56: Chapter 56: Heading to Jing Kingdom, Being Targeted

The female Cultivator accepted the money and handed him a jade token: "Board the ship with this. Don't lose it, or you can fly there yourself if you lose it."

Xiao Yuan: "..."

This service attitude was simply incredible. It was probably because of the deck seat he chose; in the other person's eyes, he was probably just a poor wretch!

Holding the jade token, he followed several Cultivators onto the spirit boat, found a corner on the upper deck to sit down, and closed his eyes to rest his mind.

On the spirit boat, quite a few people chose deck seats. There were at least nearly a hundred people! They had already been here!

The lowest cultivation was Qi Condensation 7th Layer, and the highest reached Half-step Foundation Establishment.

As for the cabins, there probably weren't any Qi Condensation realm practitioners staying inside; at the very least, it would start from the Foundation Establishment Stage. After all, unless Qi Condensation Disciples had a Family to rely on, no one could afford to ride them.

As for experts at the Golden Core Stage, there might or might not be any.

An hour later, the spirit boat set sail on time.

The huge hull slowly rose into the air, array patterns lit up, and a transparent protective shield was propped open.

Xiao Yuan stood on the deck, watching the market below grow smaller and smaller until it finally became a tiny dot.

---

At the same time, somewhere in the outer Sect of the Jade Maiden Palace.

"What?! Xiao Yuan is gone?!"

Chen Yin slammed a palm onto the table, causing the teacup on it to jump up and shatter into pieces on the floor.

The Qi Refining Stage 8 Disciple reporting the news shrank his neck and said cautiously,

"Y-Yes, Senior Brother. After he left the Sect, he went to the market, and then... then he disappeared. Our people searched the market once, but couldn't find a trace of him."

Chen Yin's face was ashen, and his chest heaved violently.

"Ran away?! That good-for-nothing actually ran away?!"

He gnashed his teeth, the fury in his eyes almost bursting out.

Originally, he had already planned it out—once his grandfather successfully charged into the Golden Core, he would achieve a Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, and then kill Xiao Yuan with his own hands!

Yet that brat actually ran away!

"Senior Brother, could it be..." the Disciple cautiously prompted, "that he sensed danger and ran away early?"

Chen Yin was stunned, and then his expression became even uglier.

Ran away?

Wouldn't that mean the people he sent to the mineral vein to kill Xiao Yuan were truly counter-killed by Xiao Yuan?! That brat had been hiding his strength all along?!

"Useless! You're all useless!" He kicked over the chair beside him and roared, "Investigate for me! Even if he runs to the ends of the earth, you must find him out for me!"

The Disciple responded timidly and was about to withdraw when Chen Yin called out to him again.

"Wait! There is one more thing—" His gaze was gloomy and fierce, "Is there anything unusual over at Ye Qingcen's side?"

The Disciple's expression turned strange.

"This... Senior Brother, there indeed is..."

"Speak!"

"Yesterday... Senior Sister Ye went to the North District of the herb garden to find Xiao Yuan." The Disciple swallowed a mouthful of saliva, "And then... stayed there for a day and a night, only coming out this morning."

Chen Yin: "..."

He was stunned.

A day and a night?

A lone man and a lone woman staying together for a day and a night?

Was there even any need to think about it?!

"Xiao! Yuan!" Chen Yin roared up to the sky, his eyes turning red, "You fucking cuckolded me!"

The Disciple was frightened into taking two steps back, afraid of being implicated.

Chen Yin breathed heavily, like an enraged bull.

"Investigate! Investigate him to death!" He growled, "I want to know where he went! I want to slaughter him with my own hands!"

---

Somewhere in an Immortal Cave of the inner Sect.

Zhao Tianlei stood with his hands behind his back, listening to his subordinate's report, his expression as gloomy as water.

"Ran away?"

"Yes, Elder," the subordinate lowered his head and said, "Our people searched the market everywhere but found no trace of him. He seemed to... use some method to conceal his whereabouts."

Zhao Tianlei was silent for a moment, regret flashing through his eyes.

"Dammit... I should have made a move earlier!"

He truly regretted it.

Last night, he should have gone directly to find Xiao Yuan. Regardless of whether there was evidence or not, he should have taken him down first! Even if he made a mistake, a waste from the outer Sect, killing him was just killing him, what could happen?

And the result? He hesitated for a moment, and the person ran away!

"jade talisman treasure..." Zhao Tianlei gnashed his teeth, "That thing is definitely on him!"

He took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and said coldly, "Pass down the order, have people watch all the passages leaving the Sect. The spirit boat dock, the teleportation array, and even the paths down the mountain, watch them all for me!"

"Yes!"

The subordinate accepted the order and left.

Zhao Tianlei stood at the entrance of the Immortal Cave, looking into the distance, killing intent surging in his eyes.

"Xiao Yuan... Do you think you can run away?"

"Even if I chase you to the ends of the earth, I will drag you out!"

---

On the spirit boat.

Xiao Yuan sneezed.

He rubbed his nose and muttered, "Who is nagging about me? Chen Yin or Zhao Tianlei?"

A Loose Cultivator at Qi Condensation 7th Layer nearby leaned over and smiled ingratiatingly: "Has this Fellow Daoist caught a cold? Would you like some ginger soup? I have some brewed with prime spirit ginger here, one Spirit Stone a bowl."

Xiao Yuan: "..."

Looking at the other person's sincere gaze, he silently moved to the side.

"No need, thank you."

The spirit boat pierced through clouds and mist, speeding away in the direction of Jing Country.

The spirit boat steadily wove through the sea of clouds, its hull occasionally shaking slightly.

Xiao Yuan sat cross-legged in the corner of the deck, closing his eyes to rest his mind, striking a standard posture of a Loose Cultivator expert.

But he wasn't truly Cultivating.

His Divine Sense quietly spread out, enveloping a radius of a hundred meters around him—including those four Loose Cultivators gathered together.

Starting from the fellow who asked him if he wanted ginger soup just now, he had felt that something was amiss.

That gaze was far too fervent.

So fervent it was as if looking at a piece of fatty meat.

At this moment, those four people were sitting at the stern of the ship, surrounding themselves with a soundproofing Spell. Unfortunately, in front of Xiao Yuan's perception ability comparable to the Divine Sense of a Foundation Establishment Stage Middle Stage, this kind of low-tier soundproofing Spell was no different from being made of paper.

The four people's conversation clearly entered his ears:

"Did you see clearly? That guy is alone, Qi Condensation 9th Layer." This was the skinny guy selling ginger soup, superficially at Qi Condensation 7th Layer, but his tone didn't sound like it at all.

"Saw it clearly. Riding the spirit boat alone, and pulling out fifty Spirit Stones without even blinking." The bald, burly man licked his lips, "Such a fat sheep is rare."

The sharp-nosed, monkey-cheeked short man chuckled: "The four of us... joining forces, can't we take down a single Qi Condensation 9th Layer?"

He paused in the middle, intentionally skipping his cultivation level.

The only female Cultivator among the four spoke up, around forty years old, still charming, and superficially at Qi Refining Stage 8. But the moment she spoke, that steady composure of hers was exposed.

"Don't rush," she waved her hand, "Let's make a move after getting off the spirit boat. Find a sparsely populated place, which will be just right for business."

The skinny man leaned in: "Boss, this trip of ours depends entirely on this single job. There are still half a month before registration for the Tianyuan Secret Realm, just right to finish this job and go register."

The female Cultivator glared at him: "What's the rush? I said, wait until we get off the spirit boat to make a move."

The bald, burly man grinned: "Boss is wise. That brat is alone, Qi Condensation 9th Layer, he definitely has good stuff on him. The four of us... Heh, he won't be able to fly away!"

The short man also laughed along: "So what if he's Qi Condensation 9th Layer? We... haven't we killed them before?"

There was that deliberate pause again.

Hearing this, the corners of Xiao Yuan's mouth curled up slightly.

Interesting.