finding it would require a monumental effort, to say nothing of actually acquiring it.
At his current Realm, Jiang Jichen had little interest in the Secret Treasure. But with Jiang Ling'Er having vanished in the deeper reaches of the Moonlight Forest, he had no choice but to venture into its depths, no matter how perilous the journey.
Although he was sick with worry for Jiang Ling'Er, Jiang Jichen knew that at a time like this, he had to remain calm.
'There's still some time before nightfall. I'll tend to my wounds first!'
Jiang Jichen sent the old butler and Xing'Er away. Then, he sat down cross-legged and began to swallow handful after handful of First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills, circulating the Undying Scripture to refine their medicinal energy.
By nightfall, Jiang Jichen was back on his feet. Though some wounds remained, they were no longer serious, leaving only faint, bloody marks.
His Physical Strength was back to eighty percent. At the same time, after refining one thousand First-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills, Jiang Jichen had finally formed a Spirit Vein. With a single thought, a golden Spiritual Power Line coiled around his fingertips, emitting a brilliant, beautiful, and almost dreamlike golden light.
'Of course, this is just the effect while it's sealed. Otherwise, a Seven-Colored Spiritual Power Line would have appeared. I wonder what that would look like?'
"Time to go."
Jiang Jichen whispered to himself. His form flickered once, then vanished into the endless Darkness.