"Oh? This is indeed good news." Lou Yi's expression remained unchanged, "Only I have reached a bottleneck in my cultivation now, and cannot leave easily.

I can only offer my congratulations here first."

Seeing Lou Yi refuse, without even preparing a congratulatory gift.

Rong Xuejian seemed to realize something, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Then just focus on your cultivation."

He pondered for a moment, and after returning to Wendao Peak, he went to the outside of a large cave dwelling.

White mist surrounded the cave dwelling, with flashes of red light inside, and cranes flying and chirping above.

On the plaque of the cave dwelling's main gate were engraved two golden characters "Yu Chen".

Rong Xuejian said to the boy guarding the gate, "I would like to see Fellow Daoist You Qingyi, please inform her."

The boy drawled, "Senior Brother, please wait a moment."

In less than thirty breaths, Rong Xuejian, led by the boy, entered the cave dwelling and met You Qingyi herself.

"Miss You, I'm here this time at someone's request to invite you to a banquet."

"What?" You Qingyi asked suspiciously.

"My fellow from the Four Seas Association, Du Xing, has advanced to the late-stage Qi Refining and is preparing to..."

Before Rong Xuejian finished speaking, You Qingyi interrupted indifferently, "Tell him I'm not available."

Rong Xuejian was not embarrassed and smiled, "Then I'll say Miss You is busy with cultivation and cannot go out."

Looking at You Qingyi's back, and recalling Lou Yi's reaction earlier, he couldn't help but think: "It seems that the last mission wasn't simple..."

But he was just an intermediary messenger and felt little else.

...

About ten miles away from the Corpse-Driving Sect's mountains, there was a town called Xiangyang Town, where people gathered.

The town was initially used to house the relatives and servants of cultivators from the Immortal Sect.

Over time, it attracted many outsiders, increasing the town's popularity, and commerce gradually developed.

Cloud Sea Building is one of the top restaurants in Xiangyang Town, where sect disciples often hold banquets.

At this time, in a closed private room, sounds of laughter and chatter echoed, with people toasting and the room buzzing with excitement.

"Congratulations to Brother Du on becoming a True Disciple; to achieve it before the age of thirty-five is indeed the mark of an outstanding individual!"

"Alas, average, average, still can't compare to true geniuses like Qiu Shaojie."

"Brother Du has prospects on the Great Dao path, and if you establish Foundation and Core Formation in the future, don't forget us older fellows!"

"Haha, if I truly achieve Foundation Establishment, I can ensure endless Qi Absorption Pills for you all!"

"Brother Du is generous!"

Around a large round wooden table, nearly twenty people were drinking and making merry.

Du Xing was the center of attention, visibly pleased, with a rosy complexion.

He accepted all the toasts from his friends, downing each bowl in one gulp.

At the late-stage Qi Refining and as a True Disciple, even within the Corpse-Driving Sect, he was considered significant.

The path of cultivation grows increasingly difficult the higher one goes.

At the middle-stage Qi Refining, more than half of the Outer Disciples were already stuck.

The late-stage is even tougher, with less than one in ten succeeding upon entry.

Reaching the late-stage, it's only natural to dream of Foundation Establishment.

After several rounds of drinks, people started chatting casually.

Someone said: "Brother Du, you said this breakthrough came from the pressure of the evil cultivator during the last mission, won't you tell us the detailed story?"

Du Xing laughed when he heard this and said: "It's a long story... We thought there was only one evil cultivator, but unexpectedly encountered a second one, also at the late-stage Qi Refining!

But I thought, if I fled first, wouldn't my junior sisters and brothers be in trouble?

So I gritted my teeth and exchanged a few moves with that late-stage evil cultivator. Although I was wounded, I should have bought them some time to escape..."

"Good! Brother Du is truly righteous! Let me toast you another bowl!"

"Brother Du, I knew I was right about you, you're a role model for us all!"

"Haha, I'll drink it dry!"

However, someone on the spot, who just had to bring up an unpleasant topic, said: "Brother Du, at this joyous occasion, why didn't the two people who did the task with you last time come?"

"Indeed, if it weren't for Brother Du stepping in, those two would have been dead at the hands of the evil cultivators, how could they have come back alive?"

"Ungrateful, truly ungrateful!"

At the table, people were getting drunk, and many were angrily slamming the table, voicing their indignation for Du Xing.

Du Xing's face wasn't particularly pleasant either.

He had just been bragging mindlessly while drunk, but now been caught and exaggerated by others, possibly being spread to Lou Yi and You Qingyi afterward.

If they revealed the truth about him...

Thinking of this, Du Xing grew increasingly annoyed, his pleasant mood from the breakthrough gone.

Simultaneously, he began to resent Lou Yi and You Qingyi, for their absence. If they had come, he wouldn't have been caught out like this.

'During the next mission, see if there's a chance to set them up. This way, the blemish on my record will sink to the bottom of the river forever!'

Du Xing's mind flickered with certain dark thoughts, his eyes growing fiercer.

"Let's not mention that unpleasant matter, everyone, let's drink!" Du Xing urged, steering the discussion away.

"Come, come, let's all drink, we must enjoy today to the fullest!"

Who knows how much time passed, but everyone drank until they were drunk, arm in arm, swaying as they left the wine house.

"Ah, I need to relieve myself." Du Xing, feeling the urge from drinking too much, waved the others along.

He went into the alley next to it, found a big tree, and began undoing his belt.

'Whoosh!'

A puff of yellow smoke silently appeared behind Du Xing's head, then suddenly descended!

Despite having reached the late-stage Qi Refining, Du Xing had no chance to resist, his eyes rolled back as he fell backward.

When he opened his eyes.

He found himself in a dimly lit underground enclosed space, with chains binding his arms and legs to a wooden frame.

What terrified Du Xing even more was that no matter how he tried to channel the Profound Yin Technique or stir his spiritual power, nothing responded.

It was as if he had become a mere mortal with no cultivation at all.

"Who are you?!" Du Xing roared in anger.

In front of him stood three mysterious figures in black robes, whose faces were obscured, their eyes a haunting blood-red.

"Hand over the Pure Yang Tribulation Pearl and you'll be spared," came a raspy voice, sounding like a saw cutting through wood.

"What nonsense Pure Yang Pearl, I've never even heard of it!" Du Xing sensed something was wrong, feeling he had possibly fallen into a great conspiracy.

"Seems like we need to sweeten the deal; otherwise, he won't confess." The mysterious figure on the left sneered.

With that, he pulled out a sharp hook covered in red rust, with white-hot smoke rising from its tip, moving it toward Du Xing's chest.

"Ah!! Spare me, please spare me! Ah!!"

"Speak fast."

"I don't know; I really don't know!!"

"Intransigent." One mysterious figure raised his right hand, enshrouded in ominous black mist, pointing at Du Xing's already incontinent forehead.

The soul-crushing sound filled the sealed underground chamber, echoing endlessly.

Who knows how much time passed.

Looking at the man before them, who seemed like a demon with vacant eyes, disheveled hair, the middle black-robed figure frowned slightly.

"It seems he really didn't take it."

"Then should we kill him?"

"No, a True Disciple is not an Inner Sect Disciple.

Every death brings the old folks here to investigate, hard to cover up."

"From the look of it, only the daughter of that General You has the greatest suspicion.

Though she has just broken through to the middle-stage Qi Refining, she has a background and has apprenticed under a Foundation Establishment Elder."

"Capturing her not only could retrieve the treasure but might also have other uses, possibly aiding our sect's grand cause."

"Hehehe..."

...

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