Chapter 2608: Mindful Wang Gonghu (No more today)

Thousands of miles away, over a boundless expanse of verdant mountains, a colossal crimson flood dragon swiftly streaked across the sky, moving at great speed.

Wang Gonghu and the other three stood on the crimson flood dragon's head. He had no intention of rushing to the major market city; if Venerable Master Heavenly Spider pursued them, he would undoubtedly intercept them there.

Instead, he decided to do the opposite and head towards a minor market city.

Su Yunxin was currently recounting to Wang Gonghu the developments of the Tianyuan Sect over the years. Wang Gonghu had specifically asked him to do this, inquiring about the sect's enemies, any factions they had fallen out with, people they had offended, and even Venerable Fire Toad's social circle. This information would help them plan their escape route; naturally, they would need to avoid any forces on good terms with Venerable Fire Toad.

“What? When you advanced to the Soul Transformation Stage, Venerable Fire Toad and the others gave you gifts? And you're carrying them with you?” Wang Gonghu asked with a frown. This was not good news.

“Yes! Martial Uncle Lin and the others gave me spirit beasts, spirit treasures, and spirit medicines. But I've checked them many times, and there were no issues,” Su Yunxin replied, puzzled.

“Did they give you gifts before? Were the items particularly valuable?” Wang Gonghu pressed.

“They did give me gifts before, and they weren't exceptionally valuable. My great-grandfather and I checked them thoroughly multiple times and found no abnormalities, so I accepted them,” Su Yunxin explained.

“Take out everything they gave you, don't miss a single item. For the sake of both our lives, you'd best not rely on luck,” Wang Gonghu stated grimly. It was better to be safe than sorry; he preferred to be cautious rather than careless.

Su Yunxin dared not be careless and promptly retrieved the gifts from Venerable Fire Toad and the others.

Wang Lihe flicked his wrist, and a large swathe of sharp sword energy swept out, striking the ground. A giant pit instantly appeared. Su Yunxin threw all the items into the giant pit and buried them.

Wang Gonghu gently shook his wrist, and dozens of azure butterflies flew out from his spirit beast bracelet. The azure butterflies flew towards the trees near the pit and landed on them. He divided his divine sense into dozens of strands, attaching them to the azure butterflies. With a quick incantation, the crimson flood dragon accelerated and swiftly vanished into the horizon.

About a quarter of an hour later, the Four-winged Sky-flying Centipede caught up. The magic disk in the green-robed young woman's hand vibrated continuously. Her willow-like brows furrowed deeply. With a single hand, she grabbed towards the ground, and a crimson-gold orb flew out from beneath the earth, hovering before her.

The golden orb was a Spirit-Seeking Orb, a spirit treasure, and it was a matching item to the Spirit-Sensing Disk in her hand. This set had originated from the Azure Glaze Sea Region. The Spirit-Seeking Orb was refined from the eyes of a certain fifth-tier golden shark beast. As long as Su Yunxin carried the Spirit-Seeking Orb, the Spirit-Sensing Disk would react within thousands of miles.

While the Spirit-Seeking Orb was a spirit treasure, the Spirit-Sensing Disk was a Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure. Their relationship was somewhat akin to a spirit insect and its queen, specifically designed for tracking enemies. However, she could use the Spirit-Sensing Disk to track Su Yunxin, but Su Yunxin could not use the Spirit-Seeking Orb to track her.

When Su Yunxin advanced to the Soul Transformation Stage, she had deliberately gifted him the Spirit-Seeking Orb as a congratulatory present, intending to monitor his movements. This way, if their attempt to seize power failed, or if Su Qinghe broke through the encirclement, they could use the Spirit-Sensing Disk to track him.

“They discovered what I did, but they shouldn't have!” The green-robed young woman's expression turned very ugly.

Venerable Master Heavenly Spider seemed to sense something. He reached out his right hand towards the void, and dozens of azure butterflies flew towards him. He crushed them, and some tiny red lights attempting to flee were also instantly pulverized by him.

“Interesting. Not only did they discover your tampering, but they also released spirit butterflies for surveillance. It seems they've already noticed us, but they shouldn't have gone far,” Venerable Master Heavenly Spider sneered. He then released a swarm of pale golden bees. These bees, with four wings on their backs, circled in the void a few times before chasing in the direction Wang Gonghu and the other two had fled. His divine sense could extend over three thousand li, but beyond that distance, he couldn't perceive things clearly. The Spirit-Tracking Bees, with their acute sense of smell, would be perfectly useful.

“Chase them, don't let them get away.”

After flying for over a hundred li, the Spirit-Tracking Bees suddenly split into three groups, flying in different directions. This indicated that their targets had dispersed, creating a problem. Venerable Master Heavenly Spider couldn't determine who possessed the Lightning-Absorbing Orb. The four of them had split into three routes: Venerable Master Heavenly Spider and the green-robed young woman pursued one route, while the two disciples each pursued another.

After flying for over a million li, Venerable Master Heavenly Spider appeared in a small valley surrounded by mountains on three sides. Inside the valley, voices buzzed with activity. Outside, a golden stone tablet, over a hundred feet tall, stood erected, bearing the large characters 'Green Wind Valley'.

“Venerable Fire Toad colluded with evil cultivators, harming the innocent! The Wang family cultivators from Green Lotus Island assisted Sect Master Su in purging the sect, and Venerable Master Heavenly Spider contributed significantly!” A tall, thin middle-aged man stood outside the valley, holding a piece of Echoing Bamboo, which continuously replayed this message.

“Who told you to play that?” the green-robed young woman asked.

“A cultivator from Green Lotus Island's Wang family instructed this junior to do so. He gave this junior fifty thousand spirit stones to spread the message here. People in the market city are also replaying it with Echoing Bamboos,” the middle-aged man replied truthfully.

Venerable Master Heavenly Spider's face turned ashen. With this, if any member of the Wang family were to be harmed, the Wang family would immediately connect it to Venerable Master Heavenly Spider. This was Wang Gonghu's warning. Unless Venerable Master Heavenly Spider could kill every cultivator who heard this message, which was clearly impossible, as even a small market city had a teleportation array.

“Pursue them.” Venerable Master Heavenly Spider was still unwilling to give up. He led the green-robed young woman into the valley. In every street and alley, cultivators were holding Echoing Bamboos, replaying that very message. They arrived at the hall containing the teleportation array, only to their surprise, find that the array the other party had used was temporarily out of service. It was clear that the moment they had teleported, they had immediately destroyed the array, and its repair would take some time. No matter how keen the Spirit-Tracking Bees' sense of smell was, they could not locate a target tens of thousands of li away; after all, they were only fifth-tier spirit insects.

The Golden Blade Sect had a heritage spanning over seven hundred years and boasted four Soul Transformation cultivators. Its founding patriarch, Venerable Golden Blade, possessed a mid-Soul Transformation Stage cultivation.

On this particular day, as he was cultivating in his secret chamber, a sound transmission talisman flew in. Venerable Golden Blade crushed the talisman, and a hurried male voice rang out: “Master, a descendant from Green Lotus Island's Wang family has come to visit. He says it's urgent and wishes to speak with you in person. What do you think?”

“Green Lotus Island's Wang family?” Venerable Golden Blade was slightly taken aback. He had naturally heard of this family; it was an affiliated cultivating family of the Sea-鎮 Palace, certainly not one the Golden Blade Sect could afford to provoke. He took out a communication disk, input a spell, and commanded: “Quickly invite them to the reception hall. I'll be right there.”

Venerable Golden Blade put away his communication disk and walked out.

In the reception hall, Wang Gonghu and Su Yunxin were conversing. When they passed through the minor market city, they spent a fortune inquiring about the Golden Blade Sect. It was a newly established sect with a shallow foundation, vastly different from the Tianyuan Sect, and the two factions had no apparent connection. Wang Gonghu intended to leverage the Golden Blade Sect's influence to escape Venerable Master Heavenly Spider's pursuit.

Not long after, Venerable Golden Blade arrived. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Wang Gonghu cut straight to the point: “Fellow Daoist Sun, we have an urgent matter and wish to borrow your Golden Blade Sect's teleportation array, which can transport us to another market city's array. How about this fifth-tier puppet beast as compensation?”

Wang Gonghu presented a fifth-tier puppet beast and spoke earnestly. Venerable Golden Blade was stunned, unable to believe what he was hearing.

“Fellow Daoist Wang, this is...?” Venerable Golden Blade hesitated. He simply couldn't believe such a good thing could happen. If the Wang family wanted to deal with the Golden Blade Sect, they wouldn't need to go through so much trouble. Could it be a spy sent by an enemy, disguised as a Wang family member?

Wang Gonghu wasted no words. He released a fifth-tier flood dragon and stated: “We are currently on an urgent mission and wish to use your sect's teleportation array. If Fellow Daoist Sun is unwilling, then so be it; we absolutely won't force you. The Snow Sword Sect, however, should not refuse.” The Snow Sword Sect and the Golden Blade Sect had a very poor relationship, having clashed multiple times over territory and cultivation resources.

“Alright then! Our sect's teleportation array can transport a million li, reaching the Golden Jade Market. Our Golden Blade Sect is one of its administrators.” Venerable Golden Blade hesitated slightly before agreeing. The presence of a fifth-tier flood dragon indicated this was certainly not a scheme an enemy of the Golden Blade Sect could conjure, and with the additional fifth-tier puppet beast, he had no choice but to believe them.

“You should personally escort us,” Wang Gonghu said gravely. A teleportation array could create a significant distance, and Venerable Master Heavenly Spider wouldn't find it so easy to borrow the Golden Blade Sect's array.

Venerable Golden Blade naturally dared not refuse and personally escorted Wang Gonghu and Su Yunxin as they teleported away.

As soon as they arrived, Wang Gonghu immediately destroyed the teleportation array they had used, paid a hefty sum of spirit stones in compensation, and departed with Su Yunxin.

In this way, Wang Gonghu employed various tactics to shake off Venerable Master Heavenly Spider. He fled without a moment's rest, and after chasing for over half a month without catching a glimpse of Wang Gonghu, Venerable Master Heavenly Spider was forced to give up. Unless he could ascertain who possessed the Lightning-Absorbing Orb, Venerable Master Heavenly Spider dared not resort to lethal force, or else the Wang family would hold him responsible.