Yuan Ming smiled, then turned his gaze to Fu Qing.

"Young Master, we have packed all the important items from the mansion, they are all right here." Before Yuan Ming could speak, Fu Qing immediately handed over a Storage Bag.

"Uncle Fu, are you really not coming with us?" Yuan Ming asked as he took the Storage Bag, not bothering to check its contents.

"Thank you for your concern, Young Master, but I still have elders at home, and many children to care for. If I brought everyone, I'm afraid it will only bring trouble to you. Moreover, there are still many servants in the mansion who need to be dismissed, and some properties that could not be sold in such a short notice. Someone needs to stay behind to handle these matters," Fu Qing shook his head.

"Well, if you insist. However, Uncle Fu, since you're staying in the capital, be cautious of Chang Chun Temple. Should anyone come to you, there's no need to hide anything on my behalf, you may reveal everything you know to avoid bringing disaster upon yourself," Yuan Ming advised.

"Thank you for your concern, Young Master. Although I am a close attendant to the general, I reckon Chang Chun Temple, priding itself as a reputable Sect, would hardly bother with a nobody like myself," Fu Qing replied with an easy smile.

"It's hard to say, better to be cautious."

While talking, Yuan Ming took out another Storage Bag, "Uncle Fu, you have accompanied my father for many years. Now that we part, please keep this Storage Bag as a memento. It doesn't contain much, and I hope you won't find it too modest."

"You're too kind, Young Master."

Fu Qing accepted the Storage Bag and quickly inspected it, only to find it contained hundreds of Spirit Stones, a top-grade magical tool, and a Jade Scroll.

A trace of surprise flashed across his face as he promptly attempted to refuse, but when he looked up, Yuan Ming was already nowhere to be seen.

"Tianming, Commander Fu, farewell until we meet again," Yuan Ming's voice came from the sky.

Liu Tianming and Fu Qing looked up to see Yuan Ming walking on air, saluting them from above. He then turned into a streak of light and flew out of Qujiang City.

At the National Master Mansion, Miao Qing stood atop a tall building and also witnessed Yuan Ming transforming into a light and flying away. A sigh of relief filled his heart as he turned to instruct his disciple behind him,

"Quick, send another message to the Sect, tell them Yuan Ming has left and that his tunneling speed is very fast; we cannot catch up."

The disciple took the order and left, leaving Miao Qing alone on the high building, watching the light fading into the horizon, his eyes filled with relief.

...

An hour later,

Yuan Ming, who was speeding towards the East Sea, suddenly changed his expression and stopped his tunneling light.

Suspended in mid-air, he flipped over his palm, and a Storage Ring appeared in his hand.

This was scavenged from the body of Cha Yancai, who was only at the mid-stage of Core Formation, and since Yuan Ming had been short on time before, he hadn't bothered to check what was inside the Storage Ring, simply putting it away.

However, just now, golden arcs of electricity had suddenly emerged from the ring, creating chaos within Yuan Ming's own Storage Ring.

Even now, as Yuan Ming took it out, the golden arcs continued to flash incessantly, looking terrifying, but their actual power was not strong; they didn't even cause a tingling sensation when hitting Yuan Ming's hand.

Yuan Ming probed the Storage Ring with his Divine Sense and was surprised to find it contained quite a lot: not only tens of thousands of Spirit Stones and various elixirs and spiritual materials, but also a Feather Fan Magic Treasure as well as a strange spiky ball flashing with electric light.

The spiky ball had a unique appearance, with a pure white center and light grey spikes. The golden light was shooting out from the tips of these spikes, flashing for a moment within the Storage Ring and then penetrating space to appear outside the ring.

In the center of the spiky ball, there was a pattern that resembled a serpent's eye. Had Yuan Ming not been sure that the spiky ball was not a living thing, he would have thought it was some kind of unique demon beast.

After a moment of contemplation, Yuan Ming took the spiky ball out and continued to explore it with his Divine Sense. He was then startled to discover that it seemed to be a third-level peak demon core.

When his Divine Sense touched the golden light, he suddenly felt connected to something hundreds of miles away. That thing, too, seemed to be carried by someone rushing towards him.

Frowning slightly, Yuan Ming pondered for a moment and then wrapped the demon core with his Soul Power, causing the electric arcs on the demon core to weaken significantly.

After that, he put the demon core back into the Storage Ring, looked around, determined his direction, and with a flash of tunneling light, flew towards the northeast.

After he had left, about 15 minutes passed before a pale blue tunneling light arrived from the sky, hovering over the spot where Yuan Ming had just been.

An elegant male cultivator in a light blue robe, wearing a jade crown and with skin as white as snow and eyes like clear water, appeared. He scanned the surroundings and without mercy, his Divine Sense at the level of a Nascent Soul swept down, searching the area rapidly, but failed to locate his target.

The handsome male cultivator furrowed his brows, and with a pat on his Spiritual Beast Bag, a completely red creature instantly leaped out.

It was neither cow nor tiger, with two large horns on its head, beneath which were four pairs of ears. From the ears, bursts of orange flames gushed continuously, forming thick rings of fire like patterns encircling the creature's body.

"Yan Gua, employ your full Divine Skills to locate the position of Lei Zheng's demon core," the handsome male cultivator ordered in a cold voice.

The creature known as "Yan Gua" roared and from its ears, surging flames burst out, enveloping its body completely in flames.

The handsome male cultivator, upon seeing this, also extended his hand to hover above Yan Gua's body, with flames lapping at his palm as if he felt no heat at all.

But after a brief moment, the handsome male cultivator suddenly looked towards the northeast, apparently confirming the location of something, then he packed up Yan Gua and once again mounted his tunneling light, quickly chasing after it in the northeast direction.

At the very spot where he had just been standing, within the body of a flying insect, Yuan Ming's soul splitting had observed everything that just took place, thinking to himself, "Trouble."

This male cultivator was clearly after the demon core in Cha Yancai's storage ring, and he was a genuine Nascent Soul cultivator. It looked like he might be one of the Nascent Soul ancestors from Chang Chun Temple.

Liu Tianming had previously informed Cha Yancai of the presence of a Nascent Soul master, and Yuan Ming was also aware of this. It seemed that this handsome male cultivator was Cha Yancai's master, Ancestor Ming Quan.

He hadn't expected him to arrive so swiftly, but even so, Yuan Ming's course of action would remain unchanged.

With Yuan Ming's current strength, he wasn't afraid to confront a Nascent Soul cultivator, but making a move against Ancestor Ming Quan would be more detrimental than beneficial and would greatly affect his future plans. If possible, it was better not to act.

However, following his recent observations, Yuan Ming also discovered that the man had found him by the connection between his own demon core and the spirit beasts nearby. If handled properly, he might well be able to avoid detection.

After a brief period of reflection, Yuan Ming immediately came up with a plan.

...

About fifteen minutes later, Yu Ning Square.

At the entrance of the square, a guard tasked with keeping watch yawned, carelessly collecting the entrance fees from the Loose Cultivators.

But suddenly, a pale blue tunneling light arrived from the sky, reaching the square in the blink of an eye.

A terrifying pressure descended like a waterfall, and the guard at the city gate shivered into alertness, becoming much more awake.

In the sky, Ancestor Ming Quan frowned, his Divine Sense sweeping unreservedly over the square, capturing every face within.

The cultivators in the square, sensing that someone was prying, felt displeasure, but upon looking up and seeing the newcomer floating in mid-air with the boundless expanse of Spiritual Power radiating like an ocean, they didn't even dare to breathe too heavily.

Before long, Ancestor Ming Quan's Divine Sense had scrutinized every corner of the square without omission, yet he found no trace of Yuan Ming.

His brow furrowed deeply; with a slap on his Spiritual Beast Bag, Yan Gua immediately flew out and, without waiting for his command, once again exerted his Divine Skills to their fullest.

"Esteemed senior, may I inquire what brings you to Yu Ning Square?" At the same time, in the square, a Core Formation Cultivator flew out from the City Lord Mansion, approaching Ancestor Ming Quan with a respectful expression and giving him a bow.

However, Ancestor Ming Quan didn't show the slightest intention of responding, simply resting his hand on Yan Gua's back, his frown deepening further.

"Senior, if you are searching for someone, allow me to assist you…"

The Core Formation City Lord hadn't finished his sentence when he was interrupted by Ancestor Ming Quan.

"Nonsense," Ancestor Ming Quan irritably cursed. With a thought, a long saber Magic Treasure materialized out of thin air, and in an instant, it severed one of the Core Formation City Lord's arms.

The Core Formation City Lord cried out in pain but immediately clamped his other hand over his mouth, daring not to stop the bleeding. He simply let his severed arm fall and blood gush from the wound.

However, Ancestor Ming Quan paid no attention to his reaction, once again sweeping his Divine Sense over every corner of the city, ensuring that no one was in disguise.

For some reason, Yan Gua was now unable to detect the position of Lei Zheng's demon core, only knowing that the last appearance of the demon core was nearby.

In this hundred-mile radius, there was only Yu Ning City. Most residents were Loose Cultivators. Yuan Ming, a Core Formation, could not possibly exceed his own Nascent Soul in tunneling speed and Divine Sense. If not using some Secret Technique to escape, he must be hiding in this city.

However, Ancestor Ming Quan's second search yielded the same result.

Seeing this, his expression turned displeased, and with a cold snort, he withdrew Yan Gua and continued to chase in the northeast direction.

It was only after his figure had completely vanished beyond the horizon that another Core Formation Cultivator hurriedly flew out from the City Lord Mansion, approached the pale-faced Core Formation City Lord, and clumsily reattached and healed his severed arm.

In the square, a Foundation Establishment cultivator with an ordinary appearance looked up, watching the events in the sky silently like the other Loose Cultivators, showing nothing unusual.

Yet, this person was actually Yuan Ming in disguise. Using the Blood Bone Mask and Hidden Element Technique, he had flawlessly deceived Ancestor Ming Quan's search without being recognized.

Of course, in addition to that, he had sent Cha Yancai's Storage Ring into the Stealing Heaven Tripod. Thanks to this divine item, the connection between the demon core and Yan Gua had been completely severed.

However, he could not confirm if this was truly effective. Perhaps he would need to travel by a different method to be more secure in the future.

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