281: Chapter 281 Ugly Crow!

Chapter 279: Young Master Wu Chou!

Inside the Quiet Room, only the increasingly heavy atmosphere in the air and the determination of someone who had burned her bridges in Fairy Ziling's eyes remained.

Lu Qiu’s expression was calm, as if what had just happened was merely an ordinary agreement.

“Since the deal is struck, Lady Ziling, tell me all the details you know. Especially the clues regarding that group of ‘Bandit Cultivators,’ and... the information you currently possess.” Lu Qiu sat down again and picked up the cup of spiritual tea that had long since gone cold. His fingertips brushed the rim of the cup almost imperceptibly, and a flicker of scarlet gold true fire appeared. The tea instantly became warm again, with wisps of white steam rising.

Ziling took a deep breath, suppressing the churning grief and anxiety about the future in her heart. She organized her thoughts and began to narrate in detail:

“Reporting to the Elder, the incident with my mother occurred two months ago. She personally led three deacons at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage and more than ten Foundation Establishment Stage Disciples to transport a batch of ‘Deep Sea Cold Iron’ and ‘Phantom Sound Stones’ to be exchanged for some rare Artifact Refining Materials. They were heading to the ‘Bibo Merchant Union’ near ‘Shuixin Island’ in the eastern part of the Inner Star Sea to conduct the trade. The route was supposed to be a secret, and to be safe, my mother even temporarily changed part of the voyage. However, when the fleet reached a remote sea area about three thousand miles south of Shuixin Island, they were suddenly attacked.”

Pain and hatred flared in her eyes: “There were about seven or eight attackers, all masked with black cloths. Their Cultivation Techniques were a mix of styles, including Demonic Path blood techniques and Righteous Path sword techniques. They struck ruthlessly and coordinated perfectly; they were clearly prepared. The two leaders had extremely high cultivation, likely... likely both reaching the Middle Core Formation Stage! My mother and the three Protector Elders fought desperately, but the opponents were stronger and seemed quite familiar with our ship’s protection Formation, which was quickly breached. During the fierce battle, the three Protector Elders fell one after another, and the Disciples suffered heavy casualties... To cover the few remaining Disciples as they escaped on a backup flying boat, my mother stayed behind alone to block the enemy. In the end... she was exhausted and overwhelmed...”

At this point, Ziling’s voice choked again, but she forced herself to continue: “After those few Disciples who were lucky enough to escape brought back the news, the entire sect was shaken. Soon, two Guest Elders of my Miaoyin Sect, who travel abroad year-round, rushed back upon hearing the news. Both of them are at the Early Core Formation Stage and have long-standing friendships with my mother. They were also filled with grief and indignation upon hearing the tragic news. One of the Elders is skilled in tracking and concealment techniques, while the other is proficient in Formation deduction. The two of them joined forces and spent over a month investigating. Finally, based on the subtle fluctuations of residual magic power and some clues at the battlefield, they locked onto the general hiding range of those villains.”

Ziling raised her eyes, a cold light flashing within them: “According to the two Elders' deductions, after the Bandit Cultivators succeeded, they did not flee far but instead lurked in a group of reefs about five hundred miles south of Shuixin Island! The islands there are scattered like stars on a chessboard, the terrain is complex, and it is shrouded in yin mist year-round with turbulent Spiritual Qi. It is indeed an excellent place for hiding. They even found traces of simple Formations temporarily set up by the villains to hide their tracks, confirming that the villains' nest is on one of the largest nameless desert islands!”

“South of Shuixin Island, a nameless desert island...” Lu Qiu nodded slightly; this basically matched his memories of the original work.

“Where are these two Guest Elders now?”

“After the two Elders finished their investigation, they immediately returned to the sect to report. They said the villains are powerful, especially those two leaders suspected to be at the Middle Core Formation Stage, who are not opponents we can face alone. To ensure success, we need to invite more people to help. Currently, they are contacting several Core Formation Stage Loose Cultivator Seniors who were on good terms with the Miaoyin Sect or had received favors from my mother, as well as... another Guest Elder of the sect. We have agreed to meet at Shuixin Island in half a month to discuss the plan to eliminate the villains.” Ziling replied.

“Oh? Besides these Loose Cultivators being contacted, have any others been invited? For example... a Core Formation Cultivator named Han Li, or ‘Li Feiyu’?” Lu Qiu asked seemingly casually. He wanted to confirm whether his intervention had changed the trajectory of Han Li’s involvement in this matter.

Hearing this, a trace of confusion appeared in Ziling’s eyes. After thinking carefully for a moment, she shook her head with certainty: “Han Li? Li Feiyu? I have not heard of the two people the Elder mentioned, nor have I heard other Guest Elders mention inviting them. Does the Elder know these two Fellow Daoists?”

“It’s nothing, just asking.”

Lu Qiu understood.

It seemed that because he had re-established contact with Han Li early and demonstrated unfathomable cultivation and background, that kid Han Li, out of his habitual caution, likely made an excuse to decline when he received an invitation from the Miaoyin Sect or others, or simply went into hiding.

After all, participating in this kind of mission that was clearly about 'revenge' was high-risk with unclear rewards. Given Han Li’s personality, without being certain of safety and having a 'potential powerful backer' like himself available, he would most likely choose to avoid it.

This actually saved some trouble.

“Since that’s the case.”

Lu Qiu put down his teacup and looked at Ziling, his tone flat but carrying an air of unquestionable authority: “Lady Ziling, I will participate in this operation. However, I do not like traveling with others, nor do I wish to expose my tracks and strength too early. Therefore, I will not act together with the two Elders of the Miaoyin Sect and the other helpers you have invited. You follow the original plan and meet at Shuixin Island in half a month to discuss the attack. At that time, I will naturally follow in the shadows and act as I see fit.”

“Not traveling with everyone? Following in the shadows?”

Hearing this, Ziling’s beautiful face showed obvious astonishment and confusion.

In her view, the enemy had at least two Late Core Formation Stage Cultivators. Although her side had several Core Formation helpers, whether they could win was still uncertain.

Although this Elder Lu was highly regarded by her mother, his specific cultivation was unknown. Acting alone—wasn't that being too overconfident?

What if he alerted the enemy, or was picked off one by one?

“Elder Lu, the villains are fierce and have Formations for concealment. If you act alone, I fear...” Ziling couldn't help but speak up, wanting to persuade him.

“I know what I’m doing.”

Lu Qiu interrupted her, his voice still calm but carrying a kind of certainty that made it hard to question: “You just need to act according to the plan. Remember, no matter what happens or who you see, as long as I don't show myself, do not mention my existence, and do not try to find or contact me. Do you understand?”

Looking into Lu Qiu’s deep and calm eyes, the doubt and unease in Ziling’s heart were somehow replaced by an inexplicable confidence.

This Elder Lu seemed to have a level of confidence and planning far beyond her imagination.

She bit her lip and finally nodded heavily: “Yes, Ziling understands. Everything will be as the Elder arranges.”

“Very well.” Lu Qiu stood up: “Go and prepare. I also need to make some arrangements. See you at Shuixin Island in half a month.”

With that, he did not stay any longer. His figure seemed to merge into the air, vanishing silently from the Quiet Room, leaving only faint spatial ripples and a still somewhat dazed Fairy Ziling.

...

The next day, the light of dawn was faint.

An inconspicuous green streak of light quietly rose from a remote corner of Tianxing City, piercing through the sky and racing straight toward the eastern part of the Inner Star Sea. Its speed was astonishingly fast, and in an instant, it vanished at the end of the clouds. It was Lu Qiu, setting off alone.

He did not wait for the half-month period agreed upon by Ziling and the others.

Since he already knew the general location of the 'villains’' nest and even knew it was fundamentally a trap, he naturally wanted to go ahead and investigate first to take the initiative.

With his Nascent Soul Stage flight speed, a distance of a mere tens of thousands of miles was but a moment's work.

About two hours later, a vast sea area appearing deep blue and dotted with occasional islands appeared in his view—the area surrounding Shuixin Island.

Lu Qiu landed his streak of light and restrained his aura to the extreme, as if merging into the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. Unless a Nascent Soul Cultivator of the same level deliberately searched, it would be extremely difficult to discover him.

Following Ziling’s description, he slowly flew south of Shuixin Island. At the same time, his powerful Divine Sense, comparable to the Late Nascent Soul Stage, spread out silently like the most precise radar, covering every inch of the sea surface, every island, and every flicker of Spiritual Qi within a radius of hundreds of miles.

Soon, in his Divine Sense perception, a complex sea area shrouded in a faint gray yin mist and filled with islands and reefs appeared.

The Spiritual Qi in this sea area was turbulent, carrying a natural yin coldness and isolation effect, making it indeed suitable for hiding.

Lu Qiu’s Divine Sense, like invisible tentacles, meticulously swept over the islands one by one.

Most of the islands were desolate and dead, with only some low-level seabirds and insects.

However, when his Divine Sense swept over one of the islands, which was about ten miles in area, covered in gray-black reefs, sparsely vegetated, and looked quite unremarkable, his gaze paused slightly.

In a leeward valley at the center of this desert island, he 'saw' several rather strong auras gathered in a temporarily excavated simple stone cave.

The individuals seemed to be discussing something, their expressions alert, with several layers of warning and sound-insulating Restrictions set up around them.

His Divine Sense did not linger too long on the five people to avoid alerting them, focusing instead on other areas of the desert island and the surrounding sea.

According to the original work, that traitor Uncle-Master Sun Buer and his Disciples should be hidden on this desert island...

Young Master Wu Chou had designed this scheme to use the 'helpers' invited by the Miaoyin Sect to force out or exhaust Uncle-Master Sun Buer’s strength.

His Divine Sense was like mercury spreading over the ground, scanning every rock crevice, underground cave, and even deep under the seawater inch by inch.

However, besides those few Cultivators, there were no other powerful life signatures or magic power fluctuations on the island.

Uncle-Master Sun Buer was not on this island, or his concealment methods were extremely sophisticated, so much so that even Lu Qiu’s Divine Sense failed to find him for a moment.

“Not on the island? Or is it...”

Lu Qiu’s mind stirred, and his Divine Sense was no longer limited to the desert island. Instead, it spread like expanding ripples toward the more distant sea areas, especially those thick clouds in the sky that seemed to contain nothing.

Just as his Divine Sense swept over a seemingly ordinary, slowly drifting thick gray-white cloud about a hundred miles northeast of the desert island, a strange fluctuation came through!

That cloud appeared natural, but under Lu Qiu’s Divine Sense, there was an extremely obscure and sophisticated Formation spiritual power flowing within it, perfectly hiding, distorting, and isolating all auras and scenes inside the cloud!

Had his Divine Sense not been powerful and had he not been prepared to search deliberately, it would have been very easy to overlook.

“Found you.”

A cold light flashed in Lu Qiu’s eyes. His Divine Sense condensed like the sharpest needle tip and silently probed toward the weak point of the cloud’s Formation. Although the Formation was sophisticated, under Lu Qiu’s Divine Sense—which was comparable to the Late Nascent Soul Stage—and his profound understanding of Formations, an extremely tiny 'crack' was still torn open without being noticed by the one who set the Formation.

Through this 'crack,' the scene inside the cloud was reflected in Lu Qiu’s 'eyes.'

Inside the cloud, a stable space about dozens of feet in diameter had been forcibly stabilized by the Formation.

In the center of the space sat a man cross-legged.

This person was thin and withered, wearing a large, pitch-black robe embroidered with a hideous ghost head pattern. His face was extremely ugly, his skin shriveled and sallow, his eye sockets deep, with a hawk nose and lips as thin as blades. The corners of his mouth naturally drooped, carrying a sense of sinister ruthlessness.

Particularly striking were his exposed hands, with long, pitch-black nails that glinted with a metallic cold light.

The magic power fluctuations radiating from his body had actually reached the Middle Core Formation Stage, but his aura was cold and obscure, faintly carrying an uncomfortable corpse-like malevolent aura, clearly cultivating some extremely powerful Demonic Technique.

Currently, this ugly man was closing his eyes to regulate his breathing, with faint black qi swirling around him.

Just then, the space in front of the man fluctuated slightly, and a blurry black shadow, almost merging with the surrounding shadows, appeared out of thin air. It knelt on one knee and spoke in a raspy, low voice:

“Reporting to the Young Lord, your subordinate has carefully investigated the desert island below and the surrounding hundred-mile sea area, but has not found any trace of Uncle-Master Sun Buer or his direct Disciples.”

The thin and ugly man called “Young Lord” slowly opened his eyes.

What kind of cold eyes were those? Mostly white with small pupils, glinting with a ghostly green light, like a venomous snake staring at its prey, making one’s hair stand on end.

His mouth twitched, revealing a hideous smile that looked worse than crying, and his voice was as raspy as sandpaper rubbing together:

“Sun Junior Martial Uncle, oh Sun Junior Martial Uncle, you are still as cautious as ever, like a rat hiding in a hole. However, this time the ‘Ten Thousand Mile Soul-Chasing Incense’ personally bestowed by the Old Ancestor has already been stained onto your precious Disciple. No matter where you hide, even to the ends of the earth, don't dream of escaping! Wait until this group of fools from the Miaoyin Sect and the scapegoats they’ve invited fight you to a standstill or force you to show yourself... Hehe, at that time, it will be the moment for this Young Lord to collect the heavenly void map fragment and clean out the sect...”

He was none other than the Young Lord of Jiyin Island, the direct grandson of the Extreme Yin Old Ancestor, who cultivated the Xuan Yin Sutra Demonic Technique, the ruthless and cunning Young Master Wu Chou.