Chapter 247: Don't Want Me to Leave? That's Asking for Trouble!

Chapter 247: Don't Want Me to Leave? That's Asking for Trouble!

Yan Chunyun and the beautiful Zheng woman exchanged a glance and quickly whispered to the group, "Don't make a fuss about this. We'll discuss it later. Let's go and greet You Hongfa first."

With that, the two led Chu Ning and the others quickly to the front yard.

At this moment, You Jing had already landed.

"Protector You!" Yan Chunyun and the Zheng woman hurried forward and greeted him respectfully.

Although they were only one realm away from You Jing, being at the late Qi Refining stage, that realm could be something many people would never reach in their lifetime. And this Protector was someone even the Sect Leader held in high regard.

Naturally, they were very respectful.

Chu Ning glanced at You Jing, his mind buzzing with thoughts.

"He reattached his arm, but the vital energy within his jade-like bones seems to have weakened significantly. Moreover, his primordial qi seems to have suffered considerable damage as well. Looks like my previous battle with this Golden Core Protector of the Yin Demon Sect did inflict some serious injuries."

As these thoughts ran through his mind, Chu Ning's gaze shifted, activating the innate ability of his Yin Wood Spirit Body to conceal his aura. You Jing wouldn't be able to sense the vital energy in his jade bones.

However, Chu Ning didn't want his gaze to attract the other party's attention.

But You Jing didn't seem to notice Chu Ning standing at the side.

He looked to be in a foul mood, glancing at Yan Chunyun and the Zheng woman before briefly nodding.

Then, without a word, he strode towards the hall.

Yan Chunyun and the Zheng woman exchanged another glance and quickly followed.

Chu Ning looked at the others and noticed that the two mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators from the Yin Demon Sect didn't follow.

So he stayed with the group in the yard.

However, since You Jing didn't use any sound transmission technique and the hall's doors were wide open, Chu Ning could hear their conversation and see what was happening inside even from the yard, without having to use his spiritual sense.

As soon as You Jing entered the hall and sat down, he turned to the Zheng woman and said, "A few days ago, you mentioned that Qi Refining female cultivator with excellent talent. Bring her out.

I was injured recently, so bring her to me. I need to practice and replenish my energy to recover faster."

Hearing You Jing's words, Yan Chunyun and Zheng felt their hearts sink, but they didn't dare say anything at the moment.

The Zheng woman smiled and said, "Yes, Protector. I'll go get her now."

As she spoke, the woman turned and headed towards the back courtyard. Yan Chunyun seemed to want to ease the awkward atmosphere and said with a smile, "Protector, how has it been outside lately? Will the three factions start a war?"

"Hard to say," You Jing shook his head.

"The Spirit Domain hasn't fully formed yet, and it may take a decade or two for the Spirit Seed to manifest.

For now, everyone is just vying for more territory, waiting for the Spirit Domain to truly form and find the spatial node that can enter it."

As You Jing spoke, a smile finally appeared on his face, "But this time, our Yin Demon Sect has made a great contribution to the Demon Path Alliance. We acted early, and we now occupy forty percent of the Honghu Lake territory.

As long as the Spirit Domain forms in this area, there will definitely be a spatial node within our control."

Yan Chunyun's eyes lit up when he heard You Jing's words, and he quickly flattered, "That's all thanks to you and Protector Tu. I heard that you fought a late-stage Golden Core cultivator from the Great Luo Sect and emerged unscathed.

Such cultivation and prowess truly leave us in awe..."

Yan Chunyun suddenly stopped, realizing something was wrong.

He was clearly speaking compliments, so why was Protector You's face turning green, and why was the look in his eyes so cold?

At this moment, in the yard, Chu Ning couldn't help but smile inwardly as he heard these words. Yan Chunyun had accurately hit You Jing's sore spot.

You Jing had previously lost to him, a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, and even lost his arm. He must have paid a hefty price to reattach it.

Yan Chunyun's mention of emerging unscathed from a battle with a late-stage Golden Core cultivator was a slap in the face for You Jing.

As expected, You Jing's face twitched with pent-up frustration, but he didn't dare reveal the truth. Instead, he snapped, "It's just bringing someone here. Why is it taking so long? Do you need me to go and invite her personally?"

Yan Chunyun couldn't help but feel anxious, but he couldn't understand how he had angered the young Protector.

Just then, the Zheng woman returned, leading a young woman with a pale face.

"Here she is! Here she is! Protector, this is the female cultivator we mentioned before, the one with excellent talent."

Chu Ning realized that Yan Chunyun and the beautiful woman were trying to substitute one person for another.

However, their attempt didn't seem to be well-received.

You Jing's gaze swept over the young female cultivator, and the anger in his eyes intensified.

"And you call this excellent talent? How can she heal my injuries? She..."

You Jing was in the middle of his rant when he suddenly stopped and glared coldly at Yan Chunyun.

"Yan Chunyun, did you steal her for yourself and deplete her essence?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Chunyun's face changed slightly, and he quickly bowed, "Protector, even if you gave me a hundred guts, I wouldn't dare."

"Dare not?" You Jing coldly humphed, his face still filled with anger.

"Then what's going on?

Don't try to fool me. If she's just this caliber, you wouldn't have bothered to send me a message to boast about your achievements."

Yan Chunyun and the Zheng woman exchanged a glance, knowing they couldn't hide the truth any longer.

With bitter smiles, they said, "We did capture a female cultivator with excellent talent and at the initial Qi Refining stage, so we sent a message to inform you.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Yan Chunyun spoke, "Jin Changhui, you stay in the courtyard..."

He then named two more people before leaving with the rest of the cultivators.

A cold smile played on Chu Ning's lips as he thought, "If you don't want me to leave so easily, then the trouble that comes is of your own making."

Without another word, he stayed in the courtyard and, as instructed by the beautiful Zheng woman, made his way to the back courtyard to keep watch.

To prevent any mishaps, the Zheng woman also took the precaution of planting restrictions on each of the female cultivators.

With Zheng and her companions guarding the back courtyard, the day passed without any unusual incidents.

However, it seemed that Yan Chunyun and the others had not been successful in finding the young female cultivator who had escaped earlier.

As night fell, Yan Chunyun returned with several more captives.

It seemed that since he couldn't find the one he was looking for, he had decided to make up the numbers with other captives.

As night deepened, Yan Chunyun himself stood guard in the back courtyard, seemingly afraid that something unexpected might happen again.

Chu Ning was once again assigned to remain within the back courtyard area.

"The time is almost here!"

As the city of Honghu settled into quietness, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Chu Ning's lips as he sat in meditation.

The next moment, he unleashed his spiritual sense, enveloping the entire compound.

At the same time, he employed a rarely used divine art—the Illusion God Technique!

When his Refine God Technique reached the perfect stage of the second and third layers, it refreshed three major divine arts: the Prohibit God Technique, the Divide God Technique, and the Illusion God Technique.

Among them, the Divide God Technique was the one he used the most, as it was often employed in pill refining and puppet manipulation, and thus, he had the most practice with it.

Currently, he was able to achieve thirty divisions of his spiritual sense.

As for the Prohibit God Technique, Chu Ning had also used it frequently to shield himself from probing and to trigger spiritual sense backlash in his opponents, which had brought him many benefits.

On the other hand, the Illusion God Technique had only been used once before, against the Yin-Yang Mule, and Chu Ning had rarely utilized it since.

But now, he unleashed its power.

Instantly, the entire compound was shrouded in Chu Ning's illusion.

The smaller the range of the Illusion God Technique, the stronger its effect.

At this moment, Chu Ning's spiritual sense was powerful enough to cover an area of over 3,800 zhang.

Yet, the compound was less than 100 zhang in size.

As a result, the intensity of the illusion was such that even Yan Chunyun and the beautiful Zheng woman, both late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, were completely unaware of it.

In their perception, everything within the compound appeared normal.

Chu Ning stood up and casually altered his appearance before boldly releasing the thirty-odd female cultivators from their captivity.

Fear and confusion filled the eyes of the women as they looked at Chu Ning.

However, they were unable to use their spiritual power or speak due to the restrictions placed on them, leaving them at a loss for what to do.

"Listen carefully," Chu Ning said, addressing the group. "I will remove your restrictions and set you free. You have only half an hour to escape. After that, the people from the Mysterious Yin Sect will discover what has happened. Whether or not you can get away depends on your own abilities!"

The female cultivators reacted differently to Chu Ning's words, with some looking overjoyed and others filled with suspicion.

Chu Ning paid no heed to their expressions and continued, "Let me emphasize this again. Once the restrictions are lifted, do not make any noise or shout, or none of you will be able to leave. Also, don't ask me any questions. I am simply a righteous cultivator who disagrees with the methods of the Mysterious Yin Sect."

He then turned his gaze to a particularly calm and beautiful female cultivator and cast a series of incantations toward her, dispelling the restrictions that had been placed on her by the Zheng woman.

Although the restrictions set by the Zheng woman were not weak, Chu Ning's spiritual power was far superior, and he easily undid them.

As the beautiful cultivator realized she had truly been set free, a delighted smile spread across her face.

After releasing the first person, Chu Ning's speed increased, and it didn't take long for him to lift the restrictions on all thirty-plus people.

Chu Ning waved his hand and, within the illusion he had created, opened a passageway. Then, he said, "You can all leave now. Follow the direction I'm pointing in and don't stray."

Hearing Chu Ning's words, the women glanced at each other, still hesitating.

At that moment, the beautiful female cultivator who had been the first to be freed bowed deeply to Chu Ning once again and then strode out.

With this woman taking the lead, the rest of the group followed suit, bowing to Chu Ning before quickly leaving the courtyard.

A smile appeared on Chu Ning's face as he watched the women depart.

He was happy to cause some trouble for You Jing, the Golden Core Protector of the Yin Demon Sect.

However, to avoid any association with himself, Chu Ning decided to take extra precaution to prevent Yan Chunyun and the others from suspecting Jin Changhui.

Using his illusion, Chu Ning effortlessly killed the remaining four Outer Sect cultivators at the initial stage of the Foundation Establishment.

As for the Yin Demon Sect cultivators at the late and mid-stages of Foundation Establishment, Chu Ning left them untouched.

While he could create illusions to confuse people, in life-or-death situations where their potential was fully unleashed, cultivators at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment and above could easily break free from his illusions.

Moreover, since they were members of the Yin Demon Sect, they might possess secret treasures, and Chu Ning didn't want any unexpected complications.

After killing the initial-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, Chu Ning remained in the backyard for a full half an hour, maintaining his spiritual sense illusion.

Maintaining such an extensive illusion consumed a lot of spiritual energy, and as time was almost up, Chu Ning retracted his spiritual sense and left the courtyard gracefully.

From start to finish, none of the numerous Foundation Establishment cultivators in the courtyard showed any reaction.

After a while, Yan Chunyun's gaze swept the area and he frowned slightly when he didn't see "Jin Changhui."

Then, he coldly huffed, "These outsiders are really unreliable. How dare they try to pull a fast one at a time like this!"

After speaking, Yan Chunyun felt something was amiss and, out of caution, quickly went to the nearest room.

When he opened the door, his face changed. The room was empty; there was no one inside.

"Where are they?"

As Yan Chunyun walked towards another room, he shouted, "Everyone, come quickly! Some more people have escaped!"

Upon hearing this, the Zheng woman and the other Yin Demon Sect cultivators rushed to the backyard.

Their eyes widened in surprise when they saw that Yan Chunyun had already opened four rooms, but they were all empty.

"Quick, check the other rooms!" Yan Chunyun ordered.

The Zheng woman and the rest of the cultivators hurried to open the doors of the other rooms.

Then, everyone was left stunned.

"How is this possible? How could all of them have disappeared?" The Zheng woman's face turned deathly pale.

If only one person was missing, they would have to bear You Jing's wrath, but now that all the female cultivators were gone, there would undoubtedly be severe punishment even within the sect, as these women were meant for several Protectors.

Yan Chunyun's face was equally unsightly, and he glared at the group of cultivators.

Then, his expression changed drastically as he asked, "Where are those outsiders?"

The cultivators looked at each other, then searched again, only to discover that the few outsiders were also missing.

"Damn! They're all damnable!" Yan Chunyun raged, then calmed down.

"Something's not right. Those outsiders were only at the initial stage of Foundation Establishment. They couldn't have sneaked all these people past us without us noticing.

And just now, I felt as if nothing had happened.

Even a Golden Core cultivator wouldn't have been able to take away so many people without alerting us at all. Could it be that a Nascent Soul cultivator with a grudge against our Yin Demon Sect took action?

Or did a Golden Core cultivator use some secret technique...?"

As soon as Yan Chunyun mentioned a Nascent Soul cultivator, the Zheng woman and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators gasped in shock.

A Nascent Soul cultivator was an existence they could not even dream of touching.

The Zheng woman forced a bitter smile. "We're finished. Now that all the female cultivators have escaped, Protector You will definitely flay me alive."

Hearing this, Yan Chunyun's face turned ashen, and the rest of the cultivators averted their gazes, none daring to speak.

............

At this moment, Chu Ning, who had been mistaken for a Nascent Soul cultivator, changed his appearance and flew towards the southwestern side of Honghu Lake.

During these days, he had stayed indoors but had learned a lot of information from others, including the general distribution of the major forces.

The southwestern side was where the Cloudsoar Alliance was located.

Although it was late at night, Chu Ning still encountered other cultivators flying through the air like himself, which didn't seem unusual.

After leaving Honghu City for about ten miles, he entered the Honghu Lake mountain range.

As Chu Ning continued flying forward, three cultivators flew towards him.

Before he could get close, the one in the middle shouted, "Who's there? Why are you trespassing on the Cloudsoar Alliance's territory?"

Chu Ning's gaze swept over the three of them, and he paused when he recognized the one in the middle.

He knew this man.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end