Chapter 1643: Tracking

Master Zhan and others might not have seen anything wrong with Master Kui's statue, but Zhang Xuan knew the truth very well.

Inside, it secretly contained the Vicious's sternum!

Back then, after using the Library of Heaven's Path to discover this, he even considered smashing the statue and extracting the bones, but he ultimately stopped. After all, as a Master Teacher and a Hall Master, he had his principles and could not commit such a heretical act.

Now, when the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe members rushed in and stole nothing else but this item, it had to be for that reason! After all, the Vicious was once one of the most powerful emperors of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. Seizing this skeleton could be incredibly useful, perhaps even allowing them to resurrect it, just as he had done!

"The Vicious?"

Hearing Zhang Xuan's murmur, Master Zhan was taken aback.

"Oh, it's nothing!" Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow. "How many of them were there, and what were their cultivation levels?"

"There were four people. I couldn't discern their exact strength, but... even the Grand Formation of the Saint Son Hall couldn't stop them; it was easily breached..." Master Zhan said, his face flushed with shame.

The dignified Saint Son Hall, the continent's foremost academy, had been breached twice in less than half a month by people who then escaped. The first time was by their own Hall Master, which wasn't embarrassing to admit. But now, to be robbed by the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, who then escaped... To be honest, they didn't even dare report it to the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters! It was too humiliating!

"Four people?" Zhang Xuan took a deep breath, his eyes narrowing. "Which direction did they escape towards?"

"That way..." Master Zhan pointed. "Our cultivation levels were too low, and we couldn't catch up after a short pursuit, so we had no choice but to send a message to the Hall Master..."

"I understand. You all should repair these collapsed buildings and restore the formations!" Zhang Xuan's eyes narrowed as he looked in the direction Master Zhan had indicated. He moved, taking a step forward. "I'll go take a look; I will definitely retrieve Master Kui's statue!"

Master Kui's statue was not only tied to the dignity of the Saint Son Hall but also to the Vicious's skeleton. If he couldn't retrieve it, he, as Hall Master, would be deeply embarrassed—even though his inauguration ceremony hadn't taken place yet.

Employing his understanding of space, he flew at an incredible speed. After just over ten breaths, he had already covered tens of thousands of kilometers. He turned and saw Luo Ruoxi still following, which relieved him. His Eye of Insight scanned the surroundings, searching for any traces.

"You won't find them this way!" Luo Ruoxi shook her head upon seeing his actions. "These four are likely the ones we encountered at White Creek Mountain. They all possess cultivation at the peak of the Great Sage realm and deliberately used special methods to erase their tracks, making them very difficult to trace unless... your Eye of Insight reaches the Fourth Realm!"

"Indeed, I can't detect anything..." In fact, he had already realized this himself, even before she said anything. This time, just like when he apprehended Zhao Ya and the others previously, no clues were left behind. Even he couldn't detect anything.

"However, escaping won't be that easy..." With a faint smile, he flipped his wrist, and a book appeared before him, emitting the aura of the Path of Heaven. It was the Book of Heaven's Path.

When Zhao Ya and the others were captured, if no traces were found, they couldn't be tracked. However, Master Kui's statue was different! It concealed the Vicious's skeleton. Even if Zhang Xuan couldn't trace it himself, as long as the Vicious could sense its direction and within a certain range, he would definitely be able to find it! Unless... the other party had hidden the skeleton using a special spatial secret art! However, since it had just been stolen and not much time had passed, they shouldn't normally be able to do that yet.

Seeing him take out the book, Luo Ruoxi merely glanced at it and said nothing further.

"Little Vicious, wake up! Sense it, where's your sternum?" Zhang Xuan said, tapping the book.

"Hmm..." Hearing that address, the Vicious twitched slightly but eventually nodded. After sensing for a moment, the book immediately pointed in a direction: "Over there!"

"Good!" Relieved to see that it could indeed sense it, Zhang Xuan quickly proceeded in the indicated direction. Luo Ruoxi remained silent, following closely behind him.

After flying for about over a hundred thousand kilometers and traveling for more than an hour, the Vicious spoke, "It's in that city up ahead... Uh oh, it's gone... the sensation has disappeared..."

Zhang Xuan quickly looked ahead and indeed saw a city standing in the distance. The city was incredibly vast, no less impressive than the former Empire Alliance, and perhaps even surpassed it.

"The sensation disappeared? What do you mean?" Even if it entered the city, with your Ancient Sage realm abilities, you shouldn't fail to sense it! How could it just vanish into thin air?

"It must have been obscured by some formation or hidden away. I could still sense it a moment ago, but it suddenly vanished..." the Vicious replied.

"Obscured by a formation?" Zhang Xuan's expression soured. He had been hoping to catch up before it was hidden, but he never expected them to be so quick. He had chased very quickly, but he was still a step too late. If it was truly obscured, it would be very difficult to find in such a vast city. It would be just like when it was hidden within the inner court of the Saint Son Hall, completely undetectable.

"Can you still remember the exact location where it disappeared just now?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"I can only estimate a general range..." the Vicious hesitated.

"Lead the way!" Not bothering with further words, Zhang Xuan instructed.

If the skeleton were truly taken this time, it wouldn't just be a significant loss of face for the Saint Son Hall; it would also make it difficult for his Vicious to improve further. Although the Vicious hadn't been particularly powerful lately, it was still one of his most significant assets. Having already merged with the heart, finger bones, and head, it possessed strength at Saint 8-dan or 9-dan. Once it merged with the complete sternum, wouldn't it directly advance to Great Sage? If done properly, it might even reach the Ancient Sage realm! No one would give up the chance to have an Ancient Sage-level enforcer by their side.

The Vicious led the way. After flying for a short while, they arrived at the center of the city.

"It probably disappeared within this range, but I can't be sure..." the Vicious said, sounding somewhat dejected. The supreme expert who once dominated the heavens was now so fragmented that it couldn't even locate its own bones. It was quite humiliating to admit.

"How precise is this 'general range' of yours?" Zhang Xuan frowned. In such a vast city with countless residences, investigating them one by one would be useless and exhausting. If the range could be more precise, it might be significantly easier.

"Uh... roughly a hundred kilometers in radius..." the Vicious sounded embarrassed.

"A hundred kilometers?" Zhang Xuan swayed, nearly fainting. A hundred-kilometer radius meant a population of at least tens of millions. Trying to find a hidden statue that was undetectable by divine sense... it would be a miracle if he found it!

"It disappeared suddenly. If we had been faster, perhaps I could have sensed something..." Knowing the difficulty, the Vicious quietly offered its defense.

"I understand..." Knowing that the Vicious also wanted to merge and become stronger, and considering that this sternum, suppressed by the Ancient Sage's statue through the power of the Saint Son Hall, should not have developed any consciousness and would be easy to refine, its disappearance must have made the Vicious even more anxious than him. So, Zhang Xuan didn't say much more but instead looked up and scanned his surroundings.

People flowed like a continuous stream. Because many powerful cultivators flew back and forth daily, Zhang Xuan and Luo Ruoxi, by not releasing their power, appeared unremarkable to others, failing to attract much surprise or attention.