Liu Zhenxiong helped Wu Teng to his feet. The four of them entered the villa together.
Shortly thereafter, Li Xuanming discovered a hidden door leading to the underground of the villa. They proceeded downwards.
Eventually, they arrived in the vast underground palace beneath the villa. The entire place was paved with pitch-black rocks. The air was thick with an ominous and demonic aura.
Orthodox cultivators would undoubtedly feel uneasy here. However, for a demonic cultivator like Chu Xuan, it felt as though he was in a blessed paradise.
In the center of the underground palace, a figure sat withered. His body was shriveled and emaciated. At first glance, he looked almost like a skeleton. It was quite unsettling.
The footsteps of Chu Xuan and his companions echoed through the chamber. The aged figure showed no reaction.
After a long pause, he spoke without lifting his head, "Again? How much blood do you plan to drain this time?"
Liu Zhenxiong exclaimed excitedly, "Master! It's me, Zhenxiong!"
The aged figure started, then suddenly looked up.
He saw Liu Zhenxiong, and beside him, Chu Xuan, Li Xuanming, and Wu Teng.
It was only then that Chu Xuan could see Wan Wuying's face.
This once vigorous Golden Core ancestor now resembled a skeleton.
His eye sockets were deep, his cheekbones pronounced.
He had been tormented by the Divine Star Sect for far too long.
"Zhenxiong..."
Wan Wuying's eyes widened, his expression one of shock.
Chu Xuan, Li Xuanming, and Wu Teng all bowed, "Disciples of the Infinite Sect, we greet Elder Ancestor!"
Wan Wuying was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter.
"Heaven indeed does not forsake us! I never imagined that I, Wan Wuying, would see the day I could leave this place alive! Very well! You are all worthy sons of the Infinite Sect!"
Liu Zhenxiong declared solemnly, "Master, we will activate the formation now and rescue you!"
The flags of the formation were all exposed. It was designed to be impervious only from the outside.
Presumably, Mo Huanshan, the leader of the Divine Star Sect, never anticipated that someone would find Misty Manor, break the external formation, and kill the guarding cultivators. Finally, they stood before Wan Wuying.
Quickly, the four men removed the formation flags one by one. Liu Zhenxiong rushed forward to support Wan Wuying.
Li Xuanming took out a bottle of healing pills and offered it with both hands, "Elder Ancestor, your recovery is what matters most."
Chu Xuan also presented a bag of large blood pearls. Wan Wuying was delighted and swallowed the pills and blood pearls whole. His gaunt, withered body began to recover at a visibly fast rate.
Like a balloon being inflated, in the blink of an eye, Wan Wuying's face was no longer hollow and creepy. He regained some of the majestic presence of a Golden Core cultivator.
"Very good, very good! I recognize you; you are Li Xuanming, the last disciple personally taught by the First Ancestor. He always boasted to me about you, saying you possess the potential of a Golden Core. Today, upon seeing you, it is clear your talents and strengths are exceptional, and your disposition and character are also of the highest quality!"
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Wan Wuying laughed heartily. He gently patted Li Xuanming on the shoulder, his approval evident.
"I'm now free from my confinement, and Mo Huanshan will surely be aware. We must not delay; let us leave immediately. We can talk more on the way."
Wan Wuying spoke gravely.
"Yes," responded Chu Xuan and his companions in a somber tone.
"Where shall we go, Master? Do you already have a destination in mind?" Liu Zhenxiong asked, puzzled.
Wan Wuying gave a mysterious smile, "I've long decided our destination, but it was on the way that we were surrounded by cultivators from the Divine Star Sect and the Golden Dragon Temple. Follow me."
Wan Wuying returned to the surface. Immediately enveloping Chu Xuan and the others with his Spiritual Qi, he flew towards the south. As they passed the Misty Mountains, he also took Xu Ming and a few others along.
Wan Wuying, a Golden Core stage cultivator, normally wields a magic treasure, whose power far exceeds those of magic tools used by Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.
However, Wan Wuying's magical treasures had been taken. Now, he could only traverse the skies by the sheer force of his Golden Core stage powers.
Nevertheless, even flying unaided by any tools and while carrying several cultivators, his speed remained swift.
In the blink of an eye, they had crossed the Misty Mountains and reached the borders of Wu Province.
After arriving in Wu Province, Wan Wuying continued south without pause. Only when he spotted a mortal city in the distance did he stop. He found a valley rich in Spiritual Qi nearby and settled down.
"Let us rest here for now."
After instructing his disciples, Wan Wuying immediately sat down to meditate, absorbing the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth.
Chu Xuan knew only that Wu Province was south of Tong Province, but he was unfamiliar with the specific conditions of Wu Province. For now, following Wan Wuying was his only option.
However, with Wan Wuying, a Golden Core Ancestor, to protect them, they could certainly feel much more at ease. Chu Xuan cautiously circled the valley, setting up formations at every entrance and exit. This way, if anyone approached the valley, he would know immediately.
When he returned to Wan Wuying's side, he found that Wan Wuying had already awakened and was talking with Liu Zhenxiong, Li Xuanming, and Wu Teng.
"...Xuanming, during these days, there was also that little bald monk from the Golden Dragon Temple here, using fierce ghosts to temper his magic tools. That little monk was no ordinary opponent and even possessed evil-suppressing runes. How did you manage to defeat him?"
With a moment to spare, Wan Wuying looked at Li Xuanming with a hint of curiosity and asked.
Li Xuanming gave an awkward smile and turned to Chu Xuan, who had just returned, "To be truthful, Elder Ancestor, it was not I who overcame Huikong; it was Junior Brother Chu."
Liu Zhenxiong spoke respectfully, "Master, the monk's name is Huikong. He was exceedingly cunning, only appearing when our Spiritual Qi was nearly depleted. The three of us could not defeat Huikong and nearly perished. It was Junior Brother Chu who bided his time and, with a thunderous strike, gained the upper hand and ultimately slew him!"
Wu Teng also bowed, "Elder Ancestor, that Huikong was incredibly powerful, and nearly succeeded in killing me. Had it not been for Junior Brother Chu's decisive strike, I would have died, and our rescue mission would have likely failed."
Wan Wuying's gaze fell upon the youngest, Chu Xuan, filled with astonishment.
Li Xuanming, he had met before. Liu Zhenxiong, a disciple he had nurtured for many years. Wu Teng, he recognized as an early-placed spy of the Infinite Sect. But this young man was a stranger to him.
Could he have really killed Huikong?
Chu Xuan bowed respectfully, "Disciple Chu Xuan of the Infinite Sect, greets the Elder Ancestor."
"Chu Xuan?" Wan Wuying mulled over the name, unable to recall any memory of him.
Liu Zhenxiong explained, "Master when our sect was destroyed, Junior Brother Chu was still at the Qi Refining stage. He has only risen to prominence after the fall, advancing to the Foundation Establishment stage."
Wan Wuying was puzzled, "But at the time of the sect's fall, Chu Xuan, you must have been at least at the eighth or ninth level of Qi Refining. Among the disciples at that level, I do not recall seeing you."
Chu Xuan replied respectfully, "At that time, I was only at the fourth level of Qi Refining. After the sect was destroyed, it seemed as though I had an epiphany, and my cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds. Moreover, I had some luck, acquiring numerous blood pearls and large blood pearls. It was only recently that I advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage."
Wan Wuying listened, amazed.
In just a few years, to surge from the fourth level of Qi Refining to the Foundation Establishment stage was no small feat.
Li Xuanming and the others had also personally confirmed that Chu Xuan was the one who had dealt with the monk from the Golden Dragon Temple. Had it not been for Chu Xuan's intervention, the mission to rescue him might very well have failed!