161: Chapter 160 Self-Destruction

Qian Jin flew very fast.

His Escape Light streaked across the sea, moving so quickly that even the seabirds could not keep up.

As he flew, he thought, and the more he thought, the more something felt off.

That man had a problem. Definitely a problem. He couldn't say exactly what it was, but he just felt it. A Golden Core True Person, guarding a dirt-poor archipelago, claiming it was his place and saying he 'didn't want the Mortals above to be disturbed.' Who would believe that? He certainly didn't. But he had checked and found nothing. That made it even more suspicious. If there really was nothing, why bother stopping him? If there was nothing, why follow him personally?

The more Qian Jin thought about it, the more wrong it felt.

After flying for a while, he suddenly stopped.

He glanced back, but the archipelago was no longer visible; the sea was a hazy gray, showing nothing. He hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and turned around.

No, he had to go back and take a look.

Not to the archipelago, but to sneak back.

He didn't believe that man was without any ulterior motives.

He had to see what that person was up to.

He slowed down, concealed his aura, and flew back along the path he had come.

He flew very slowly and carefully, fearing he might be discovered.

As he flew, he cursed himself; a dignified Golden Core Middle Stage Deacon of the Wanze True Mansion, having to act so sneakily in this backwater—if word got out, he would be a laughingstock.

But he just couldn't help himself.

The feeling that man gave him was too strange. He had lived for hundreds of years and had never seen someone like that. Clearly standing right in front of you, yet you couldn't sense him. Clearly speaking to you, yet you had no idea what he was thinking. Clearly doing nothing, yet you felt he could do anything. This feeling made him very uncomfortable.

He had to figure it out.

He flew for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and before he even reached the territory of the Tianshui Sect, he suddenly stopped.

It wasn't that he stopped on his own.

Someone was blocking his way.

That person descended from the sky and landed right in front of him, less than thirty feet away. He wore a moon-white robe, his long hair was tied up, and his face was youthful. He looked exactly the same as before.

He hovered there quietly, looking at him.

Qian Jin's pupils suddenly constricted.

His back was instantly drenched in cold sweat.

This person—when did he catch up? How long had he been following? He had concealed his aura and been cautious the whole way, thinking he was being completely undetected, only to find the man had been behind him all along? How had he not noticed at all? His Divine Sense swept over the man—and still found nothing. No Spiritual Pressure, no killing intent, nothing. Like a stone, like a breeze, like a beam of moonlight. But he was right there. Living, breathing, and real, standing right there.

Qian Jin's hand quietly moved toward the Storage Pouch at his waist.

His Magical Artifact was inside.

His life-saving measures were also inside.

Before he could even touch it, his body suddenly couldn't move.

The surrounding space seemed to have solidified; he was frozen in mid-air, unable to lift even a single finger.

His eyes widened, and his mouth opened, wanting to say something, but he couldn't make a sound.

Then came the top of his head. An incredibly heavy force pressed down, as if a mountain were weighing on him.

He desperately circulated his Qi, the Golden Core in his Dantian spinning frantically, but it was useless.

That force was too great—so great that his Golden Core trembled, and his Meridians groaned. He could feel his bones creaking, a snapping sound like they could break at any moment.

Then he saw a tripod.

The tripod wasn't large, with three legs and two handles, looking ancient and simple, hovering above the man's head.

Golden Flames burned at the mouth of the tripod; the flames weren't hot, but the moment Qian Jin saw them, his entire Divine Soul trembled.

His face turned pale.

He wanted to beg for mercy.

Golden Flames surged from the tripod and landed on him.

His body turned to ash bit by bit, from head to toe, from the outside in, until not even a bone remained.

His Divine Soul struggled, twisted, and deformed within the flames, finally shattering into countless tiny specks of light that scattered in the wind.

Yun Ming reached out his hand and beckoned, and the Storage Pouch along with the items that hadn't finished burning flew out and landed in his hand.

He used his Divine Sense to wipe away the residual marks on them and casually tossed them into the map of mountains and rivers.

The flames extinguished.

The sea surface was clean, without even a wisp of smoke.

Yun Ming hovered there, looking down at the Storage Pouch in his hand, then glanced at the hazy sea in the distance.

The moon had hidden behind the clouds at some point, and the sea was pitch black, showing nothing.

In the distance, the lights of the Tianshui Sect had long since been extinguished, leaving only a dark expanse.

The sea breeze still blew, and the waves still crashed, just like any other day.

He was certain no one knew what had happened here.

Yun Ming put away the items and turned to fly back toward the archipelago.

It was as if nothing had really happened.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

And for that entire half-month, Xiao Wangzhou did not have a single night of peaceful sleep.

Every night he would get up several times and stand by the window, looking at the sky.

There was nothing in the sky.

No Escape Lights, no transmission talismans, no news of any kind.

'Sect Master, perhaps that Deacon has already returned to the Wanze True Mansion,' the Elder beside him spoke cautiously. 'Once his business is finished, it's normal for him to go back directly without telling us. Please don't worry too much.'

Xiao Wangzhou nodded but didn't speak.

He didn't want to think the worst, nor did he dare to.

A Golden Core Middle Stage Cultivator from the Wanze True Mansion, carrying a bunch of treasures—what could possibly happen to him? In this sea region, who could touch him? But even though he didn't want to think the worst, the worst came looking for him.

One morning half a month later, a transmission talisman streaked through the air and landed in Xiao Wangzhou's hand.

Before he could even speak, a cold voice came from the talisman, even colder than the last one: 'Deacon Qian Jin has not yet returned, and his other tasks have been delayed for a long time. Tell him to return to the Wanze True Mansion immediately; he is not to linger.'

Xiao Wangzhou's hands began to shake.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say that Qian Jin had already left, long ago.

But he couldn't say it.

Because he didn't know if Qian Jin had actually left. He only knew that on that day, Qian Jin had left his side, saying he was going to find that Golden Core Yao Beast. Since then, he had never returned. He hadn't received any messages or seen any movement. He had assumed Qian Jin went straight back to the Wanze True Mansion after finishing his business. But now the Wanze True Mansion was pressing him, saying Qian Jin hadn't returned.

'This is bad,' Xiao Wangzhou murmured, his voice so low only he could hear it.

'Sect Master?' the Elder leaned in.

Xiao Wangzhou took a deep breath and recorded the entire sequence of events into the transmission talisman and sent it back.

He didn't dare to hide anything, nor could he.

If the Wanze True Mansion sent anyone to investigate, they would be able to find out everything clearly.

Rather than waiting for them to find out, it was better to confess honestly himself.

In the talisman, he repeatedly emphasized that he knew nothing, that there had been no news since Deacon Qian Jin left, and that he had thought Qian Jin had returned—he truly thought so.

The news reached the Wanze True Mansion, and like a stone thrown into a deep pool, the ripples spread quickly.

A Golden Core Middle Stage Deacon had vanished without a trace in this sea region, with no body found and no sign of life.

This was no small matter.

Although the Wanze True Mansion was large and powerful, Golden Core Cultivators weren't as common as cabbages to be lost just like that.

Thus, the Wanze True Mansion sent people once again.