Chapter 590 75: Whereabouts Unknown

"I hope you're right, Fellow Daoist. I see signs of a battle over there as well. Let's follow them and see."

Song Xianming couldn't hide the worry on his face as he pointed in the direction the traces led.

"Alright."

Just as the two were about to set off, they saw two streaks of light flash across the sky. The lights stopped not far from them, revealing two somewhat disheveled figures: Bai Zhengchun and Shen Qingxiu.

"It's you." Bai Zhengchun's eyes narrowed, a cold aura emanating from his body.

"Fellow Daoist Bai." Song Xianming met his gaze calmly, showing no particular emotion.

The Drunkard, well aware of the grudges between them, quickly stepped forward to smooth things over. "Why do you two look so ragged? Did you run into an attack?"

Shen Qingxiu sighed. "After we received Changsheng's call for help, Second Senior Brother deduced that something had gone wrong with the Space Transmission Array."

"So, the two of us immediately took the Song Clan's Space Transmission Array to come here. Just as Second Senior Brother expected, someone had used power at the Golden Core Master Level to set up a blockade. We were forced back out halfway through our teleportation."

"They had also set up a Four Fierce Prison Heaven Formation there. We were caught off guard and trapped inside. We were in such a hurry to break the formation that we ended up getting a bit battered."

After hearing her explanation, the questions in Song Xianming's mind were finally answered. However, it also made him even more worried about Song Changsheng's situation. The enemy had gone to such great lengths, which meant they were determined to succeed. 'Can Song Changsheng survive this?'

Seeing his grave expression, Shen Qingxiu quickly tried to console him. "Since Changsheng sent his message from here, it means he has already broken through their encirclement. You can rest easy for now, Fellow Daoist."

"Oh, right, you probably don't know yet. When Changsheng broke through to the Purple Mansion realm, a phenomenon appeared. Those who manifest a Purple Mansion phenomenon are all people of great fortune. Changsheng will definitely be alright."

Hearing this, Song Xianming's eyes lit up. He knew Song Changsheng had several powerful Magical Treasures on him, and now he had also comprehended an Innate Divine Technique. As long as he wasn't tied down, self-preservation shouldn't be a problem.

"Aiya, instead of standing around guessing, we should hurry up and follow the trail! If we delay any longer, that boy will be cold and dead," the Drunkard said, his beard bristling and eyes wide.

As if waking from a dream, the group quickly followed the traces of the battle.

Bai Zhengchun shot ahead, leaving the others far behind in his dust. In just over two ancient hours, he arrived at the site of the final battle between Song Changsheng and He Tai's group.

He frowned deeply as he surveyed the gruesome scene around him.

A vast wave of Divine Sense Power spread out, blanketing the area. Soon, he found He Tai's decapitated body in a pile of rubble.

After examining the residual Sword Qi on the wound, Bai Zhengchun determined that this was Song Changsheng's handiwork.

He searched the surrounding area again and found a pool of dark red blood, which also belonged to Song Changsheng.

Leaping into the air, he closed his eyes and focused his senses. After a moment, Bai Zhengchun's brow furrowed slightly.

'The auras of at least four Purple Mansion Cultivators, a powerful Blood Evil Qi, a Power of Destruction from an unknown source, and... a faint, almost imperceptible trace of Demonic Qi.' Bai Zhengchun murmured softly, a chilling killing intent flashing in his eyes.

From the very beginning, he had felt that this ambush was strange. He originally thought some members of the Golden Crow Sect had shamelessly made a move, but he never expected to find traces of Demon Cultivators.

In the Daqi Cultivation World, only the Blood Demon Sect was suspected of having Golden Core Level Demon Cultivators. This meant that He Tai or Rong Mingtao were suspected of colluding with the Blood Demon Sect.

But why would the Blood Demon Sect target Song Changsheng? That was something he couldn't figure out.

'Could it be because of the treasure?' A few guesses surfaced in Bai Zhengchun's mind, but they didn't seem entirely plausible.

Temporarily pushing his doubts to the back of his mind, Bai Zhengchun began searching the area for more clues.

Based on the evidence at the scene, he could confirm that this was the final battleground.

Whether Song Changsheng was dead or alive, had escaped or been captured, was impossible to determine.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened, and he used his energy to lift a small fragment of a Magical Artifact from the ground.

'This is... Changsheng's Magical Treasure?'

He remembered this Magical Treasure. It had originally belonged to the Eighth Judgment Envoy of Thunder King Hall. After he killed that Judgment Envoy, the Magical Treasure had fallen into Song Changsheng's hands. He never thought it would be destroyed now.

At this moment, he finally understood the source of the incredibly frenzied, destructive aura in the air. It must have been generated by the self-destruction of this Magical Treasure.

He concluded it was a self-destruction because, given the strength of the combatants, it was impossible for them to shatter a Magical Treasure. Therefore, the only possibility was that Song Changsheng had self-destructed it.

A Magical Treasure is connected to a cultivator's aura. Never mind self-destruction; even just damaging it would cause a backlash.

Since Song Changsheng chose to self-destruct his Magical Treasure, it meant the situation must have been extremely critical. He had been forced to resort to this method for a final, desperate gamble.

'So, where did you go? Did you escape with your life, or were you captured?' Bai Zhengchun's eyes narrowed as he clenched the Magical Treasure fragment in his hand.

Just then, Song Xianming and the others caught up.

With a grim face, Bai Zhengchun recounted his findings to the group.

When he heard that He Tai was dead, a flash of joy appeared on Song Xianming's face. But when he heard that Demon Cultivators were involved and that Song Changsheng might have self-destructed a Magical Treasure to fight them, his heart sank.

"Try to see if you can contact him," Shen Qingxiu said, looking at Song Xianming.

Song Xianming shook his head in anguish. He had already been trying the entire way here with no success. The only good news was a message from the clan: Song Changsheng's Soul Lamp was only slightly dim, meaning his life was not in danger.

For a moment, the atmosphere fell silent.

Suddenly, Song Xianming bowed deeply to the group and said in a heavy voice, "On behalf of my poor grandson, I thank you all for your help today. The Song Clan will never forget this great kindness. Let us part ways here."

The Drunkard saw that something was wrong with his expression and quickly asked, "Fellow Daoist, where are you going?"

"He Tai may be dead, but Rong Mingtao is still alive. I am going to Xiang Province to demand the whereabouts of my grandson."

"And if they don't cooperate?"

Hearing this, a vicious glint flashed in Song Xianming's eyes. He said coldly, "Then I will use the full power of my clan to first annihilate the Xiang Province Rong Clan, and then slaughter the Lieyang Sect! I refuse to believe I won't find him!"

The Rong Clan and the Lieyang Sect had suffered heavy losses recently. If Song Xianming was truly determined to fight them to the death, he really did have the ability to destroy both families. However, the aftermath for the Song Clan would be anything but good.

Clearly, the recent series of events had thoroughly enraged Song Xianming, and he was beginning to act without regard for the consequences.

"Fellow Daoist Song, calm down! Young Friend Song might not have fallen into their hands. Perhaps he escaped into the mountains, you never know..."

The Drunkard's words of comfort were cut short by Bai Zhengchun, who looked at Song Xianming with an icy expression. "This isn't a matter for the Song Clan alone. Changsheng is also a disciple of my Luoxia City. I will go with you to Xiang Province to demand his return!"

His words were like the cold wind of the twelfth lunar month, sending a bone-deep chill through everyone present.

This man before them was known as the "Blood Robe Asura" a century ago—a fearless master who had left fields of corpses in his wake. If he personally came to their door to demand someone, and the Rong Clan dared not to cooperate, he would truly slaughter them all, leaving no one alive.

Suddenly, Shen Qingxiu's brow furrowed. She abruptly looked toward a certain spot and shouted, "Who's there?!"

As her voice fell, Shen Qingxiu's figure vanished. A moment later, she reappeared not far away, but now she was holding a small beast that resembled a pangolin.

The little beast had clearly developed Spiritual Wisdom. Sensing the dangerous auras of the people around it, it trembled and begged, "Please spare my life, Upper Immortals! This lowly one has never done anything wicked since I began cultivating. Please, Upper Immortals, spare me."

"Merely Tier Two, yet it has already refined its Horizontal Bone and developed Spiritual Wisdom. That's quite remarkable. But why did you catch it?" the Drunkard asked, confused.

"I just sensed that we were being watched and thought it was an ambush. I didn't expect to catch this. I think it might be able to tell us something."

Hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up.

Feeling everyone's eyes on it, the little beast began to tremble uncontrollably.

...