Chapter 416 - 414: Disappear

Chapter 416: Chapter 414: Disappear

Within Golden Wind Valley,

Howling mountain winds swept across the land, blanketing the sky and earth.

The entire world was shrouded in a hazy, yellow light.

Visibility was reduced to less than a hundred meters.

At the same time,

Because the wind contained traces of Geng Metal Qi, the omnipresent gales were incredibly destructive.

Cultivators had to constantly consume Magical Power to resist it.

Furthermore,

Even extending one’s Divine Sense to investigate would cause a stagnant, painful sensation from the scouring of that Geng Metal Qi.

In such a harsh environment,

even a Cultivator at the peak of the Qi Introduction Realm,

could, with a moment of carelessness, become trapped, unable to find a way out, and be slowly drained of all their power until they died.

This was also why, although Golden Wind Valley was well-known,

no factions had ever occupied it.

However,

these were not major problems for a Cultivator in the Soul Emergence Realm.

The Divine Soul of someone who had just entered the Soul Emergence Realm could cover an area of several miles.

The effect on their line of sight wasn’t as significant.

Even in such a harsh environment,

as long as one didn’t keep their Divine Sense fully extended for ten days and nights straight, the interference from the Geng Metal Qi wasn’t a major issue.

At this moment,

Following the information from Elder Wu’s mind,

Shen Changchuan carefully made his way forward.

After a day’s journey,

he finally arrived at a large canyon near the center of Golden Wind Valley.

Through the yellow sandstorm that obscured his vision,

he could vaguely see,

the Corpse Refining Sect Cultivators braving the fierce winds to patrol the area around the valley.

Relying on his Divine Sense, which was comparable to that of a Soul Emergence Seventh or even Eighth Layer Cultivator, and some concealment Magic he had mastered, Shen Changchuan began to investigate the surroundings.

「Half a day later.」

He had finally gotten a rough understanding of the situation.

However,

his mood didn’t lighten in the slightest; instead, it grew heavy.

Because,

he hadn’t found any sign of Senior Sister Wei in the canyon!

On the contrary,

at the bottom of the canyon,

he discovered the remnants of an Array and numerous traces of a large battle!

It seemed,

that someone had set up an Array here and used it as a base to fight a major battle against the people of the Corpse Refining Sect!

The traces of battle,

all pointed to this conclusion!

According to the information from Elder Wu’s mind, Shen Changchuan learned that,

Senior Sister Wei Yuting had led a group of Outer Disciples of the Sect here while tracking a Demon Cultivator. They had apparently intended to use this canyon as a temporary resting spot.

But as it happened,

this very canyon was the location of the entrance to the Secret Realm Ruins where that traitor from their Corpse Refining Sect was hiding!

Thus,

the Corpse Refining Sect Disciples who had been hiding nearby were forced to reveal themselves, planning to capture the group first and deal with them later.

To prevent anyone from escaping, they also activated an ambush Array they had set up in the area.

But they hadn’t expected that Senior Sister Wei was an expert in the Array Dao. She easily found a flaw in the Array and, with all her strength, tore a gap in the blockade, allowing the Outer Disciples of the Dragon Cloud Sect to escape through it.

Looking at the whole sequence of events,

one could say,

it was a complete accident!

An accidental encounter, a battle that erupted by chance!

In that case,

the extensive battle traces at the bottom of the canyon were most likely left by Senior Sister Wei.

But now,

Senior Sister Wei was nowhere to be seen,

and only the Disciples of the Corpse Refining Sect were patrolling the area tightly.

At the same time, at the far end of the canyon below, Shen Changchuan saw the Second Elder of the Corpse Refining Sect standing guard around a spatial vortex.

He was one of the Corpse Refining Sect’s only two Soul Emergence Seventh Layer experts!

From this, it was easy to guess that,

he had arrived too late.

He had missed the battle that took place here!

Senior Sister Wei Yuting was likely done for, and had very possibly fallen into their hands!

’This is trouble... Did Senior Sister lose?’

Hiding his figure behind a massive boulder, Shen Changchuan gazed from several miles away at the tightly patrolling Corpse Refining Sect Disciples ahead, and at the Second Elder guarding the spatial vortex at the far end of the canyon below.

His brow furrowed deeply.

His heart sank.

This thought wasn’t without basis.

According to the information from Elder Wu’s mind,

the Corpse Refining Sect had come out in full force for this operation. Their ranks included Sect Leader Qiu Kunsheng, who had been at the Soul Emergence Eighth Layer for many years, as well as the Grand Elder at the Soul Emergence Seventh Layer Late Stage and the Second Elder at the Soul Emergence Seventh Layer Early Stage.

In comparison, Senior Sister Wei’s Cultivation Realm was only at the Soul Emergence Seventh Layer Middle Stage.

The difference in strength was too great.

In a head-on confrontation, she would be no match for them.

Her only advantage,

was her mastery of the Array Dao.

If she could have set up an Array in time, it wasn’t impossible that she could have held out against the enemy for a while.

This was also one of the reasons why,

Shen Changchuan had rushed over before reinforcements had even arrived.

Because,

Senior Sister Wei might not be strong in a direct fight,

but holding a defensive position should have been no problem for her.

If he had been faster, he might have been able to make it in time to help.

But,

now she had vanished,

leaving only a field of battle scars behind.

Her fate was likely grim!

’Senior Sister Wei’s only option was to defend. With her strength, without an Array, there’s no way she could have broken through the encirclement of the Corpse Refining Sect’s experts...’

’Hss... damn it, if only I’d arrived a little sooner. What do I do now?’

Shen Changchuan’s head ached.

He still remembered how Senior Sister Wei had looked after him for those three years.

If at all possible,

he didn’t want anything bad to happen to her.

But now...

’At least there’s no sign of Senior Sister Wei yet. I guess that’s the only good news.’

’Even if she fell into enemy hands, she might still be alive.’

’As long as she’s alive, there’s still hope!’

Shen Changchuan comforted himself with these thoughts.

As their master’s Direct Disciple, capturing her alive would yield greater benefits in the future.

The Corpse Refining Sect probably wouldn’t kill her outright...

However,

even if Senior Sister Wei was alive,

what could he do?

With his own strength, he could barely handle a single Soul Emergence Seventh Layer opponent.

But if he had to face a Soul Emergence Eighth Layer expert, with two Seventh Layer experts tying him down,

then he’d have to think about escaping with his life, not anything else!

’Forget it. I’ll observe for now. Maybe an opportunity will present itself!’

After thinking it over and over,

Shen Changchuan, finding no better solution, could only decide to observe for a while,

to see if an opportunity to act would arise.

And so,

Shen Changchuan’s figure slowly retreated, disappearing into the howling winds as he continued to lie in wait and observe.

「Time flew.」

In the blink of an eye, another half day passed.

Behind a certain massive boulder,

Shen Changchuan watched as the Second Elder of the Corpse Refining Sect—who had barely moved an inch from his post guarding the spatial vortex at the end of the canyon—activated a Communication Talisman, which then flew off toward the outer reaches of Golden Wind Valley.

A struggle flickered in his eyes,

but after a moment,

his gaze became firm again, revealing a trace of killing intent.

’No one has entered or exited for a whole day. It seems the others have already gone into the Secret Realm Ruins?’

’Now is the perfect opportunity!’

’Forget it. No more hesitation. I’m going for it!’