96: Do you dare to kidnap people from Zixiao Sect?

“Besides the so-called Mystic Yin Saint Child, the Luan Ying Four Sons are the most prominent figures in the Xuanyin Sect. Why would they enter the Juefeng Secret Realm at such a critical moment to seize unnecessary opportunities?”

“He came alone. That’s not right. From what I know about Yi Zhusheng, he should always be surrounded by female companions, and his lackeys wouldn’t be far behind.”

“The lightning technique he used just now was also slightly different from Yi Zhusheng’s previous ones; he didn’t use it with a sword. Could it be that he really found an opportunity outside the Juefeng Secret Realm?”

After Xu Xi left, at a table across from the same restaurant, a group of young talents were also joking about what had just happened.

One of them sat there, squinting his eyes, analyzing the recent battle in his mind, and began to have some doubts about Xu Xi’s identity.

He was not from Thunderclap Pavilion, yet he had such a familiar understanding of Yi Zhusheng. How terrifying.

“Senior Brother, still analyzing? If you can’t figure it out, just let it go.”

“Going to the Juefeng Secret Realm was only to continue gathering intelligence and to plan for future matters. Your trip here is a waste of your time.”

“One Yi Zhusheng can’t stir up any trouble.”

Beside the young man, another handsome young man playfully nudged his Senior Brother, telling him not to keep squinting and analyzing, as it was a needless waste of time.

“The intelligence of the Mystic Cipher Pavilion is one of the main reasons for its establishment on the Profound Origin Continent. Of course, we must be diligent in such matters.”

“Dao Qing, although your talent is exceptional, you should also adjust your mindset.”

“Otherwise, be careful that the Pavilion Master makes you recite scriptures in the academy for another month; let’s see if you’ll still be smiling then.”

No longer pondering, after listening to his Junior Brother, the young man slightly widened his bright, squinted eyes, then offered advice to his Junior Brother.

The Mystic Cipher Pavilion in Zhongzhou claims to be privy to all sorts of information on the Profound Origin Continent, and every piece of intelligence is highly reliable, having garnered considerable prestige over time.

Of course, another coveted skill that allows the Mystic Cipher Pavilion to stand tall in Zhongzhou is its artifact refining technique.

Gathering intelligence requires a vast amount of manpower and resources. With such expenses, if the Mystic Cipher Pavilion didn’t have a source of spirit stones, it would starve to death before even profiting from selling intelligence.

The Mystic Cipher Pavilion’s artifact refining technique is renowned throughout the continent, always known for its exquisite products. Anything produced by the Mystic Cipher Pavilion is guaranteed to be a masterpiece.

Furthermore, besides ordinary artifacts, the Mystic Cipher Pavilion can also refine various strange puppets to infiltrate different places to gather intelligence, minimizing their own losses.

“Are the people from Purple Cloud Sect really in Zi Yuan City? Could Tang Wan have remembered the wrong place? I haven’t even seen a single person.”

After searching Zi Yuan City for half a day, Xu Xi finally found the place Tang Wan had mentioned. However, after inquiring at inns and personally searching, Xu Xi did not receive any news of Purple Cloud Sect disciples residing there, and his heart filled with doubt.

He then took out the token Tang Wan had given him from his storage bag, infused it with spiritual energy, and began to sense.

This was a method Tang Wan had left behind; by infusing spiritual energy, one could sense the location of the other tokens. As long as they weren’t dead, their tokens could be sensed.

However, there was no problem before sensing, but once he sensed, a problem arose.

“They’re outside Zi Yuan City. Could they have gone out to look for medicinal herbs?”

“That direction seems to be the Absolute Peak Mountain Range next to the Juefeng Secret Realm, right next to the secret realm entrance?”

Through the token, Xu Xi easily knew the locations of the other tokens.

However, Xu Xi became even more confused. The secret realm hadn’t opened yet, so what were they doing there? Drinking the northwest wind?

Despite his doubts, he still had to search. After a moment of complaint, Xu Xi quickened his pace and hurried out of the city, heading towards the token’s location to find the trace of the Purple Cloud Sect disciples.

However, after Xu Xi left, the innkeeper’s originally benevolent expression turned sinister.

“Since when did the Thunderclap Pavilion and Purple Cloud Sect have such a good relationship?”

“Yi Zhusheng, as the leader of the Thunderclap Pavilion participating in the Juefeng Secret Realm this time, came looking for those people with a Purple Cloud Sect token. It seems I’ve discovered something extraordinary…”

“I must quickly inform the Right Prime Minister to avoid any mishaps.”

Taking out a jade talisman and crushing it, the innkeeper hastily departed.

What Xu Xi didn’t know was that the disappearance of those Purple Cloud Sect disciples wasn’t voluntary; they had met with misfortune.

As for what misfortune they encountered, that would lead to a cave outside Zi Yuan City.

Inside the cave, formations were laid out to conceal their aura, but these people were not in the Absolute Peak Mountain Range.

The tokens in the Absolute Peak Mountain Range were merely their storage bags, thrown there to mislead others.

Since they had kidnapped people from the Purple Cloud Sect, the kidnappers would naturally have understood beforehand what kind of message-transmitting methods such a sect would possess.

Everything was done flawlessly, at least, in their eyes, it seemed so.

“Big Brother, are you sure there’s no problem?”

“These are people from the Purple Cloud Sect, and their identities are not ordinary. Liu Yan, the grandson of a Purple Cloud Sect elder. If we’re discovered, we’ll die a horrible death.”

Inside the cave, besides the four bound Purple Cloud Sect disciples who were still unconscious, only three others were awake and gathered together.

All were bald, exuding a murderous aura.

Among them, a relatively thin, somewhat shifty-looking middle-aged man couldn’t help but feel a chill in his heart, always sensing that something unexpected was about to happen.

Looking at his tall, burly Big Brother with a full beard, he voiced his worries.

“What are you afraid of? We live life on the edge anyway.”

“This time, we took advantage of that bitch Tang Wan not being here. We’ll make a fortune and leave.”

In his words, the leader of the kidnappers knew what he was doing and felt nervous, but he wasn’t afraid.

The bigger the waves, the more valuable the fish!

The scars on his forehead and his ruthless tone of voice all indicated the sinister nature of this bald, bearded strongman.

“In Zhongzhou, we are known as the Vulture Fiend Trio. Our life-preserving skills are not weak, and since we haven’t provoked any top sects, other sects haven’t bothered with us, so we’ve just muddled through.”

“But this time, although the Zhao Dynasty of Ying Province cannot protect us, the benefits they offer are substantial.”

“The down payment alone is a whopping 100,000 mid-grade spirit stones, enough for us to live lavishly for quite some time.”

“Worst case, after this is done, we’ll go to other provinces to avoid the limelight and just not roam Zhongzhou.”

He had even planned his escape route. The bearded strongman looked at the four unconscious Purple Cloud Sect disciples lying on the ground, his eyes gleaming.

This was all money, enough for him to squander for a lifetime.

His entire life, he had walked on thin ice, and now he finally saw the dawn of landing ashore. What if he took a gamble?

“Besides, do you really think the Purple Cloud Sect’s reach is that long?”

“Is he not going to abide by the alliance?”

“Even if he can tempt us with elixirs, we can still save our lives. Do you really think I’m foolish enough not to value my own life?”