Chapter 848: Insightful

In a remote mountain forest where nothing stirred, Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes as he sat cross-legged on a rock.

His true body had been affected by the Dao body's self-explosion, leaving hidden injuries that only now had he fully recovered to his peak state.

He hadn't followed the Haotian Shijia family's pace but was hiding in this mountain forest, ready at any moment to help block the pursuing forces of the Shixue Dian.

"Now, they should have escaped Beizhen Cangyuan," Ye Chen glanced at the sky and roughly estimated the time, confirming that Haotian Xuanzhen had led the Haotian Shijia members out of Beizhen Cangyuan's range.

Still, he dared not relax.

Escaping Beizhen Cangyuan didn't mean they were out of danger. To enter the mortal world without using a teleportation array would take three days, and during those three days, anything could go wrong.

The Shixue Dian had deep roots in Bei Chu, and any slip-up could bring disaster to the Haotian Shijia.

"Have you heard? Ye Chen is dead?"

As Ye Chen pondered, voices drifted from the void nearby.

"Ye Chen? Which one?"

"The Holy Lord of the Southern Chu Heavenly Court, of course." The voice continued, "Haven't you seen the memory crystals that the Shixue Dian is handing out for free? Ye Chen was forced to self-destruct—oh, what a tragedy!"

The two chatted back and forth as they flew over the mountain forest, completely unaware that someone was right there.

"Holy Lord, you're popular again." As Ye Chen watched the two, a voice sounded behind him, followed by a ghostly figure materializing into the old man in plain clothes.

"Expected." Ye Chen withdrew his gaze and smiled slightly. "They've finally got a reason to strike at Southern Chu—how could they let it go?"

"That's true, but this time, they're destined for disappointment." The old man in plain clothes sighed.

"How's the situation at the ninth branch of the Shixue Dian?"

"I just came from there." The old man in plain clothes took a big gulp of wine. "The casualties were heavy, but mostly cultivators below the Kongming realm. Their core forces are still intact, though they're resting in place due to the space rifts."

At this point, the old man in plain clothes glanced at Ye Chen tentatively. "I don't know if the Holy Lord has heard of the Shixue Shenying."

"Shixue Shenying?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. "What's its background?"

"The Shixue Shenying encompasses the entire intelligence and assassin networks of the Shixue Dian." The old man in plain clothes explained, "To put it precisely, it's like a combination of our Heavenly Court's Renhuang and Xuanhuang. It only answers to the Shixue Dian leader. Its intelligence network isn't as strong as Renhuang's, but its assassin network surpasses Xuanhuang. Many renowned senior cultivators have been eliminated by Shenying assassins. The Lei Zun, Di Zun, Xuan Zun, and Yan Zun of Yanhuang probably felt this the most, since they've all faced Shenying's assassinations before."

"From what you're saying, the Shixue Dian's Shenying has been deployed."

"Reliable intel—it's been fully mobilized." The old man in plain clothes took a deep breath. "To track the Haotian Shijia's traces, Xue Qiong was given authority by Shixue Yanluo to command Shenying."

"They sure moved quickly." Ye Chen furrowed his brows.

"Holy Lord, in warfare, speed is key. You had the Haotian Shijia change their retreat route to the mortal world, but in three days, the Shixue Shenying will likely find their trail."

"It can't be changed." Ye Chen shook his head lightly. "They're on the move, and so is the Haotian Shijia. The current situation demands a bold, unconventional approach. If I'm right, more than sixty percent of Shenying's forces will be guarding the teleportation arrays in various ancient cities. As long as the Haotian Shijia can stay hidden, Shenying will have a hard time locating them. Bei Chu is vast—finding them won't be easy."

"That's true, but delays can lead to trouble!"

"This is the only way we have." Ye Chen took a deep breath. "There are too many people. Regular teleportation arrays can't handle such a large-scale transfer. If their location leaks, that would be a real catastrophe."

"What we're short on is time!" The old man in plain clothes shook his head.

"Here, go distribute these in crowded places for free." Ye Chen handed over a sack to the old man in plain clothes.

"What's this?" The old man in plain clothes opened the sack and peeked inside, finding it full of shimmering spirit stones—or more accurately, memory crystals, and not just a few.

Instinctively, he pulled one out and removed its seal, glancing at the contents.

His expression turned extraordinarily vivid. The crystal showed Shixue Yanluo being decapitated by a sword strike, and it was incredibly realistic.

The old man in plain clothes glanced at Ye Chen, then pulled out another crystal.

This one depicted a branch leader of the Shixue Dian self-destructing.

He kept pulling out more memory crystals, most showing scenes of high-ranking Shixue Dian members meeting their end.

"Holy Lord, this is way over the top!" After watching, the old man in plain clothes looked at Ye Chen with a twitch of his mouth.

"Over the top?" Ye Chen shrugged casually. "They're doing it, so why can't I? Bei Chu is already chaotic—might as well make it even more so. Most importantly, this will distract them. With the major branch leaders of the Shixue Dian scheming against each other, I'll just light the fuse. I don't mind stirring things up."

"Profound." The old man in plain clothes gave Ye Chen a thumbs-up.

"Go ahead and handle it. Stay safe."

"Got it." The old man in plain clothes made an OK gesture and was about to leave with the sack, but Ye Chen pulled him back.

"Holy Lord, anything else?"

"I don't even know your name." Ye Chen scratched his ear. "With speed like yours, you can't be a nobody."

"Just call me Liu Neng."

"That's a great name." Ye Chen stroked his chin, giving Liu Neng a meaningful once-over.

"I think so too." Liu Neng laughed a bit slyly, then hoisted the sack and vanished in a flash. His movement technique was truly impressive, leaving even Ye Chen in awe.

"Time to get to work." After Liu Neng left, Ye Chen stretched lazily and cracked his neck. "Haven't kidnapped anyone in so long—hope my skills haven't gotten rusty."

With that, he leaped off the rock and disappeared.

Meanwhile, Xue Qiong had stepped into the void, overlooking the ninth branch army he had just assembled.

Compared to before, the numbers in the ninth branch had drastically reduced.

However, everyone standing there now was a tough character, with the weakest at the eighth level of Lingxu realm—solid core forces.

"Center your search on the Haotian Shijia and spread out in all directions. Conduct a blanket search, and report back immediately if you find any traces of them." Xue Qiong issued the order, his voice echoing endlessly through the heavens and earth.

As his words fell, the ninth branch army, like a black tide, began to move, their formation incredibly imposing.

"Great Commander, I'd appreciate your people's cooperation in this operation." Xue Qiong watched the departing army and turned his gaze with interest to a black-clad middle-aged man at his side.

"We only follow orders, not explanations." The black-clad middle-aged man's tone was extremely cold, his black hair fluttering and his back like a mountain, his aura like a drawn divine sword.

This man was no ordinary figure—he was the great commander of the Shixue Shenying, known in Da Chu as Feng Ying.

"Straightforward." Xue Qiong smiled faintly. "Then have the Shenying forces guard the teleportation arrays in the major ancient cities, and have the rest focus on tracking the Haotian Shijia's traces. Once there's news..."

Whoosh!

Before Xue Qiong could finish, Feng Ying vanished.

Seeing this, Xue Qiong sneered coldly. "One day, when I become the leader of the Shixue Dian, if you ever show me that smug face again, I'll make sure you die a horrible death."

At the same time, Ye Chen had entered a bustling ancient city and headed straight for the largest tavern in the city.

"This fellow daoist looks unfamiliar!" As soon as he entered, a waiter rushed over. Ye Chen was wearing a mask, so of course he looked unfamiliar.

Ye Chen ignored the waiter's words.

He was busy. In his hand, he held a portrait and was scanning the cultivators in the tavern, comparing them one by one.

"Daoist friend, are you looking for Xue Lin?" The waiter glanced at the portrait and asked Ye Chen tentatively.

"How about it, do you know him?" Ye Chen replied casually, but his eyes kept sweeping the room. The tavern was huge, forming its own realm, packed with people, and a few even looked suspiciously similar.

"Of course, of course." The waiter nodded and smiled obsequiously. "Who in Jiutian City doesn't know Xue Lin? He's the fourth true successor of the Shixue Dian."

"Alright, where is he?" Ye Chen slipped a spirit stone into the waiter's pocket. It was a generous amount—the waiter didn't even react in time and nearly stumbled while holding it.

"He's on the third floor, in the heavenly-class private room."

"You're done here—go enjoy yourself." Ye Chen patted the waiter's shoulder and shot up to the third floor in a flash.

"What a generous customer!" Down below, the waiter was beaming with joy. "That's at least a thousand spirit stones. I knew today I'd meet a noble person, I..."

Boom!

Before he could finish, a rumbling explosion came from the third floor of the tavern.

Bang! Clang! Crash! Boom!

Then came a series of crashes, drawing curious glances from everyone in the tavern.

"What's going on up there?" Someone muttered quietly.

"Are your ears deaf? It's obviously a fight."

"Who's got a death wish, causing trouble here?" Someone else sighed.

Crack!

Amid the discussions, the door of a private room on the third floor was kicked flying.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Ye Chen descended, with a bloodied figure slung over his shoulder.

"Xue... Xue Lin?" The entire tavern froze in shock.

Crash!

The most dramatic reaction was from the waiter, who accidentally dropped the spirit stone he was holding, shattering his dignity into pieces.