Chapter 497: Chapter 279: Tracking

In the Yunling Mountain Range at night, the chirping of insects rose and fell, punctuated by the occasional roar of a beast.

The moon had already risen over the mountain peaks, but Sun Tao, Zhang Hanzhou, and the others waited and waited, yet there was still no sign of Liu Qingyuan’s return.

"I’m afraid something has happened to Elder Liu Qingyuan!" Sun Tao declared, getting to his feet.

More than an hour had passed since the attack. If nothing had happened to Liu Qingyuan, he should have come looking for them by now.

Even if he was chasing the enemy, he wouldn’t have pursued them for this long. If a major battle had broken out, a winner would have been decided long ago.

"How could anything have happened to him? How many people are capable of killing an Elder of our Purple Sun Sect? Elder Liu is probably still hunting down the enemy," Qi Xuancheng said, shaking his head.

At the same realm, a Purple Sun Sect Elder is definitely stronger than any Celestial Essence Martial Artist from the Jianghu.

Sun Tao ignored Qi Xuancheng.

’This guy is far too arrogant, thinking a Purple Sun Sect Elder is invincible. If someone dared to make a move, how could they have done so recklessly without some degree of confidence?’

’His grandfather is the Peak Master of Medicine King Peak, and he grew up in the Purple Sun Sect. He has no idea how treacherous and cruel the Jianghu can be.’

He looked at Zhang Hanzhou and said, "Senior Brother Zhang, should we continue to wait, or should we return to the Sect to report this? Please decide. If Elder Liu has met with disaster and we just keep waiting like this, I fear the Sect will punish us."

Zhang Hanzhou felt a headache coming on. The scenarios described by both Sun Tao and Qi Xuancheng were possible.

Given Liu Qingyuan’s foul temper, if it turned out nothing was wrong and they had returned to the Purple Sun Sect to report it, he would likely hold it against them.

But if Liu Qingyuan really was in trouble, and they just waited here, they might also be punished by the Sect later on.

After a moment of deliberation, Zhang Hanzhou spoke. "How about this: you and I will go check the canyon. If there’s no trace of Elder Liu’s return, we’ll head back to the Sect to report it."

"Alright!" Sun Tao was confident in his judgment and believed Liu Qingyuan had already met with disaster, so he wasn’t afraid to return to the canyon.

"You all watch over the birthday gift. Sun Tao and I will be right back."

Zhang Hanzhou and Sun Tao left their hiding spot and used their Body Techniques to rush toward the canyon. In less than a quarter of an hour, they arrived back at the canyon, which was strewn with massive boulders. They saw wild wolves gnawing on horse carcasses, but there wasn’t a single trace of Liu Qingyuan.

Sun Tao checked the surroundings, and his heart sank. ’Elder Liu never came back.’

’It’s not like he was chasing some mortal enemy with a deep-seated hatred. Liu Qingyuan wouldn’t pursue someone for this long. Besides, we have a mission to complete. He wouldn’t just abandon his duties. The only explanation is that something has happened to him, and he’s not coming back.’

"Let’s go!"

Zhang Hanzhou barked, his expression changing drastically. He quickly led Sun Tao back to their hiding place.

"Qi Xuancheng and I are the fastest. We’ll return to the Sect to report this. The rest of you follow behind, and be careful."

After explaining that Liu Qingyuan had not returned to the canyon, Zhang Hanzhou decided that he and Qi Xuancheng, who had the highest cultivation, would return to the Purple Sun Sect first to deliver the news.

Lu Ren, Du Chuan, and the others had no objections.

The two of them had high cultivation and were fast. If they reported the news in time, they might even be able to save Liu Qingyuan’s life. If everyone traveled back to the Purple Sun Sect together at a slower pace, it would be far too late.

"Let’s go!"

Zhang Hanzhou shot out like a bolt of lightning, a streak of bloody light rushing in the direction of the Purple Sun Sect. Upon hearing that Liu Qingyuan had never returned, Qi Xuancheng was now also in a panic and quickly followed.

The two figures, one after the other, raced back toward the Purple Sun Sect with the speed of wind and lightning.

They didn’t stick to the main roads, instead crossing mountains and ridges. It was a journey of over a hundred li, but with two Marrow Cleansing Great Success Martial Artists traveling at full speed, they reached the vicinity of the Purple Sun Sect in about half an hour.

At night, Tianquan Peak was completely silent, with only the Sect Leader’s Hall still brightly lit.

Zhang Jingyuan sat on his grand chair, sipping tea as he diligently read a book.

"Quick, take us to see the Sect Leader! Something has happened to Elder Liu!"

An urgent voice rang out from outside the hall. Zhang Jingyuan’s gaze involuntarily lifted from his book. ’Is that Zhang Hanzhou’s voice?’

In the next moment, with a gust of wind, Zhang Jingyuan’s figure vanished from the hall, leaving only the book to fall slowly to the floor.

"What happened to Elder Liu?"

Zhang Jingyuan’s voice suddenly echoed. Zhang Hanzhou and Qi Xuancheng, who had just rushed to Tianquan Peak, looked up to see Zhang Jingyuan’s figure standing before them, having appeared as silently as a ghost.

"Disciple pays respects to the Sect Leader."

Qi Xuancheng and Zhang Hanzhou clasped their hands in salute and hurriedly explained how they had been attacked and how Liu Qingyuan had yet to return.

Zhang Jingyuan’s expression remained as placid as an undisturbed well, betraying no emotion. Only after they had recounted the entire incident did he ask, "Was it the work of the Demon Sect?"

’Other than the Demon Sect, he couldn’t think of anyone who would dare attack an Elder of the Purple Sun Sect.’

Zhang Hanzhou and Qi Xuancheng shook their heads in unison. "We do not know, disciple. The attacker only exchanged a single blow with Elder Liu in the air before leaving. Elder Liu gave chase and never came back."

Zhang Jingyuan nodded and said to the approaching Bai Shaoling, "Go and summon Peak Master Lu at once."

Traveling to the scene of the incident at this hour would take a long time, even for a Celestial Essence Strong Person. An Exotic Beast would be faster.

"Never mind. I will go myself!"

As he spoke, he grabbed Zhang Hanzhou and shot into the sky.

"SCREE..."

The moon was high above the branches when a sharp eagle’s cry echoed throughout the Purple Sun Sect. Countless meditating disciples were startled awake. They came out of their rooms and saw Lu Tianchen, the Peak Master of Beast King Peak, standing on the back of a giant eagle with Zhang Hanzhou as it soared into the heavens.

"Zhang Hanzhou? Didn’t he go with Elder Liu Qingyuan to the Haisa Sect to offer birthday congratulations? Why is he back at the Purple Sun Sect?"

"They’re in such a hurry. I’m afraid something has happened to the congratulatory delegation."

"Could the delegation have been attacked by the Demon Sect?"

...

For a moment, the disciples of the Purple Sun Sect were in an uproar, with all sorts of speculation spreading like wildfire.

Xu Yang stood in his courtyard, watching as the giant eagle carried Lu Tianchen and Zhang Hanzhou out of the Purple Sun Sect and disappeared into the night sky.

He wasn’t afraid of the matter being discovered.

’Even if they discovered that he was the one who killed Liu Qingyuan, the Purple Sun Sect wouldn’t be stupid enough to make a genius like him pay for a dead man with his own life.’

’Of course, he wasn’t naive enough to be certain the Purple Sun Sect wouldn’t move against him. He had already prepared for the worst, packing all his important supplies. If things started to look bad, the worst-case scenario was simply fighting his way out of the Purple Sun Sect.’

"Peak Master Lu, the location of the incident is just ahead."

The Exotic Beast, a giant eagle, carried Lu Tianchen and Zhang Hanzhou across the sky, reaching the vicinity of the canyon in less than a quarter of an hour.

Following Zhang Hanzhou’s directions, the giant eagle soon carried Lu Tianchen to the airspace above the canyon.

Lu Tianchen looked down. The canyon was strewn with massive boulders, but there was no sign of Liu Qingyuan.

"When Liu Qingyuan pursued the enemy, which direction did he go?" Lu Tianchen asked.

Zhang Hanzhou thought for a moment, then pointed. "It was that way."

Lu Tianchen nodded and gently patted the eagle’s back. The giant bird immediately flew in the direction Zhang Hanzhou had indicated.

"Up ahead!"

After flying for a short while, a battlefield, now a ruin, appeared in the mountains ahead. Countless trees had been uprooted, and massive saber and sword scars crisscrossed the land, which was pockmarked with craters.

At the very center, the ground had sunk several meters, and the earth and rock had been pulverized into fine dust.

"It’s Elder Liu!" Zhang Hanzhou cried out.

A corpse, severed in two, lay on the ground, its blood staining the earth red. The head had been crushed, making the face unrecognizable, but the clothes were the same ones Liu Qingyuan had been wearing when he left. He was certain he wasn’t mistaken.

Zhang Hanzhou felt his mind go blank. Liu Qingyuan was actually dead, cut in two and left exposed in the wilderness. A dignified Celestial Essence Martial Artist had died such a miserable death.

A wave of retrospective fear washed over him. If Sun Tao hadn’t insisted, they might have been killed as well.

"Bastard!"

Lu Tianchen’s face was contorted with rage. He, too, had recognized Liu Qingyuan’s body.

Grabbing Zhang Hanzhou, he leaped from the eagle’s back, landing on the ground and quickly striding over to Liu Qingyuan’s corpse.

Bending down to look, he discovered that besides the fatal saber strike, Liu Qingyuan had two other, less severe saber wounds on his body.

"First cut in half at the waist, and only then was his head crushed..."

He scanned the surroundings and continued, "There was only one killer. They also cultivate a Supreme Yang Technique. Their Saber Technique Realm is profound and unfathomable. Their Sword Intent is on the verge of reaching the Supreme Realm of Severing Illusion, True Self-Realization, and Transforming Illusion into Reality. The Sword Intent is filled with death and slaughter..."

Even now, a condensed and yet-to-disperse Sword Intent lingered in the air. A terrifying remnant of that same Sword Intent clung to Liu Qingyuan’s corpse—sharp, fierce, and saturated with the aura of death.

Lu Tianchen’s expression grew increasingly grave. ’This level of Saber Technique Realm is something even I would be wary of. If I were to face it, I probably wouldn’t be a match for them either.’

"How strange!"

As he continued to scan the area, he grew more puzzled.

Logically, a person with such a terrifying Saber Technique Realm should have been able to kill Liu Qingyuan as easily as flipping their hand.

’But from observing the entire battlefield, it seems the opponent fought a fierce battle of over a hundred exchanges with Liu Qingyuan before finally killing him. Did I underestimate Liu Qingyuan, or did I overestimate the realm of his killer?’

’Could it be that Liu Qingyuan had secretly broken through to the Celestial Essence Second Layer, giving him the strength to fight a master like this for over a hundred moves?’

Zhang Hanzhou wore a strange expression. The more he listened to Lu Tianchen’s analysis, the more the killer sounded like the person who had killed Song Yushao and wiped out the Song Family.

Lu Tianchen noticed his strange expression, turned back to look at him, and asked, "What did you think of?"

Zhang Hanzhou hurriedly cupped his hands. "I feel that the person you’re describing, Peak Master Lu, sounds very much like the one who killed Song Yushao."

Lu Tianchen was taken aback for a moment, then a sharp light flared in his eyes.

That’s right!

The person who killed Song Yushao was also rumored to cultivate a Supreme Yang Technique and possess an incredibly high Saber Technique Realm. For a time, some had even suspected Elder Huoyun of being the one who killed Song Yushao.

’He couldn’t be sure if Elder Huoyun killed Song Yushao, but he was absolutely certain Elder Huoyun hadn’t killed Liu Qingyuan. He had been with Elder Huoyun all day today; Elder Huoyun had no opportunity to act, as he had been in the Purple Sun Sect the entire time.’

"Peak Master Lu, should we track the culprit?" Zhang Hanzhou asked.

Lu Tianchen’s tracking ability was said to be unparalleled in the Purple Sun Sect. Basically, anyone Lu Tianchen set his sights on would be found.

Track the culprit?

Lu Tianchen considered it. ’The opponent’s Saber Technique Realm is so terrifying. If I really track them down, will I even be a match for them?’

’Most importantly, he now also suspected that the person who killed Liu Qingyuan was an expert from within the Purple Sun Sect.’

’Within the Purple Sun Sect, Li Fire Peak wasn’t the only place where people cultivated Supreme Yang Techniques; there were cultivators of such techniques on all Four Peaks. Previously, Elder Huoyun was a suspect because Xu Yang’s situation gave him a motive to act against Song Yushao. This time, although Elder Huoyun still had a motive, it definitely wasn’t him.’

’Now, anyone could be the killer. If he tracked the person down and discovered it was the Sect Leader, Zhang Jingyuan, that would be a catastrophe.’

’It’s highly unlikely the Sect Leader did it.’

’As the Sect Leader, Zhang Jingyuan had almost no reason to kill Liu Qingyuan.’

Lu Tianchen mused for a moment, then said, "Of course we’ll pursue. Whoever dares to kill an Elder of the Purple Sun Sect, this fiend must be found."

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