Chapter 552 65: Qianyu Heaven

In the sky.

Jiang Zheng's face was grim. He waved his sleeve, putting away the Langhuan Ancient Stele, and said in a low voice, "We must leave this place at once!"

With that, a stream of watery light swept out, enveloping Zhuang Daojing and another Elder from the Divine Image Sect, and shot swiftly toward the distant sky.

Fang Cheng said nothing and followed.

A short while later, after the group had flown ten thousand li, Jiang Zheng finally halted his Escape Light.

Fang Cheng had his suspicions and asked curiously, "Fellow Daoist Jiang, was there something wrong with that blood sphere?"

Jiang Zheng's expression was grave. "If I am not mistaken, that was the Blood Soul Guide of the Yu Family from the Hidden Luo Continent."

Upon hearing mention of the Lu Family of Hidden Luo Continent, Fang Cheng's heart stirred.

This was the very family that Yang Yi had been secretly investigating.

The top family hailed as the number one Immortal Race of this world.

Jiang Zheng glanced at Fang Cheng and said apologetically, "I'm afraid I've implicated you in this, Fellow Daoist."

Fang Cheng asked, confused, "Is this Blood Soul Guide a type of tracking mark?"

Jiang Zheng nodded. "Indeed. Please, have a look, Fellow Daoist."

He then pulled open the collar of his robes, revealing a blood-red skull mark on his chest.

Zhuang Daojing's expression changed slightly. After turning and looking down to check herself, she frowned, her delicate brows knitting together. "Ancestor, is there a way to break it?"

The three of them had failed to dodge the blood sphere's attack, and now all bore the Blood Soul Guide. Jiang Zheng, being a Tribulation Realm master, would naturally be fine.

But Zhuang Daojing and the other Elder were both in the Dharma Realm, so they would likely face some trouble.

Jiang Zheng first shook his head, then gave Fang Cheng a complicated look. "I didn't expect you to possess Light Yin Divine Techniques, Fellow Daoist, allowing you to dodge the Blood Soul Guide. However, the Lu Family possesses a Fifth-Order Top-grade Magical Artifact, the Cosmic Light Mirror. It can rewind time in a specific area, and when they use it, they will be able to see us."

The implication was that the fact the Langhuan Ancient Stele had fallen into their hands could no longer be hidden.

Fang Cheng smiled. "Fellow Daoist, that woman was only at the Life Soul Realm. Surely the Lu Family wouldn't cross two continents just to investigate, would they?"

Jiang Zheng sighed. "The Blood Soul Guide is an ultimate technique of the Lu Family, taught only to those in their direct bloodline. Since that woman possessed it, the Lu Family will certainly come to investigate."

"You may not know this, Fellow Daoist, but the Lu Family is a clan that values the continuation of its bloodline above all else in this world. The ancestors of the Lu Family, generation after generation, have been famous for being fiercely protective, never allowing their descendants to suffer the slightest disadvantage."

Fang Cheng found this somewhat plausible.

'If the Lu Family truly possesses a Reincarnation Secret Technique, then the actions of their ancestors are understandable.'

'Preserving the family's bloodline is the very foundation for maintaining the Reincarnation Secret Technique.'

'If all the outstanding younger members of the family are schemed against and killed, then even if they reincarnate into future descendants, it would be difficult for them to make a comeback.'

"Relying on this Blood Soul Guide and the Cosmic Light Mirror, the Lu Family repays every grievance. They've instigated over ten great slaughters on the Hidden Luo Continent. Their title as the number one Immortal Race of the current era was truly earned through killing."

"The current patriarch of the Lu Family has an Eighth Level of Tribulation Realm cultivation, and there are three other Tribulation Realm Cultivators whose Cultivation Realms are no lower than my own. If they learn that the Langhuan Ancient Stele has fallen into our hands, they will definitely come knocking on our door, using revenge as a pretext to seize the treasure."

Jiang Zheng's words were tinged with self-reproach.

But in that situation, killing her to silence her had indeed been the simplest and most effective solution.

He just hadn't expected that the person Cui Bailing had abducted would be a woman from the Lu Family of Hidden Luo Continent. He had no idea what that man had been planning.

Fang Cheng said, "Since things have come to this, perhaps our only choice is to take the Langhuan Ancient Stele and flee to another World Heaven for a while."

"Indeed." Jiang Zheng agreed, then let out a long sigh. "It's just a pity that the Divine Image Sect's vast foundation will be ruined because of this."

Once the Lu Family used the Cosmic Light Mirror to rewind time and discovered that Jiang Zheng had obtained the Langhuan Ancient Stele, the Divine Image Sect would not be able to escape their wrath, even if Jiang Zheng fled this world.

A top-tier sect that has lost the protection of a Tribulation Realm expert becomes a juicy piece of meat that everyone covets.

Fang Cheng said lightly, "So long as the people are preserved, the land can be reclaimed. If the people are lost to save the land, both will be lost forever. Fellow Daoist, you should try to look on the bright side. With this Langhuan Ancient Stele, the Divine Image Sect may yet have a chance to rise again in the future."

Jiang Zheng said, "What you say is true, Fellow Daoist. In my younger years, I roamed the Outer Void and came across a World Heaven quite suitable for relocating the sect. Why don't you come with me first? We can study this Langhuan Ancient Stele together and then decide what to do next."

He knew that Fang Cheng was not from Extreme Jade Heaven and would surely have to return to his own world eventually.

"What is that World Heaven like?" Fang Cheng asked.

Jiang Zheng replied, "Have you ever heard of the Dongyang Immortal Alliance, Fellow Daoist? That World Heaven is one of the worlds under the Alliance's jurisdiction. The Immortal Path there is prosperous, and its culture and customs are completely different from those of Extreme Jade Heaven."

'The Dongyang Immortal Alliance again?'

Fang Cheng thought to himself. 'It seems Extreme Jade Heaven isn't far from the Dongyang Immortal Alliance's sphere of influence; otherwise, it wouldn't have so many intricate connections to it.'

He pondered for a moment before agreeing.

By now, he had basically achieved all his goals for coming to this world.

The Demon-Suppressing Immortal Cicada had already been sent back to the Red Profound Realm by Monk Haideng.

He had also collected a good number of Tier Five Flying Swords and Creation Spirit Fish.

And he had nearly gathered all the Spiritual Medicines needed to refine the Cyan Dragon Divine Pill.

If he had more time, the Qiu Sisters might have enabled him to gain even more, but the current situation was urgent. There was truly no need for him to risk being besieged by the Tribulation Realm experts of this world, who would try to snatch the legacy of the Langhuan Ancient Stele, by continuing to linger here.

Besides, the Dongyang Immortal Alliance was suspected to possess Spirit Immortal legacies and Sixth-rank Magical Artifacts. He might as well go try his luck there. It would give him more confidence when he eventually returned to the Red Profound Realm to deal with the Demon Lord.

If it hadn't been for this affair with the Langhuan Ancient Stele, his original plan had been to cultivate to the Peak of Dharma Form before returning to the Red Profound Realm to break through to the Tribulation Realm.

Now, he was simply changing locations.

...

「A few days later.」

The group of four returned to the Divine Image Sect.

First, Jiang Zheng sent the disciples with lower cultivation from the outer sect away on the pretext of completing missions, arranging for them to go to extremely distant places.

Then, he moved all the core talents—the Elder Disciples and other key members—as well as the many affiliated families, into a Tier Five Pocket World Spiritual Building.

Fang Cheng brought the Qiu Sisters along as well.

Afterward, he and Jiang Zheng charged out of Extreme Jade Heaven's Boundary Membrane and traversed the void.

In truth, he could have just asked Jiang Zheng for the coordinates of that World Heaven and used his Ten Thousand Worlds Compass to break through the world boundary directly.

But doing so would have revealed his trump card, leaving him with one less escape route should he encounter trouble in the future.

Fortunately, he deployed his Feather Divine Soldiers. Relying on this great weapon, his journey through the Outer Void was even more relaxed than Jiang Zheng's.

Many Tier Five Celestial Demons were refined into Taishi Demon Qi under the power of the Feather Divine Soldiers, which in turn nourished the weapon's Thunder Pool.

The journey was perilous but ultimately without mishap.

Jiang Zheng grew even more wary and envious of Fang Cheng's strength, and began to see him as a truly reliable ally.

Just as Fang Cheng had guessed, Extreme Jade Heaven was indeed not far from the Dongyang Immortal Alliance.

It was at least much closer than the journey from the Red Profound Realm to Extreme Jade Heaven.

'Extreme Jade Heaven is rich in resources; I'm afraid the Dongyang Immortal Alliance has had its eyes on it for a long time... The Lu Family of Hidden Luo Continent setting up schemes in Extreme Jade Heaven might even be an arrangement by the Dongyang Immortal Alliance's upper echelons.'

Fang Cheng thought to himself.

A short time later, he and Jiang Zheng arrived outside a World Heaven. The two passed through its Boundary Membrane, and the astral winds from the Extreme Heaven rushed to meet them. The dense Spiritual Qi felt somewhat familiar to Fang Cheng.

The Spiritual Qi of this world was quite similar to what he experienced when he cultivated the Circulation Qi Collection Technique.

"Fellow Daoist Fang, this is Qianyu Heaven."

Jiang Zheng said, his tone complicated.