257: Chapter 252 Leaving Medicine King Valley

High above, the drifting clouds were silent.

Inside Medicine King Valley, it was a scene of utter devastation.

Chen Zhiwen slowly withdrew his empty palm; the sensation of having gripped Wu Fa's throat seemed to still linger on his fingertips.

He watched the pinch of ashes drifting away with the wind, his expression as gloomy as water.

The methods of Xuanji Daoist were even more ruthless and meticulous than he had imagined.

Clearly, every Golden Core subordinate sent out to execute important tasks had this vicious Restriction planted within them, meant for mutual destruction.

The path of trying to capture his subordinates alive to extract intelligence could be considered completely blocked.

He turned around, his cold gaze sweeping over the remnants of the Blood Fiend Sect below, who were already frightened to the point of their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, trembling.

"Pu! Pu! Pu!"

Without any superfluous words, dozens of golden Sword Qi, like the scythe of the Grim Reaper, ruthlessly tore through the sky.

Those ordinary Blood Fiend Sect Disciples did not even have time to let out a scream before they were all stripped of their vitality, following in the footsteps of their leader.

After doing all this, Chen Zhiwen cast his gaze toward Sun Simiao and the other two in the distance.

At this moment, the Medicine King Valley Sect Master and the two Elders were staring at him intently with an extremely complex expression.

In their eyes, there was gratitude for surviving a disaster, deep shock at his terrifying strength, but even more so, a sense of alienation, wariness, and a trace of imperceptible caution.

Chen Zhiwen understood.

He sighed softly.

Just moments ago, when he unhesitatingly revealed terrifying combat strength far exceeding the Early Golden Core Stage and called Xuanji Daoist by name, his identity had actually already been exposed.

He was no longer that Loose Cultivator "Chen Wen" who had come seeking peace and quiet.

Instead, he was a mysterious powerhouse harboring great secrets and an irreconcilable, deep-seated hatred for the Blood Fiend Sect.

Medicine King Valley was no longer a suitable place for him to stay.

Continuing to stay here would not only fail to yield any useful clues but would instead drag this innocent Sect deeper into the vortex between him and Xuanji Daoist.

This was not what he wanted to see.

"Sect Master Sun, farewell."

Chen Zhiwen cupped his hands at Sun Simiao from a distance, his tone calm.

Before his words even faded, he did not linger for a moment, turned around, and transformed into a streak of cyan light, speeding away outside of Medicine King Valley.

"Chen... Elder Chen!"

Seeing this, Sun Simiao's expression changed, and he subconsciously wanted to call out to stop him.

Regardless of everything, Chen Zhiwen had saved the entire Medicine King Valley today; in terms of both reason and emotion, he should have thanked him solemnly and even hosted a banquet.

However, before his words could be uttered, the injured Elder Li and Elder Wang beside him simultaneously reached out and stopped him.

"Sect Master, you must not!" Elder Wang covered the wound on his chest and shook his head with a grave expression.

"Why?" Sun Simiao looked at them, puzzled.

"Sect Master, have you not understood yet?"

Elder Li said in a deep voice from the side, his eyes filled with lingering fear and wariness.

"This Fellow Daoist Chen... from the very beginning, his joining our Medicine King Valley was clearly with a purpose!"

"He was not seeking any peace and quiet at all; his goal, from beginning to end, has been that Blood Fiend Sect Old Ancestor, Xuanji Daoist!"

Elder Wang chimed in, his tone incomparably resolute: "An enemy capable of making a Devil Head like Xuanji Daoist so wary, even willing to take risks to hide, how could we possibly imagine his strength and background?"

"The strength of our Medicine King Valley is simply too weak!"

"This time, had it not been for Fellow Daoist Chen happening to be here, we would have already faced the disaster of Sect annihilation! This kind of muddy water involving the grudges between Nascent Soul Old Monsters is something we... we cannot afford to get involved in!"

The words of the two Elders were like a basin of cold water poured over Sun Simiao's head, causing him to instantly calm down.

That's right...

He had only seen Chen Zhiwen's strength and his life-saving grace today.

But he had overlooked the huge risks represented behind this strength.

If such a malevolent star were to continue staying in the Sect, who could guarantee that Xuanji Daoist would not come to kill them in person next time?

By then, with Medicine King Valley's meager cultivation, I'm afraid it wouldn't even last a single breath under the fury of a Nascent Soul powerhouse before being reduced to ashes.

Thinking of this, a thin layer of cold sweat seeped out on Sun Simiao's forehead.

He looked at the incomparably resolute eyes of the two Elders, and the slight intention to ask him to stay finally turned into a helpless sigh.

He stopped speaking.

He just silently raised his head, looking at the cyan streak of light that was about to disappear in the sky, and watched Chen Zhiwen leave with a complex expression.

Having left the territory of Medicine King Valley, Chen Zhiwen's figure slowly came to a halt atop a solitary peak ten thousand ren high.

He stood with his hands behind his back, the mountain wind blowing against his robes, making them flutter loudly.

His gaze swept over the rolling mountain ranges in the distance, but for a moment, he did not know where he should go next.

Xuanji Daoist's whereabouts were mysterious, and his subordinates were all death-defying fanatics.

Relying solely on his own strength to find a Nascent Soul Old Monster who was deliberately hiding on this vast East Continent was no different from looking for a needle in a haystack.

He had to change his approach.

Chen Zhiwen's eyes gradually became firm.

With a thought, he communicated with that spatial brand deep within his Sea of Consciousness that connected to the Huangzhou World.

The next instant, his figure vanished silently atop the mountain peak.

...

Huangzhou World, Dark Web headquarters.

This was a mysterious palace built in a crack of the Void Realm, surrounded by endless darkness and chaotic spatial turbulence, with only the central palace emitting an eternal, unchanging faint light.

When Chen Zhiwen's figure appeared on the main seat.

"Hum—!"

An invisible ripple, centered on the palace, instantly spread to every corner of the entire Huangzhou World.

This was the summons of the Dark Web Master!

The highest-Rank summons!

In an instant, whether it was Elders in seclusion to Cultivate, assassins executing missions outside, or spies lurking in various major Dynasties, all core members of the Dark Web received this summons from the depths of their Souls at the same moment.

They dared not have the slightest delay, immediately putting down all matters at hand, and gathered toward the headquarters at the fastest speed through secret teleportation arrays in various places.

In less than half a day.

The spacious palace was already filled with a dense crowd of kneeling figures.