Chapter 194 - 128: Threat by Kin, Gathering Storm, Chance for Breakthrough!

"Consider it well. In one quarter of an hour, I will come to ask for your answer again."

After speaking, Luo Dan directly closed his eyes and began to wait.

Qi Shang stared fiercely at Luo Dan, and at that moment, a flicker of murderous intent even emerged within him.

However, he knew he couldn’t act, because if he did, he wouldn’t be a match for the other person and would only bring trouble upon himself.

Therefore, after a moment of inner conflict, before a full quarter of an hour had passed, after half the time had gone by, Qi Shang spoke hoarsely, "Consider? When have you given me the chance to consider?"

Upon hearing Qi Shang’s words, Luo Dan, who had been sitting with closed eyes, moved his eyelids, opened his eyes and looked at Qi Shang with a smile, saying, "Ah Jin, it would have been better to do this earlier. If you could have agreed when I first mentioned the favor, you wouldn’t have forced me to say things that hurt both our feelings, right?"

Qi Shang snorted, "No need for unnecessary words. You just want me to check which elders of the sect have been to the Great Rift Demon Valley recently, right? I’ll do this, and hope you keep your promise."

After speaking, he turned to leave.

However, at this moment, Luo Dan smiled faintly, "Had you agreed earlier, before I said those words, it would have been this way. But it’s different now, not so simple; perhaps you will need to do a bit more, Ah Shang."

Qi Shang whirled around in anger, his gaze seeming to pin itself to Luo Dan’s face.

But Luo Dan, unperturbed, continued, "Besides, if necessary, you may need to take action yourself."

"Rest assured, as I promised earlier, once this matter is done, we are square. I won’t come to you again, and I will keep my word to grant your son, Qi Feng, a Foundation Establishment Pill."

Hearing this, Qi Shang’s eyes seemed to burn with fire.

At first, it was just about tracking movements, and now that he had agreed, the other party was pushing further, wanting him to get directly involved.

To unite with outsiders to strike down one’s own elders—this was not just akin to betrayal of the sect, it was outright betrayal.

Nevertheless, despite his overwhelming anger, Qi Shang ultimately took a deep breath and suppressed his emotions, saying icily, "Remember your words, or else I will not spare you."

To this, Luo Dan chuckled, not taking it to heart, knowing that Qi Shang could only issue empty threats at this point.

"Rest assured, you know I value integrity above all, but there’s one last matter, equally significant, not less than the previous—it involves investigating Qi Chuan, who should be hiding within your Wind Moon Sect at this time."

Hearing this, Qi Shang replied expressionlessly, "Isn’t Qi Chuan dead?"

"Our Sect Leader believes he is faking his death, always hiding within your sect to cultivate and grow. You don’t have to concern yourself with the truth; just investigate," said Luo Dan. "And since this person is faking death, he won’t stay in his own cave mansion; he must have established a new one within Wind Moon Sect, perhaps even under a new identity."

"Search for his traces in the following places."

"First, your Sect Leader Situ Jiang’s cave mansion; look for any familiar or unfamiliar faces frequently coming in and out."

"Second, on Wind Moon Lake, among the small islands where elders and true disciples reside, look for any newly established cave mansions."

"Third, some changes among the Inner Sect Disciples in the Inner Sect..."

Hearing this, Qi Shang could barely contain himself and coldly remarked, "Are you all mad? Even if Qi Chuan were alive, as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he’d disdain those Tier One Cave Mansions within the Inner Sect—it would only slow down his cultivation pace."

"Haha, I also find it unlikely, but if the first two places are fruitless, still check it out; who knows what Qi Chuan thinks, where he’s hiding—maybe it’s indeed within the Inner Sect. Alright, that’s all I have to say. If you agree, go do it."

Luo Dan smiled, "Before you leave, however, you must leave a drop of your essence blood for this Dragon Ghost Fly so that it can find you."

Pausing for a moment, Qi Shang eventually sneered, stepping forward.

Since he had decided to agree, he wouldn’t care whether the Foundation Establishment Elders that needed to be harmed were others or Qi Chuan; hurting one was hurting, hurting two was hurting—just as long as it didn’t extend to three or four.

Walking up to Luo Dan, Qi Shang extended his index finger as instructed, forcing out a drop of essence blood with his mana.

Drip.

A drop of bright red essence blood fell from his index finger, and the Dragon Ghost Fly standing on Luo Dan’s left shoulder immediately opened its mouth, extending a soft, straight proboscis to stick to and retract the droplet into its mouth, swallowing it.

Qi Shang didn’t feel anything unusual.

But Luo Dan simply chuckled, extending his right hand to pat the Dragon Ghost Fly on his left shoulder, "That’s it. You may go; keep this Mother-Child Talisman, I’ll use it to communicate with you."

Then, handing a Tier Two Talisman to Qi Shang, he watched as Qi Shang accepted it, turned away without hesitation, and transformed into a beam of light disappearing into the sky.

Luo Dan looked up at Qi Shang’s retreating figure, a polite smile on his face, making no move.

He knew that from this moment on, Qi Shang was inescapably at his mercy.

Even if Qi Shang disposed of that Tier Two Mother-Child Talisman, it would be futile, because with the Dragon Ghost Fly’s tracking divine technique, Luo Dan could easily locate Qi Shang’s whereabouts.

"Hehe, Ah Shang, you probably don’t know that your son Qi Feng was manipulated by disciples of the Celestial Soul Hall to cultivate the ’Blood Refining Technique,’ all orchestrated by me. If you knew, I wonder if you’d be even angrier?"

Watching the rainbow of light Qi Shang transformed into vanish beyond the horizon, Luo Dan lowered his head slightly, murmuring to himself, a hint of shadow crossing the depths of his eyes as he spoke.

"All you know is that my spirit root is excellent and that the magic cultivation of the Celestial Soul Hall progresses rapidly, which granted me the current Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivation and the reputation of the first elder of the Celestial Soul Hall. But how could you know that even if I had joined the Wind Moon Sect, with my aptitude, I would still have reached Foundation Establishment Late Stage by now, earning awe among the elders of the Wind Moon Sect?"

"And do you know the hardships I’ve endured cultivating to this level in the Celestial Soul Hall? The cultivation speed of their methods is swift, but the accompanying pain is beyond the ordinary imagination. You’d never know."

"If you knew, you wouldn’t be surprised at how my character and opinions have changed to what they are now, and you wouldn’t blame me for it."

"What I regret is that the Celestial Soul Hall didn’t capture us both back then. If they had, we could have cultivated demon skills together in the Celestial Soul Hall, avoiding this transformation from old friends to new enemies."

"Such a pity, such a pity..."

With these thoughts swirling, Luo Dan stroked the Dragon Ghost Fly, which extended its proboscis to lick his long eyebrows, and then turned, departing with a light chuckle, transforming into a beam of light. He was heading to a mortal city closer to Wind Moon Sect, where he could blend in as an ordinary mortal elder and bide his time for the coming events.

...

Wind Moon Sect.

Upon returning to the sect, Qi Shang immediately utilized his position and authority as an influential mid-stage Foundation Establishment Elder to investigate the recent movements and whereabouts of all the sect elders, as well as the traces of the supposedly dead Qi Chuan hidden within the sect.

He always acted with speed and decisiveness—without having agreed to do this, he would abstain; but once he agreed, he would do his utmost, striving to complete it with the greatest speed.

Moreover, acting swiftly could end things sooner, ensuring his own safety, as dragging it out only increased his risk of exposure.

As a powerful mid-stage Foundation Establishment Elder of Wind Moon Sect, Qi Shang’s covert investigations immediately unearthed substantial information.

Apart from discerning many recent activities of sect elders, some anomalies that emerged in the sect seemed increasingly to verify that Qi Chuan was not dead but still cultivating secretly within the sect; however, it was difficult to pinpoint the location of his cave mansion, necessitating further and detailed investigation.

Unaware of all this, Qi Chuan continued cultivating in a secluded Tier Two Middle Grade Cave Mansion in a remote corner of the Inner Sect.

Following his plans, he diligently condensed drop after drop of liquid magical power with the assistance of his Golden Finger and Yellow Dragon Pills, steadily advancing towards mid-stage Foundation Establishment.

Before reaching mid-stage Foundation Establishment, he anticipated amassing over fifty drops of liquid magical power.

With that breakthrough, his magical power foundation would achieve a remarkable leap, and combined with the Ninefold Soul Torture Technique, the Profound Celestial Spirit Devouring Sword Technique, and the Tier Two Upper Grade Flying Sword, should a mid-stage Foundation Establishment appear before him, he would be able to execute an instant slash.