324: Chapter 324 Incense and Candle Tracking

"This... is this a storage Magic Treasure? Or a high-level spatial Secret Realm?"

Lin Dan's eyes widened. She reached out to touch the Spiritual Plants beside her, her voice filled with shock.

"Senior's foundation is indeed unfathomable!"

He Yu was calmer than her, but he couldn't hide his excitement either.

He lowered his voice and said, "To possess such a spatial treasure, Senior must be a hidden expert from a great Sect! With Senior protecting us, we will surely leave the Buddha Realm alive this time!"

While the two were marveling inside the thousand void ethereal map, Ye Jing, on the outside, shrank the thousand void ethereal map to the size of his palm and tucked it into his sleeve.

Then he summoned Hei Feng and used the light waves from its horn to conceal his figure.

Within breaths, three figures dressed in gold-trimmed monk robes flew over; two were on flying swords, and one arrived by walking through the air.

Ye Jing could tell that those on swords were at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage, while the one walking through the air was a Golden Core Immortal Master at the Golden Core Middle Stage.

The leading Golden Core monk had a sinister face with a golden Buddhist seal embedded between his eyebrows. His gaze swept over the blood and ashes on the ground, and his eyes instantly turned cold. His voice sounded like clashing metal: "Wu Yuan's aura ends here!"

"Master, who would dare to murder Eldest Senior Brother?!"

A monk beside him asked hurriedly.

Ye Jing heard them clearly. He thought back to how Wu Yuan had mentioned a master named Du Hua before he died; it seemed this was the man.

Furthermore, this Du Hua was the city lord of Jinshan City and also the abbot of Jinshan Temple, holding a very high status.

All Buddhist Cultivator under Jinguang Temple had Soul Lamps. As soon as the Soul Lamp went out, Du Hua knew his Disciple was dead and immediately chased after them in a rage.

"Master, besides the auras of Junior Brother Wu Yuan and those two warrior monks, there are three other unfamiliar auras—two are Early Foundation Establishment Stage Loose Cultivators, and one is... very faint, carrying the cold aura of a Yao Beast, like a Spiritual Insect type."

Another Foundation Establishment monk who followed along said after sensing with his spiritual power.

"Loose Cultivators?"

Du Hua sneered, golden light erupting from his body as Buddha Power scattered. "To dare kill a Disciple of my Jinguang Temple in Jinshan City is truly arrogant! Send out the order: hunt down those three Loose Cultivators with all our strength. I want them dead or alive!"

With that, he took out a white jade incense candle and said coldly, "My Disciple's Storage Pouch was treated with Sandalwood incense from our temple. Anyone who touches the Storage Pouch will be stained with this scent for over a month."

"Ordinary spiritual power cannot mask it. Once this candle is lit, it will guide us to the scent trail. Even if they flee to the ends of the earth, they won't escape!"

Du Hua condensed a wisp of Buddhist fire on his finger and lightly lit the white jade wick.

In an instant, a wisp of pale gold smoke rose slowly. The smoke did not scatter but instead condensed into a thin golden thread.

The golden thread swayed in the air, as if searching for the source of the scent.

However, after swaying in place for several breaths, the golden thread suddenly lost its direction. It spun aimlessly in the air for a moment before gradually dissipating, leaving no trace.

The Foundation Establishment monk who had spoken earlier was full of confusion and hurriedly said, "Master, why is this incense acting like a headless fly? Could it be that Junior Brother Wu Yuan's Storage Pouch was destroyed?"

Seeing this, Du Hua's brows furrowed deeply. His eyes were filled with confusion and fury, and the ripples of Buddha Power around him became increasingly violent.

"Impossible! Wu Yuan's Storage Pouch is a Low Grade Magical Artifact; ordinary attacks cannot destroy it. Moreover... could it be that Wu Yuan's Storage Pouch vanished into thin air?"

He raised his hand and injected Buddha Power again. The flame on the white jade wick grew more intense, but the rising golden thread still had no direction and dissipated in an instant. Clearly, there was not a trace of sandalwood scent in the air.

Hiding in the shadows, Ye Jing also breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he was meticulous. After killing Wu Yuan and the two warrior monks, he hadn't touched their Storage Pouches directly. Instead, he had condensed an invisible spiritual power barrier to wrap the three Storage Pouches and sent them directly into the Immortal Willow Space.

The Immortal Willow was its own small world and could isolate all scents. Let alone this sandalwood scent, even the Divine Thought of a Golden Core Cultivator could not penetrate the Immortal Willow Space to investigate.

If he had been careless and touched the Storage Pouches earlier, he would likely have been located by that white jade incense candle by now, falling into a hopeless situation.

He felt lucky while keeping his eyes fixed on Du Hua and the other two, calculating his next move.

Du Hua was at the Golden Core Middle Stage with formidable strength. Ye Jing was currently only at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage. Even with the help of those Yao Beasts, he had no chance of winning in a direct confrontation. He could only continue to hide and wait for an opportunity.

Du Hua stood there, his face so gloomy it seemed it could drip water. The Buddha Power around him almost condensed into physical blades. "It seems the person who did this was extremely cautious and didn't even touch Wu Yuan's Storage Pouch."

He threw back his sleeves in a rage and shouted, "Pass down the order: expand the search area. Focus on investigating Loose Cultivators inside and outside the city, especially those at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage. Anyone suspicious is to be seized and interrogated under torture!"

"Also, send people to places like Gubao Pavilion to ask if any strange Loose Cultivators have appeared recently. Once there is news, report back immediately!"

"Yes, Master!" The two Foundation Establishment monks responded in unison, then turned and flew away on their swords, their figures quickly disappearing into Ruan Mountain.

Du Hua remained where he was, the Buddhist seal on his forehead flashing continuously. His gaze swept through the surrounding shadows, as if searching for something intentionally.

He said coldly, "No matter who you are, since you dared to kill my, Du Hua's, Disciple, I will certainly grind your bones to ash and make you suffer the most extreme pain in the world!"

His voice carried intense killing intent. Buddha Power circulated around him, and the blood on the ground was scorched by the golden light, making a sizzling sound as it gradually turned to ash.

Such a ruthless threat from Du Hua was not at all like a Buddhist Disciple; he was extremely tyrannical.

This made Ye Jing realize that the Buddha Realm was definitely a cruel place. It seemed that transitioning from Luoxia Land to here would involve a tough battle.

Ye Jing held his breath and suppressed his aura to the minimum. Hei Feng also lay obediently at his feet, the light waves on its single horn growing denser, completely hiding their presence.

He knew that Du Hua was currently using Buddha Power to investigate the surroundings. Any slight carelessness would lead to exposure.

After a moment, seeing that the investigation was fruitless, Du Hua snorted coldly. With a flash of his body, he walked through the air and flew toward Jinguang City.

He intended to personally oversee Jinguang City and mobilize more people from Jinguang Temple, determined to find the killer of Wu Yuan.

Only when Du Hua's aura had completely disappeared into the horizon did Ye Jing finally breathe a sigh of relief. He raised his hand to pat Hei Feng's head and whispered, "Let's go, leave this place first."

Only when Du Hua's aura had completely disappeared into the horizon did Ye Jing finally breathe a sigh of relief. He raised his hand to pat Hei Feng's head and whispered, "Hei Feng, thanks for your hard work. Go back to the Immortal Willow."

Hei Feng nodded obediently, and then Ye Jing also entered the thousand void ethereal map.

With the help of the thousand void ethereal map, Ye Jing easily flew away from the area with the two Loose Cultivators.

The Buddha Realm was vast. Ye Jing controlled the thousand void ethereal map and flew for three days before reaching another border.

This place was the territory of the Guijian Immortal Sect, which was relatively lenient toward outside Cultivators. Thus, Ye Jing entered easily and then released Lin Dan and He Yu.

The two were extremely grateful, calling Ye Jing "Senior" with every breath. They even offered the Spirit Stones and Spirit Medicines from their Storage Pouches to Ye Jing as a token of respect.

But seeing that they were both Loose Cultivators and the items they brought out were meager and quite shabby, Ye Jing didn't want to take advantage of them. He didn't accept the gifts and instead gave them some Spirit Stones for their travel expenses.

He considered it just making friends.

Ye Jing had always been quite generous toward kind and easy-going Loose Cultivators; after all, it wasn't easy for those without a Sect to Cultivate to this level.