Chapter 202 147: Ancient Immortal Gate
"Fellow Daoist Qin, don't you find this strange?" Wei Tu mused for a moment before speaking. "We've been in the core region for so long and have seen cultivators from other factions along the way, but... we haven't seen a single cultivator from the Chisong Jia Family."
"The Chisong Jia Family only has six cultivators, but it's unlikely... that we wouldn't have seen even a shadow of one after all this time."
Hearing Wei Tu say this,
both Master Qin and Kou Hongying frowned deeply.
"I didn't see any cultivators from the Chisong Jia Family before we headed to the core region either."
"Me neither."
The two said, thinking back.
"Could it be that the Chisong Jia Family's cultivators didn't go to the seven inner spiritual lands and went straight into the depths of the core region?" Kou Hongying guessed.
"Impossible," Master Qin refuted. "Although there are more opportunities deeper in the core region, the Chisong Jia Family is a Golden Core Family. For the sake of their family's inheritance, they would never do something so dangerous."
Cultivators from the Three Immortal Sects might form a team and venture deep into the core region, but cultivators from a Golden Core Family would never do such a thing, no matter what.
Golden Core Families seek stability.
"And then there's Si Qing..." Wei Tu mused again. "She's a Tier Two Array Master, and Master Qin determined that she is a Demon Cultivator from the Celestial Maiden Sect..."
"Why did Si Qing ambush and kill the Huang Family cultivators? It's unlikely to have been for treasure stealing. The moment she leaves the Yunze Secret Realm, Si Qing would face severe punishment from the Huang Family's Ancestor."
"Therefore, it's highly likely she attacked the Huang Family cultivators to steal the information they had about the Yunze Secret Realm."
At this point, Wei Tu paused before continuing, "Connecting these two suspicious points, I can't help but question the intentions of both the Chisong Jia Family and Si Qing for entering the Yunze Secret Realm!"
"Are you saying that Si Qing and the Chisong Jia Family are cooperating? Or rather, that the Chisong Jia Family is cooperating with the Celestial Maiden Sect?" Master Qin summarized, having pieced together the implications of Wei Tu's words.
"I can't be sure."
Wei Tu shook his head.
Unlike Master Qin and Kou Hongying, he had promised to cooperate with the Qiyue Zhao Family, so he had been paying close attention to the Chisong Jia Family.
That was how he had noticed this suspicious detail.
But... he wasn't confident enough to declare with certainty that the two points were related.
"Let's withdraw from the core region first and search the inner and outer areas." Master Qin thought for a moment, then looked at Wei Tu and Kou Hongying and made his decision.
The Yunze Secret Realm would be open for three years.
Only half a year had passed, leaving two and a half years, which was more than enough time for them to explore the core region of the Yunze Secret Realm.
There was no need to rush.
If their suspicions were true and Si Qing and the Chisong Jia Family had some other scheme—uncovering their plot would be far more valuable than obtaining a few Core Formation Spiritual Objects.
As for the danger—
they were all Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and with the Sky-Splitting Carving to provide an early warning, escaping unharmed wouldn't be difficult, even if they were outmatched in strength.
"I think it would be safer to first form an alliance with the cultivators from the Qiyue Zhao Family and the Hee Mountain Huang Family,"
Wei Tu suggested.
With more people, the rewards would be divided and thus smaller for each person, but correspondingly, the danger would also be shared.
"Let's form the alliance first." Master Qin nodded, agreeing with Wei Tu's suggestion.
After reaching an agreement,
Wei Tu ordered the Sky-Splitting Carving to begin searching for the nearby cultivators from the Qiyue Zhao Family and the Hee Mountain Huang Family.
「Several days later.」
The Sky-Splitting Carving found the Qiyue Zhao Family's team.
Like most other factions, the Qiyue Zhao Family was now down to only four members. The other two had perished in battles within the inner area and the core region.
"A Sky-Splitting Carving?" Upon seeing the familiar Spirit Pet, Zhao Qingluo was instantly shaken, and her gaze toward Wei Tu gradually grew complicated.
'She never would have imagined that the cultivator she'd had such intimate contact with during her death tribulation was actually Wei Tu.'
However, that look was fleeting, vanishing from Zhao Qingluo's eyes in an instant.
After just half a breath,
Zhao Qingluo's expression returned to normal.
Wei Tu was a little surprised by Zhao Qingluo's calm reaction, but he quickly felt relieved.
'What happened that day was more than seventy years ago. Besides, the Sky-Splitting Carving's cultivation recently had a breakthrough.'
'It was perfectly logical that Zhao Qingluo didn't recognize the Sky-Splitting Carving's "true identity".'
Wei Tu composed himself slightly and then explained his suspicions about the Chisong Jia Family and Si Qing to the cultivators of the Qiyue Zhao Family.
After Wei Tu's reminder,
the Qiyue Zhao Family cultivators also nodded, stating that they too hadn't seen any trace of the Chisong Jia Family cultivators since entering the Yunze Secret Realm.
"Let's find the Jia Family cultivators first." The two Late-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Zhao Family exchanged a glance, nodded, and made their decision.
A Core Formation Opportunity could be found again.
If not in the Yunze Secret Realm, there were other secret realms; Zheng Country had more than just the Yunze Secret Realm offering a Core Formation Opportunity.
But the threat from the Chisong Jia Family was blatant and immediate. If the Jia Family cultivators had the chance, they certainly wouldn't spare the lives of the Zhao Family cultivators.
After gathering their people,
Wei Tu and the Qiyue Zhao Family joined forces and began searching the inner and outer areas for any trace of the Chisong Jia Family cultivators.
Like Wei Tu, the Qiyue Zhao Family cultivators also had a Flying Spiritual Bird, a "Flame-Winged Finch."
—Like the Sky-Splitting Carving, the Flame-Winged Finch also had an Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, having clearly advanced after entering the Yunze Secret Realm.
During the search, Wei Tu's expression gradually turned grim—because along the way, he hadn't come across a single trace of any cultivator from the Hee Mountain Huang Family.
Other than Huang Changkong and Huang Wenqing, the remaining five Huang Family cultivators had vanished without a trace, as if they were dead.
"Found them!"
In the fifth month of the search,
the Qiyue Zhao Family sent a Talisman informing Wei Tu that they had discovered some traces of the Chisong Jia Family cultivators in a valley near the inner spiritual land, Hongye River.
「Five days later.」
The cultivators gathered.
"Just as you predicted, Fellow Daoist Wei, Si Qing is indeed mixed up with the Chisong Jia Family. It seems the Chisong Jia Family has truly colluded with the Demon Dao..."
a Zhao Family Elder, Zhao Pengzong, said to Wei Tu with a faint, relaxed smile.
With proof that the Chisong Jia Family had colluded with the Demon Cultivator sect, the Celestial Maiden Sect—
no matter how powerful the Chisong Jia Family was, they would inevitably face annihilation at the hands of the Three Immortal Sects.
This point alone made their trip to the Yunze Secret Realm worthwhile.
"Zhao Pengzong, can you identify what kind of array Si Qing is setting up in that valley?"
Wei Tu asked.
According to what the Sky-Splitting Carving had observed from the air, Si Qing seemed to be setting up some kind of array on the ground, while the Chisong Jia Family cultivators were currently acting as her guards.
"I don't know." Zhao Pengzong shook his head.
He said, "No need to worry about that. There are seven of us, plus two Tier Two Demon Birds. We can just surround and attack them directly."
In his view, the Qiyue Zhao Family had two Late-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. Adding Master Qin made three.
The Chisong Jia Family, on the other hand, only had two Late-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivators...
In terms of combat strength, Si Qing and the Chisong Jia Family cultivators were significantly inferior to their side.
"Let's wait for now."
Wei Tu shook his head. He was not as optimistic as Zhao Pengzong.
"Is that Huang Caiyu?"
Just then, Zhao Pengzong exclaimed in shock, staring at the scene projected by the Flame-Winged Finch before them.
There, on a hexagonal Array Platform, Huang Caiyu was tied up tightly. Her wrists and ankles were cut open, and blood was gushing into the grooves on the platform's surface.
As the blood flowed into the Array Platform,
an Ancient Bronze Mirror on the platform burst forth with a five-colored radiance, revealing a pale yellow screen of light. Deep within this light screen stood a magnificent Stone Hall.
On the plaque above the Stone Hall were written the two large words: "Nanhua Sect."
"The Ancient Immortal Gate—the Nanhua Sect?"
the cultivators exclaimed in shock.