Stepping out of Qingxi Sect's mountain gate, away from the suffocating atmosphere, the air immediately felt fresher.
Having been cooped up in the sect for so long, Mo Yan looked unusually excited. Being confined for so long had made him restless. Now that he finally had freedom, his figure flickered, and he darted ahead, even faster than Xie Zhaolin. He leaped through the forest a few times and was already dozens of yards away.
Xie Zhaolin shook her head, a faint trace of helplessness in her eyes.
No wonder. With her mind constantly on edge within the sect, it was only natural she'd relax a little once she escaped the vortex.
"You go ahead and scout the path," she waved, "don't follow too closely, just keep yourself hidden. We'll meet at Liuyun City, about a hundred miles from here."
With her permission, Mo Yan practically beamed, sending back a joyful "Yes! Thank you, master!" before his speed increased further, vanishing into the forest in the blink of an eye.
Still, he remembered his limits and kept his divine sense linked to Xie Zhaolin, never straying too far.
Xie Zhaolin walked at a steady pace, using the moment to converse with You You from her bracelet.
She hadn't gone far when Mo Yan's urgent transmission suddenly rang in her mind, tinged with shock and unease.
"Master! Come quickly! Something's… off here!"
Xie Zhaolin frowned, her body instantly transforming into a streak of light as she raced toward Mo Yan. Within a few breaths, she covered several li, following the link of his divine sense, and landed precisely behind a thick cluster of bushes.
Mo Yan was crouched behind a boulder, his expression grave. Seeing her, he immediately made a shushing gesture and pointed to a valley not far below.
Xie Zhaolin suppressed her aura and peered carefully, her pupils shrinking in shock.
The valley was littered with bodies, thrown about like discarded dolls. From their robes, it was clear they were outer disciples of Qingxi Sect.
And judging by the residual spiritual energy, they'd been dead less than half a day. Even more terrifying—these disciples' deaths were bizarre. Their faces were flushed, as if asleep, with not a single wound or mark of struggle.
Yet their eyes were empty, soulless, as if their Primordial Souls had been stripped clean, leaving only husks behind.
This method of death… mirrored the sudden death of the Sword Peak's peak lord, but these outer disciples were weaker. Once their Primordial Souls were gone, their bodies couldn't maintain vitality and were already showing signs of decay.
"What happened?" Xie Zhaolin's voice was icy as her divine sense swept the entire valley, confirming no ambush or lingering threat remained.
"I was scouting the path as per your instructions," Mo Yan spoke quickly, a hint of fear in his tone. "Passing through here, I smelled faint blood and… an indescribable chill. Following it, I found this scene!"
He paused, adding, "I checked carefully—their pouches and artifacts are untouched. This wasn't a robbery. And… the way they died…"
He looked at Xie Zhaolin, his eyes full of disbelief and deep caution.
Her gaze darkened as she stepped toward one body, crouching down. A trace of baleful qi formed at her fingertip, gently probing the corpse's forehead.
After a moment, she withdrew her hand, her expression dark enough to drip with foreboding.
"Their Primordial Souls were forcibly extracted… clean and precise," she said slowly as she rose, "The method… is very unusual."
Though these outer disciples' souls were far weaker than Golden Core cultivators, their extraction left no trace behind.
Who? Who could be so reckless?
To strike outer disciples near the sect right after the lockdown lifted… it was audacious.
And why target low-rank disciples? What use would their Primordial Souls have for the culprit?
Could it be Elder Chou?
But at such low cultivation, their souls were weak—what could they gain?
"Master… we…" Mo Yan's voice carried weight.
"Leave here immediately! We can't linger!"
The two disappeared into the dense forest in a flash, leaving no trace.
"Master… what's happening?" Mo Yan finally spoke after they'd distanced themselves from the valley. "Those disciples… could it be…" He didn't name it, but the implication was clear.
Xie Zhaolin's gaze was heavy as she shook her head. "The method's the same, but the purpose is unclear."
She pondered aloud, "If Elder Chou needs Primordial Souls, the Sword Peak's peak lord's soul is far more valuable than these outer disciples'. Why risk striking these people? It doesn't make sense."
You You floated from the bracelet, her face grim. "Unless… she needs a large quantity? Or… she's practicing some forbidden technique that requires many low-level souls as catalysts?"
The three fell silent.
Who would've guessed a sect elder could very well be an evil cultivator?
"There's another possibility," Xie Zhaolin mused, "she's silencing witnesses."
"Silencing witnesses?" Mo Yan stiffened.
"These disciples died less than half a day ago, right after the sect lifted the lockdown. Perhaps… during the lockdown, they saw or learned something they shouldn't have."
Maybe they witnessed something Elder Chou did in secret, or perhaps they caught a glimpse of clues regarding the Sword Peak peak lord's death.
"First, we leave Qingxi Sect's territory," Xie Zhaolin said grimly. "Liuyun City is too close, too risky."
She pulled out a simple map from her storage ring, tracing her finger across it. Instead of lingering over nearby towns or remote areas, she finally pointed to a distant place she remembered well—Qingyang City.
Her gaze narrowed as a decision solidified in her mind.
"We're going to Qingyang City."
Mo Yan paused, surprised. "Qingyang City? Master, that's far from Qingxi Sect… and it's within Hehuan Sect's territory, plus…"
Xie Zhaolin said nothing, her eyes flashing with a complicated, unreadable light.
As her cultivation reached mid-Golden Core, her Primordial Soul fused more completely with her body, sharpening blurred instincts and karmic senses into clarity, reflecting like a mirror within her heart.
Especially regarding this body's history—the girl named Zhang Xiuxiu was far more than she appeared.
This intuition wasn't baseless; it was a high-level cultivator's subtle resonance with the world's laws, often signaling unfinished karmic threads or potential opportunities, or even calamity.
If she couldn't uncover Zhang Xiuxiu's secret, she felt a barrier deep in her soul that might even affect her future path.
"Let's go now!"