Chapter 725 - 724: No Chance to Leave the Celestial Derivation Sect? I’ll Go Have Some Fun in a Spirit Plant Garden

The disciples of the Celestial Derivation Sect searched for two whole hours.

They ransacked the area around the loft where Gu Yuexi had been imprisoned, turning it completely upside down.

In the end, they found nothing.

The Elder leading the team, his face dark with anger, cursed them for being useless.

But he didn’t give up.

He sent out nearly all the Inner and Outer Sect Disciples.

They were to conduct a carpet search, starting from the Celestial Derivation Sect’s main gates and spreading outward.

Within a thousand-mile radius, not even a fly was to be missed.

These disciples didn’t know the specifics of their target.

They had only been ordered to find a female cultivator at the Profound Understanding Realm who bore a special mark from the Celestial Derivation Sect.

Capture her alive, and there would be a great reward.

Chu Sheng was hiding in a secluded stone crevice.

He heard every word with perfect clarity.

After a moment’s thought, it quickly realized two key issues.

First, the Celestial Derivation Sect didn’t dare issue an official sect-wide wanted notice with great fanfare.

They didn’t even dare to tell the ordinary disciples the target’s identity.

The reason was easy enough to guess.

It was simply a matter of fearing what would happen if the other nine major sects discovered that the Celestial Derivation Sect had secretly captured the reincarnation of Immortal Venerable Shi Xi.

If the other sects found out, they would surely join forces to pressure them.

The Celestial Derivation Sect would be unable to withstand it.

Second, the Celestial Derivation Sect had placed some sort of special tracking mark on Gu Yuexi.

Because Gu Yuexi was in Chu Sheng’s Ziwei Palace, the Celestial Derivation Sect couldn’t track her.

But Chu Sheng couldn’t keep Gu Yuexi in the Ziwei Palace forever.

After leaving the Celestial Derivation Sect’s territory, he would have to find an opportunity to let her out.

Since he couldn’t let Gu Yuexi out for now, Chu Sheng made up his mind.

’Then I’ll just stay in the Celestial Derivation Sect and collect some interest before I go.’

He decided to hide in plain sight.

The most dangerous place is often the safest.

The people of the Celestial Derivation Sect would never imagine that Gu Yuexi hadn’t run far; instead, she was hiding right under their noses.

It quietly slipped out of the crevice and moved away from the loft where Gu Yuexi had been imprisoned.

It found a safe, hidden corner.

With a single thought,

He summoned fifty Outer Body Avatars.

All the Outer Body Avatars took the form of common White-striped Aedes Mosquitos.

They were miniscule.

They were indistinguishable from the mosquitos found everywhere in the wild.

"Spread out,"

Chu Sheng ordered all his avatars using his Divine Thought.

"Search for any place protected by a Barrier."

"Notify me the instant you find one."

The outskirts of the Celestial Derivation Sect were already protected by the Mountain Protection Array.

Any place within the sect that had its own separate Barrier was bound to be extremely important.

It could be a treasure vault,

or a garden for growing Spirit Grass,

or a vital area for secluded cultivation.

Unfortunately, Gu Yuexi had been confined to the loft the entire time.

She had never even stepped outside.

She was completely unfamiliar with the layout of the Celestial Derivation Sect,

let alone where its important locations were.

So Chu Sheng could only resort to this crude method,

feeling his way forward bit by bit

and trying his luck.

His hard work soon paid off.

Before long,

one of the Outer Body Avatars sent back a message.

It had found an area on the western side of the sect, shrouded by a transparent Barrier.

The area was vast.

The concentration of Spiritual Qi inside was clearly much higher than outside.

Disciples of the Celestial Derivation Sect also guarded it in shifts.

Chu Sheng’s eyes lit up.

He immediately beat his wings

and flew silently toward the western side.

Dodging patrolling disciples along the way, Chu Sheng soon arrived at his destination.

It landed on a large tree outside the Barrier and peered inside.

’Heh.’

’Isn’t this the Spirit Plant Garden?’

’Talk about searching high and low only to find it right under my nose.’

’And my Divine Essence is pitifully low right now. I was just wondering where I was going to replenish it.’

’And the Celestial Derivation Sect has just delivered their Spirit Plant Garden right to my doorstep.’

Chu Sheng raised one of his thin mosquito legs.

He swiped it lightly against the Barrier before him.

With a soft SIZZLE,

the sturdy Barrier was instantly torn open, leaving a tiny slit.

Chu Sheng’s form blurred.

He slipped through the opening.

The Barrier behind him sealed instantly.

It left no trace that it had ever been breached.

「Meanwhile.」

In an isolated courtyard within the Celestial Derivation Sect.

Of the three young women who had captured Gu Yuexi and brought her to the Spirit Realm,

the girl in white had been killed by Gu Yuexi,

and the girl in green had been slain by Chu Sheng.

Only the strongest of them, the girl in gold, was left.

This girl in gold was named Jin Lian.

She was the personal disciple of a certain Elder.

Her status was very high.

After she learned that the girl in white and the girl in green had been killed,

she leaped up from her bed in shock.

Don’t get the wrong idea.

She had only been meditating.

Jin Lian stared at the disciple kneeling before her, delivering the news.

Her eyes widened in disbelief as she asked:

"Are you certain? Junior Sister Bai and Junior Sister Lv were both killed by Gu Yuexi?"

The disciple reporting the news nodded emphatically.

His tone was resolute.

"Senior Sister Jin, we inspected the scene carefully."

"There was no trace of a fourth person’s aura in the loft where Gu Yuexi was."

"Aside from the bodies of Senior Sister Bai and Senior Sister Lv, we also found the corpse of Gu Yuexi’s Azure Flame Flying Lion."

"Therefore, the only possibility is that Senior Sister Bai and Senior Sister Lv were killed by Gu Yuexi."

"There is absolutely no other explanation."

Jin Lian stood frozen in place.

Her face was a mask of utter disbelief.

After returning to the Celestial Derivation Sect, she had gone into seclusion to attempt a breakthrough to the Void Refining Peak.

As a result, she hadn’t gone to see Gu Yuexi.

But she had been keeping tabs on Gu Yuexi’s situation.

She knew Gu Yuexi had just broken through to the Profound Understanding Realm.

She also knew that Junior Sister Bai and Junior Sister Lv were impetuous.

They had been desperate to obtain the legacy of Immortal Venerable Shi Xi.

They were bound to underestimate their opponent.

But no matter how careless they were, the gap in Realm between Gu Yuexi and her two junior sisters was just too vast!

From the Profound Understanding Realm to the Void Refining Sixth Layer—that was a gap of two entire Grand Realms!

That was supposed to be an insurmountable chasm!

’Even as the reincarnation of Immortal Venerable Shi Xi, it should be impossible to kill someone across two Grand Realms!’

’It’s even more impossible that after killing her two junior sisters, Gu Yuexi could escape completely unscathed, without leaving so much as a shadow behind.’

Jin Lian wracked her brain, but she couldn’t fathom how Gu Yuexi had accomplished it.

But the facts were right in front of her, leaving her no choice but to believe.

’No matter how Gu Yuexi managed it,’

Jin Lian frowned, pacing back and forth in her room.

A powerful sense of dread welled up inside her.

’Back then, it was me, Junior Sister Bai, and Junior Sister Lv who captured her and brought her back from the Ancestral Ruins Realm.’

’Now she’s killed Junior Sister Bai and Junior Sister Lv.’

’It has to be for revenge.’

’Her next target must be me.’

’Although I’m stronger than Junior Sister Bai and Junior Sister Lv, I’m only at the Void Refining Realm Peak.’

’And Gu Yuexi is the reincarnation of Immortal Venerable Shi Xi!’

’Who knows what other heaven-defying abilities she possesses.’

’If she can kill two cultivators at the Void Refining Sixth Layer, then she might be able to kill me at the Void Refining Peak, too.’

The more Jin Lian thought about it, the more terrified she became, until a cold sweat broke out on her back.

After a long, agonizing moment, she suddenly gritted her teeth, a ruthless glint flashing in her eyes.

’No, Gu Yuexi could come for me at any moment.’

’I can’t just sit here and wait to be killed.’

’I’m at the Void Refining Realm Peak right now.’

’If I cultivate normally, it will take at least ten years to break through to the Integration Realm.’

’I can’t wait that long.’

’I have to break through to the Integration Realm right now!’

’Gu Yuexi might be able to cross two Grand Realms to kill someone in the Void Refining Realm, but I refuse to believe she can cross three Grand Realms and kill someone in the Integration Realm!’

Jin Lian didn’t dare hesitate for a second.

She immediately threw open the door to her room.

She transformed into a streak of golden light and shot toward the Spirit Plant Garden on the sect’s western side.

Only the High-Tier Spirit Grass in the Spirit Plant Garden could help her force a breakthrough in a short amount of time!