The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

Kui Ran was furious, wanting to tear this black Jiao guard to pieces. But now, as he scanned the area with his Divine Sense, he couldn't find a trace of Ao Jun, or even Kui Wu.

Kui Ran roared, "Where are they???"

The guard, seemingly scared out of his wits, finally stammered out the crucial details: "There were more and more demon beasts attacking. A Female Cultivator on the other side took out a Spiritual Treasure, instantly cleared a space, and then teleported away with Leader Kui Wu and the beasts!"

Kui Ran's hand morphed into the shadow of a dragon's claw, crushing the guard into dust. 'He deserved to die for failing to protect the Young Master!'

He roared in fury, "A Teleportation Talisman! It's a Teleportation Talisman again!"

His eyes narrowed, glinting with a chilling killing intent. 'Is this a plot by the Human Race? Did they use Liu Ling to lure me away just to capture the Young Master?' He immediately dismissed the idea. 'No, that's wrong. The Human Race couldn't have known the Young Master would appear here today. He possesses a secret treasure that masks his fate, making him impossible to track through divination.'

Kui Ran slowly calmed himself. 'The Young Master has countless secret treasures,' he thought. 'Surviving shouldn't be an issue. The real worry is that those wretched humans have taken him inside their Guardian Array. But Teleportation Talismans are blocked by the Guardian Array, so they couldn't have gone back inside. Since I can't sense the Young Master's location, all I can do is wait for him here.'

With this in mind, he flew directly toward the Guardian Array's exit. Simultaneously, he sent out several Ink-Scale Flying Books, resolved to mobilize the entire Jiao Race if necessary to bring the Young Master back!

At the exit of the All Heaven Guarding Array, Ji Yixin was just preparing to send out another batch of Human Race Cultivators when he suddenly sensed a world-shattering demonic aura. The immense pressure made his heart race, even from within the Array's passageway.

He quickly shouted, "A Nascent Soul Great Demon! A Nascent Soul Great Demon is attacking! Alert all disciples to be on guard! Send a message to Peak Master Fu!"

The humans in the passage quickly rushed back.

Yet when everyone returned, they looked through the Array's observation formation and saw only a single, dark-robed elder hovering in the air, blocking the main gate.

Two incense sticks' worth of time later, a middle-aged man with a longsword on his back emerged from the Guardian Array's exit. The sword was unsheathed, its edge radiating a piercing sharpness. The man himself appeared unremarkable, but his gaze was as sharp as a blade.

"Kui Ran, what is the meaning of this? Are you looking to test my blade with your own body?"

Kui Ran opened his eyes, a Divine Light flashing within them, and asked coldly, "There was a Female Cultivator who could use a Spiritual Treasure containing your Dubhe Sharp Sword's Sword Intent. Who is she to you?"

Fu Xiao understood immediately. He had only four female direct disciples. Three of them were currently stationed in the Battle Array behind the main formation. That left only Meng Yingluo, the one at Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment, whose whereabouts were unknown.

'That Spiritual Treasure, imbued with his Sword Intent, was a life-saving Magical Artifact he had gifted to each of his direct disciples. It was exceedingly difficult to forge; each disciple only got one, and it was single-use, never to be deployed unless their life was on the line. Now that Kui Ran was asking... Could he have captured Ying Luo? Does he want to use her as a bargaining chip for something else?'

With this thought in mind, Fu Xiao said bluntly, "State your conditions directly. I will consider for myself whether my disciple's life is worth the price!"

Hearing this, Kui Ran felt a wave of relief. 'It seems the Young Master wasn't taken into the Guardian Array after all.'

After that, he fell silent, closing his eyes to wait. 'As long as they aren't captured by the Demon Race,' he thought, 'they'll have to return to the Array eventually. All I have to do is wait right here.'

Seeing Kui Ran's posture, Fu Xiao's eyes flashed wildly with Sword Intent. He declared, "Relay my orders to the other Peak Masters! Tell them to come and surround and kill Kui Ran! My disciple is a member of the Human Race and will never yield, even in death!"

The Cyan Sky Sect disciples guarding the Array immediately received the order: "Yes, sir!"

Kui Ran acted as if he hadn't even heard the threat. 'The Demon Race has already mobilized its forces,' he thought. 'We have nothing to fear from them.'

Meanwhile, Chen Dong was traveling frantically, trying only to reach Earth Sinking Mountain faster and intercept Murong Qing and her group.

But the more anxious he was, the more his frustration grew. At any moment, large groups from the Demon Race would fly overhead, making it impossible for him to speed up.

Hiding beneath a large tree, he dodged another patrol from the Demon Race. He calculated the distance to Earth Sinking Mountain; at this rate, it would take at least two more days. To make matters worse, the massive Fire Pine Mountain mining range now lay directly in his path. His original route would have bypassed it completely, but the teleportation had planted the mountain range squarely in his way. Fire Pine Mountain stretched for hundreds of miles and was filled with countless excavated tunnels. There was no telling which ones might have demon beasts actively mining inside.

Furthermore, the Demon Race valued these mines immensely. They were guarded by a Nascent Soul Great Demon, with constant patrols sweeping the surrounding area. Detouring around the mountains would waste a whole day, but crossing through them was far too dangerous.

Chen Dong was momentarily unable to decide. According to his calculations, that single day could make all the difference.

As he hurried along, he considered using Liu Ling's identity to risk cutting straight through. But he immediately shot down the idea. 'Kui Ran has definitely alerted the entire Demon Race by now,' he thought. 'Getting spotted would be even more trouble.'

With that, Chen Dong sent a voice transmission to Liu Ling, "Didn't you say you could guarantee I'd find the person I'm looking for?"

Following behind Chen Dong, her gaze fixed on him, Liu Ling finally gave a dazed reply: "Ohh~!"

Chen Dong realized that ever since signing the Beast Taming Contract with her, Liu Ling had seemed a bit slow-witted. 'Don't tell me the Beast Taming Contract not only compels her to call me Master, but also affects her mind?' he wondered.

Things were, in fact, just as Chen Dong suspected. The Beast Taming Contract was indeed subtly influencing Liu Ling, though the effects weren't usually so pronounced. For the moment, Liu Ling was simply lost in her own thoughts.

Hearing Chen Dong's question, Liu Ling snapped back to reality. "Master, it's been a while now. Kui Ran probably isn't chasing us anymore. We can just search for them openly!"

Chen Dong glanced back at her. 'What kind of idiotic idea is that?'