The horned elder of the Outer Hall shot a displeased glance at the burly man. This insignificant Paragon had dared to speak before he could even open his mouth.
“Reporting to Elder Dongbo,” the horned elder said respectfully, “his name is Lei Chen. He is one of the cultivators captured and imprisoned by the Ancient Sacred Sect this time. He is a rather famous genius cultivator in the Golden Wing Kingdom, and his wife’s cultivation talent surpasses even his own.” The elder had been responsible for the interrogations earlier, and his memory was impeccable. He recalled every detail with perfect clarity.
Dongbo Xueying nodded, studying the burly True God Paragon before him.
A cultivation genius?
And his wife was even more talented?
“Do you know where that Sacred Emissary of the Ancient Sacred Sect is?” Dongbo Xueying asked. “Are you certain? He fled in panic—where he went, no one but himself could possibly know for sure.”
“I am over ninety percent certain!” Lei Chen said urgently.
“Explain clearly,” Dongbo Xueying commanded.
Lei Chen felt a mix of nervousness and desperation as he faced the white-robed youth before him. He knew his own strength was far from enough to save his wife. The Ancient Sacred Sect—rumored to be connected to the supreme Sacred Master of the Ancient Sacred World—was a terrifyingly vast force. Before such power, he was nothing but an insignificant ant. Even the Golden Wing Kingdom’s ruler, a thousand or ten thousand times stronger than him, would be just as powerless.
But this white-robed youth before him held an extremely high status—he was a powerhouse from the Holy Land, the Tai Xuan Heavenly Palace! Even the other special envoys of the Water Sky City and the Golden Wing Kingdom’s ruler treated him with utmost respect. Only someone like him could possibly save Lei Chen’s wife.
He couldn’t afford to miss this chance.
For his wife, he would sacrifice everything.
“Elder Dongbo,” Lei Chen said respectfully, “my wife Qing Ruo and I have walked the path of cultivation step by step, facing countless dangers but also encountering some fortuitous encounters. One such encounter caused both our souls to undergo a transformation, allowing us to vaguely sense each other’s presence. If we exert our full effort through a secret technique, the range of our connection becomes vast. After you rescued me from the Ancient Sacred Sect and my strength was restored, I immediately tried to sense my wife’s location. To my shock, I found her to be extremely, extremely far from the Golden Wing Kingdom—and moving at an astonishing speed, undoubtedly traversing the void. Qing Ruo is only a Paragon; she cannot teleport on her own. So, she must have been taken by another powerful figure.”
“Who in the Golden Wing Kingdom would take her? And someone capable of teleportation, no less? And to a place so far away?” Lei Chen continued. “Only one possibility comes to mind. After my capture, the Ancient Sacred Sect likely didn’t spare my wife either—given her talent, which surpasses mine and is renowned throughout the Golden Wing Kingdom. She might have been imprisoned within that Sacred Emissary’s spatial treasure.”
Lei Chen finished speaking and looked at Dongbo Xueying anxiously.
Would he agree to help?
Would he be willing to take the risk?
“Extremely far from the Golden Wing Kingdom, traversing the void…” Dongbo Xueying pondered.
In the entire Golden Wing Kingdom, those capable of teleportation could be counted on one hand. Most had either died in battle or remained within the kingdom—only the black-robed man had escaped.
To appear so far away, ordinary void traversal wouldn’t suffice. It had taken Dongbo Xueying a month to travel from City Yi Twenty-Nine to here. The black-robed man must have used an ultra-long-range spatial displacement to flee—which aligned with this theory.
Moreover, when Lei Chen had sensed his wife, the other party was still moving.
Additionally…
The Ancient Sacred Sect placed great importance on those with immense strength or extraordinary talent, seeking to convert them to their faith. It made perfect sense that the Sacred Emissary would personally take Qing Ruo, a highly talented cultivator, under his control.
“Oh?” Dongbo Xueying looked at Lei Chen with a faint smile. “But how do I know you’re telling the truth?”
“Not a single word I’ve spoken is false!” Lei Chen said desperately. “Elder Dongbo, I—”
His anxious expression and turbulent emotions suddenly shifted.
Without warning, Dongbo Xueying had pulled his soul into an illusion. The ‘Illusory Realm Law’ was something Dongbo Xueying had long mastered, and his proficiency in it was profound. Even some dim-witted Void Gods among the void creatures could fall prey to it—let alone Lei Chen, who was merely a Paragon. Unbeknownst to him, he had been completely ensnared.
“Tell me about you and your wife…” Dongbo Xueying continued.
The horned elder beside them looked puzzled, then startled as he noticed Lei Chen answering mechanically, as if in a trance.
A moment later, Lei Chen’s soul shuddered, and he regained full awareness. Yet, his memory of what had just happened was hazy. He stared at the white-robed youth in shock. Though he didn’t fully understand what had transpired, he knew one thing—this man had done something to him. But for the sake of his wife, he harbored no resentment.
“Good. First, cultivate a clone. Once that’s done, we’ll set off immediately,” Dongbo Xueying said.
“There’s no need—we must hurry!” Lei Chen urged.
“Tracking him down will take time regardless. A little more won’t make a difference,” Dongbo Xueying said sternly. “Go.”
Lei Chen could only suppress his impatience and obey.
He swiftly nurtured a fleshly embryo, split his soul, and accelerated time. In just half an hour, under the horned elder’s guidance, he returned to Dongbo Xueying.
“I’m going after the Ancient Sacred Sect,” Dongbo Xueying said to the horned elder. “You and the others will handle the aftermath here, then return directly to Water Sky City.”
“Yes,” the horned elder replied, though unease flickered in his eyes. He dared not argue.
“Let’s go.”
Dongbo Xueying and Lei Chen departed under the cover of night.
The moon of the Sacred World hung high in the sky as they soared above the Golden Wing Kingdom, its cities still shielded by the kingdom’s protective formation.
“In which direction is that black-robed Sacred Emissary, and roughly how far?” Dongbo Xueying asked.
“Elder Dongbo,” Lei Chen said, summoning a massive map before them. He pointed to a marked region. “The distance is so vast that my senses are unclear. I can only confirm it’s roughly this area.”
“Your senses are far too vague,” Dongbo Xueying remarked, shaking his head. The marked region was enormous.
Still, he was surprised.
The black-robed Sacred Emissary had traversed an astonishing distance.
“His life-preserving spatial displacement artifact seems even more effective than the teleportation talismans given to Golden-Clad Disciples of the Tai Xuan Heavenly Palace,” Dongbo Xueying mused.
“If we get closer, my senses will sharpen,” Lei Chen assured.
“Let’s go.”
Dongbo Xueying took him through the void.
Though he still possessed the teleportation talisman from his days as a Golden-Clad Disciple, its range far exceeded his current mastery. Likely crafted by a Chaos Realm sovereign—or even Patriarch Tianyu himself—it contained its own energy reserves. Once depleted, it would need time to replenish naturally.
He also had another treasure specialized in traversal, but unless absolutely necessary, he preferred not to use it.
After all, his goal was to track the black-robed Sacred Emissary and locate a crucial Ancient Sacred Sect stronghold.
—
Their pursuit spanned centuries.
Apart from his initial teleportation, the black-robed Sacred Emissary continued his journey through the void. As a powerful cultivator, the passage of time meant little to him.
Instead of heading to the nearest City Yi Twenty-Nine, he deliberately detoured to the more distant ‘City Jia Twenty-Nine,’ a journey that took over six hundred years.
The guards of City Jia Twenty-Nine, unaware of his affiliation with the Ancient Sacred Sect, permitted him entry without question.
Fearing unforeseen complications, Dongbo Xueying reluctantly activated his teleportation talisman to follow.
—
After passing through several teleportation cities, they finally arrived at City Jia Thirty-Five, then spent another nineteen years traversing the void.
“We’re here,” the black-robed Sacred Emissary murmured, gazing at an unremarkable black city in the distance. Spanning a mere hundred thousand miles, it seemed like the base of a minor faction. In truth, it was a significant stronghold of the Ancient Sacred Sect.
“All my subordinates are dead,” the Sacred Emissary grumbled. “After completing so many missions over the ages, I was nearly promoted to Upper-Rank Sacred Emissary. Now, with my forces wiped out, who knows how long I’ll have to wait.”
The Ancient Sacred Sect maintained a strict hierarchy.
Advancing even a single rank was excruciatingly difficult.
“That ‘Elder Dongbo’…” The Sacred Emissary’s eyes burned with anger, but he knew the reality. Though the Ancient Sacred World’s power surpassed that of the Tai Xuan Heavenly Palace, this was the latter’s territory. Against an elder like Dongbo Xueying, he stood no chance. He could only swallow his rage.
Whoosh.
Transforming into a streak of light, the Sacred Emissary flew into the black city.
A mere quarter-hour later, two figures appeared in the night sky—Dongbo Xueying and Lei Chen.
“After over six hundred years of pursuit, we’ve finally found it,” Dongbo Xueying said, a faint smile playing on his lips as he gazed at the distant black city.
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