228: Bai Qiyun

The incantation for the Shenxiao Prohibition was not particularly lengthy or complex, but the coordination between its force application method, Divine Sense guidance, and Spiritual Qi fluctuations was quite exquisite.

It formed its own system, truly a unique secret technique of the Sect.

Lu Chen's Comprehension Ability was already quite good, and with Wu Haoqian's clear and thorough explanation, he listened attentively.

He silently deduced it several times in his mind, and in no more than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he had basically grasped the essentials.

He signaled Wu Haoqian to wait a moment, then closed his eyes and concentrated, silently circulating the newly obtained technique within his body.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, raised his right hand, and his five fingers rapidly changed like butterflies fluttering through flowers, forming an ancient and profound hand seal.

As spiritual light flowed from his fingertips, a complex mark composed of countless tiny runes, pale purple in color, materialized out of thin air.

It slowly rotated, emitting a unique fluctuation that faintly resonated with the purple Jade Slip and the shenxiao token.

"Go."

Lu Chen uttered a low shout and gently pointed his finger forward.

The runic mark formed by the Shenxiao Prohibition, as if attracted, transformed into a stream of light.

Instantly, it vanished into the purple Jade Slip lying quietly on the table.

"Hum—"

The originally restrained purple glow on the surface of the Jade Slip suddenly brightened, as if awakened from slumber.

A soft, steady purple radiance swirled and flowed, completely enveloping the slip.

Lu Chen did not dare to delay. He immediately separated a strand of pure Divine Sense and carefully extended it, gently attaching it to the activated purple glow.

The moment his Divine Sense connected with the purple glow, a massive flood of new information surged into Lu Chen's Sea of Consciousness like a breached dam.

This information was not chaotic but was stored deep within the Jade Slip in an extremely secretive, encrypted manner that could only be deciphered by combining it with a specific Restriction technique.

Its contents far exceeded the mission descriptions and precautions about the Ruins Abyss City that Lu Chen had previously read using ordinary methods.

The volume of information was enormous. Even with Lu Chen's resilient Divine Sense, it took about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to roughly browse and commit these newly emerged contents to memory.

The purple glow gradually dimmed, and the Jade Slip returned to normal, but the secrets it contained were now known to Lu Chen.

Lu Chen slowly withdrew his Divine Sense, opened his eyes, and a flash of sharp light vanished from his gaze.

He remained silent for a moment, as if digesting this astonishing information, then reached out and solemnly put away the purple Jade Slip.

He raised his head, his gaze returning to the face of Wu Haoqian, who had been waiting quietly with a complex expression, and spoke in a calm tone:

"Sect Master True Person has stated in the Jade Slip: If Wu Haoqian is still alive, he may be permitted... to return to the Sect."

These words were spoken softly, but they struck Wu Haoqian's ears like a thunderclap.

His body trembled violently, his face instantly flushed with blood, then quickly paled.

His lips trembled uncontrollably.

Deep within his originally calm, dead-water-like eyes, an unbelievable, joyful, and longing light erupted.

It was immediately drowned by a complex radiance of immense confusion and bitterness.

Return to the Sect!

That was a place he had longed for in his dreams, yet he knew it was no longer possible!

However, this excitement lasted only a few moments.

Wu Haoqian's heaving chest gradually calmed, and the light in his eyes quickly dimmed, eventually replaced by a deep sense of helplessness and resignation.

He slowly, firmly shook his head, his voice hoarse and dry:

"The Sect Head's great kindness... I am deeply grateful. However..."

He lowered his head to look at his frail body, felt the emptiness of his Dantian where no Spiritual Qi flowed anymore, and gave a bitter smile.

"I am now a cripple, with damaged Meridians, a shattered Dantian, lost cultivation, and a severed Dao path. Even if I return to the Sect, I would merely be a lingering shell, of no use to the Sect and only a burden."

He paused, took a deep breath.

As if to suppress the lump in his throat, he continued, his tone weary with a sense of seeing through everything: "Moreover... the distance from here to the Sect is not just tens of thousands of miles? The journey is fraught with unpredictable dangers. In my current state, like a candle in the wind, not to mention encountering Yao Beasts or Rogue Cultivators, even ordinary travel fatigue and exposure to the elements would likely prevent me from making it halfway. Unless a Senior at the Nascent Soul Stage or above is willing to expend their power to carry me on a long-distance flight... but such a luxury is not worth mentioning. Inspector Lu's kindness, Sect Master True Person's grace—I appreciate them. I... will remain here and end my remaining days."

His words held no affectation, only a clear, almost cruel recognition of reality.

Returning held no meaning for him, nor was it possible.

Lu Chen listened quietly, his face showing no surprise, and merely nodded: "I am only conveying the Sect Head's intention. The choice lies with Inspector Wu himself."

He did not offer comfort or persuasion. Respecting the other's choice was also respecting reality.

After a slight pause, Lu Chen changed the subject and asked about another person: "Is Bai Qiyun still alive?"

Hearing this name, Wu Haoqian's eyes flickered, and the last trace of doubt in his gaze toward Lu Chen completely dissipated.

Bai Qiyun's existence was a more secretive hidden line than the shenxiao token, the purple Jade Slip, or even the Shenxiao Prohibition.

Unless one was a trusted confidant of the Sect Head or had absolute authorization, it was impossible to know.

That Lu Chen could speak this name left no doubt about his identity.

"She is alive."

Wu Haoqian affirmed, but then his brow furrowed with worry.

"However... in the battle when the Stronghold was destroyed, she also suffered severe injuries. Although she narrowly escaped, her wounds were extremely serious, and to this day... I fear she has not fully recovered. If Inspector Lu wishes to see her, I can take you to her hiding place."

"Thank you for your trouble." Lu Chen stood up.

The two left the simple wooden hut and walked out of the village.

Wu Haoqian, now no different from a Mortal, moved extremely slowly.

Lu Chen said nothing more. With a thought, the clear wind sword unsheathed and hovered at a low altitude.

He signaled Wu Haoqian to stand on the Flying Sword.

Immediately, the sword light slightly expanded, enveloping both of them, transforming into an inconspicuous stream of green light that skimmed low out of the Qingniu Ridge area, speeding in the direction Wu Haoqian indicated.

Even with Lu Chen's current Foundation Establishment Stage sword-riding speed, it took about two hours.

Only then did he press down the sword light in a remote mountainous area, descending into a deep gorge.

This gorge was located among continuous mountain ranges, with a hidden entrance, steep cliffs on both sides, and dense vegetation.

The space inside the gorge was not very large, and the Spiritual Qi was quite sparse, making it appear utterly unremarkable.

Lu Chen recalled the terrain map near the Ruins Abyss City and confirmed that neither publicly sold maps nor those obtained from Zhou Mo had marked this place.

Maps only recorded important locations. This place clearly belonged to the kind of wasteland with no resources or strategic significance, ideal for concealment.

Lu Chen piloted the Flying Sword, directly landing on a relatively flat area of gravel in the depths of the gorge.

The surroundings were dimly lit, with entwining vines, jagged rocks, and silence broken only by the sound of wind and the faint dripping of water seeping from rock crevices.

However, just as Lu Chen had retracted the clear wind sword and was scanning the surroundings.

A cold female voice, filled with strong vigilance and a sense of weakness, drifted from an unknown location, echoing in the gorge with clear hostility:

"Senior Brother Wu? Who have you brought here?"

The voice was elusive, making it difficult to pinpoint its exact source.

Lu Chen's Divine Sense instantly spread out like a tide, carefully probing every inch of rock, every bush.

Even the crevices in the cliff walls, but he was surprised to find he could not accurately locate the speaker's position.

The other party either possessed a highly advanced concealment technique or was leveraging the special environment of this place or some treasure.

Wu Haoqian stepped forward and explained clearly and calmly to the empty space: "Junior Sister Bai, there's no need to panic. This is the Sect's newly appointed patrol envoy, Inspector Lu Chen. I have verified his identity through multiple means and have seen the shenxiao token and the Sect Head's token. It is certain, definitely not an outsider impersonating."

The gorge fell into brief silence, with only the wind moaning.

The concealed person seemed to be engaged in intense internal weighing and judgment.

After about a dozen breaths, about thirty steps in front of Lu Chen.

Behind a large rock that seemed to blend seamlessly with the surrounding cliff wall, covered in moss, the air slightly distorted.

A white figure slowly appeared and solidified like rippling water.

This was a woman dressed in a plain white long skirt, her face veiled with a light gauze of the same color, revealing only her eyes.

These eyes should have been quite beautiful, but now they were bloodshot, sharp as a hawk's.

Yet they also held an unconcealable weariness and deep wariness, firmly fixed on Lu Chen and Wu Haoqian.

Her posture was upright, but her aura was unstable and weak. A faint chill surrounded her, yet it conveyed a sense of outward strength masking inner frailty, clearly indicating her injuries were not healed.

Lu Chen's expression remained unchanged. Meeting her scrutinizing gaze, he slowly spoke, his voice clearly echoing in the gorge: "Bai Qiyun, Late Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation. Under the Sect Head's secret order, infiltrated the Ruins Abyss City as a Hidden Eye, maintaining single-line contact with this Stronghold, monitoring and supplementing. According to regulations, you should have returned to the Sect to report four years ago upon mission completion, but you have been missing since then. The Sect assumed you had died in duty."

As he spoke, he unhurriedly took out a token of ancient style and thick aura from his chest.

It was his patrol envoy token.

With a gentle flick of his wrist, the token transformed into a stream of light, flying steadily toward Bai Qiyun.

Bai Qiyun remained silent, raising her hand to accurately catch the token.

She did not immediately believe Lu Chen's words but held the token in her palm, her gaze steady and focused.

Her fingertips glowed with an extremely faint spiritual light, and with a unique and complex trajectory, she gently brushed over every pattern on the token.

Simultaneously, her lips moved slightly, as if silently reciting some incantation.

She inspected it extremely carefully, leaving no detail unchecked.

The entire process lasted about a dozen breaths.

Finally, the spiritual light at her fingertips dissipated. Although the wariness on her face did not completely fade, the sharpness in her eyes softened considerably.

She flicked her wrist, accurately tossing the token back to Lu Chen. Her voice remained cold but lost some of its icy aloofness:

"The token is correct. Are you really the newly appointed patrol envoy?"

Her gaze still fixed intently on Lu Chen.

Clearly, confirming the token was only the first step. She needed more information to verify Lu Chen's identity and intentions.

The atmosphere in the gorge remained slightly tense.