https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-370-A-Warm-Welcome-and-News-of-the-Celestial-Demon/12550142/
Chapter 369: Elder Chu is Back!
Chapter 369: Elder Chu is Back!
Although Chu Ning was in the Jiuhua Mountain Range, he was at its furthest edge.
It was still quite a distance from the Jiuhua Sect.
Chu Ning flew ahead, passing through Jiuhua City on his way to the sect.
However, he didn't stop in the city and headed straight for the sect.
When he was still a few hundred miles away from the Jiuhua Sect, he started to sense other cultivators within his spiritual sense range from time to time.
Most of them were Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators.
The Jiuhua Sect encouraged its cultivators to take on missions outside the sect regularly, mostly assigned to Qi Refining cultivators.
Foundation Establishment cultivators also participated, but not on the same scale.
However, if a Foundation Establishment cultivator were to take on a mission, it would often be a challenging one, and they would usually travel with multiple cultivators.
About four hundred miles away from the sect, Chu Ning extended his spiritual sense and discovered a team of four Foundation Establishment cultivators two hundred miles away.
"Oh? It seems I've come across some familiar faces."
Chu Ning swept his spiritual sense over their appearances and smiled slightly.
The four were Shang Xiaohan, Cui Rongrong, Wang Ping, and Zuo Zhonghao.
Shang Xiaohan was someone he had met when he first entered Wolong Valley, and they had also gone to Jin Feng Fortress at Honghukou together.
On their way back to the sect, Chu Ning had fought and defeated You Jing from the Xuan Yin Sect, who had intercepted them midway, essentially saving Shang Xiaohan's life.
He had met Cui Rongrong from the Refiner Pavilion even earlier. She and Su Yuqing from the Pill Refining Pavilion were close friends, and they had traveled together to Wanxiang Cliff.
Later, when Chu Ning's refining skills improved significantly, he frequently visited the Refiner Pavilion, and the two became very familiar with each other.
As for Wang Ping, there was even less need for introduction. After joining the Pill Refining Pavilion, Chu Ning found him honest and hardworking, so he had him assist with various tasks.
It was Chu Ning who had given Wang Ping a Foundation Establishment Pill to help him reach the Foundation Establishment stage.
The last person, Zuo Zhonghao, was someone Chu Ning had slightly less interaction with, but he still recognized him.
He was a cultivator from Purple Bamboo Peak, and he was the first person in the sect to successfully establish his foundation using a Foundation Establishment Pill refined by Chu Ning.
Zuo Zhonghao had always been very respectful to Chu Ning because of this.
Having recognized the four, Chu Ning locked onto them with his spiritual sense and quickly flew toward them, intending to return to the sect together with them.
At that moment, two hundred miles away, the four were chatting and laughing as they flew forward.
"This trip outside has been surprisingly smooth so far, and that demon beast..."
Shang Xiaohan, the strongest among them, had just started to speak when she suddenly paused, a look of surprise and suspicion appearing on her face.
"Do you all feel that? There's a powerful spiritual sense locking onto us."
After Shang Xiaohan spoke, the other three nodded one after another.
Cui Rongrong's face turned pale as she said, "This person's spiritual sense is very powerful. They should be a Golden Core cultivator.
They're more than a hundred miles away from us, so they're likely a late-stage Golden Core cultivator.
But the feeling I get from them is very unfamiliar. I don't think they're one of our sect's elders."
Shang Xiaohan nodded, a hint of gravity appearing on her face.
"The two late-stage Golden Core elders in our sect are currently inside the sect, and I haven't heard of any elders planning to go out recently."
After the two women finished speaking, Wang Ping and Zuo Zhonghao, who were at a lower cultivation level, also looked grave.
Zuo Zhonghao spoke up, "Let's hurry. We're only a few hundred miles away from the sect.
Even though they're still a hundred miles away from us, if we speed up, we should be able to reach the sect's range.
And even if we can't, we'll still be within the range of the sect's elders' spiritual sense. If anything happens, the elders will be able to respond in time."
"Yes, let's hurry!"
Immediately, the four of them flew toward the direction of the Jiuhua Sect.
Chu Ning's spiritual sense naturally detected their actions, and it was clear that they had been startled by his spiritual sense lock.
A smile appeared in the corner of his eyes, and he shook his head before continuing to fly forward.
His spiritual sense could cover such a long distance, but he couldn't transmit his voice that far yet.
He also couldn't immediately let them know who he was.
And among the four, Wang Ping could even be considered his half-disciple, so Chu Ning wanted to test them a bit.
At this moment, he flew with all his speed, chasing after them.
"This person's flying speed is so fast!"
In normal circumstances, Shang Xiaohan and the others wouldn't have been able to sense Chu Ning's flying speed from such a distance.
But at this moment, under Chu Ning's spiritual sense lock, they could feel it.
Immediately, their faces changed drastically.
Because they realized that with the gap in their flying speed, they would definitely be caught up to before they reached the sect.
"Let's directly send a distress signal to the sect!"
Shang Xiaohan's face tightened as she took out an object from her storage bag without hesitation and injected her spiritual power into it to activate it.
The object shone with a brilliant light and shot straight into the sky like a piercing arrow, visible even from hundreds of miles away.
When Chu Ning saw this, he was slightly taken aback and then burst into silent laughter.
"Now, the misunderstanding has become quite serious."
Having stayed in the Jiuhua Sect for so long, Chu Ning naturally knew that this object was a special artifact used to send distress signals to the sect.
At this distance, the sect's cultivators would definitely be able to detect this kind of distress signal.
And indeed, inside the Jiuhua Sect at this moment, many cultivators saw this distress signal.
"What's going on? Someone's sending a distress signal so close to the sect?"
"Could it be that a powerful enemy is attacking?"
Those who saw the signal quickly reported it to the Golden Core cultivators in the sect.
Soon, several figures flew out from the sect.
They were none other than several Golden Core elders.
Their collective appearance seemed to have caused quite a stir.
On the peak of Jiuxiao, a figure slowly walked out of a cave abode, looking up at the departing Golden Core cultivators with a slightly gloomy face.
The one asking the questions from Jiuxiao Peak was none other than the Sect Master of Jiuhua Zong, Yu Changge.
If Chu Ning were here, he would have noticed that Yu Changge's aura had become even stronger than it was a few decades ago, but it was also more restrained.
"A distress signal three hundred miles away?" Yu Changge raised an eyebrow. "Who dares to threaten our disciples so close to Jiuhua Zong?"
As he spoke, he, too, took to the skies, his spiritual sense probing out towards the distance.
Although Yu Changge's cultivation had increased significantly, and his spiritual sense had long broken through the thousand-foot threshold, it still couldn't reach as far as where Chu Ning was.
From the sect, a group of six or seven quickly flew out.
Far away, Chu Ning pursued the four towards the sect.
Chu Ning's spiritual sense was initially locked onto Shang Xiaohan and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators. In a short while, the distance between them had narrowed to about a hundred miles.
As Chu Ning's spiritual sense continued to extend, he soon sensed several figures fleeing from over two hundred miles away.
"As expected, the sect has been alerted!"
Chu Ning shook his head slightly. At this moment, he was no longer flying at full speed, lest he caught up to Shang Xiaohan and the others too quickly and caused any accidents.
However, after not having seen the sect's cultivators for many years, Chu Ning's spiritual sense involuntarily swept over Yu Changge, Ge Liuyang, and the others.
This caused the expressions of the high-level cultivators from Jiuhua Zong to change drastically.
"What powerful spiritual sense! He can sense us from so far away," exclaimed Fu Lihong, Shang Xiaohan's master from Mingyue Peak.
"Sect Master, can you sense who this person is?" Yu Changge asked, his face grave as he caught up with the group.
"This person is still beyond my spiritual sense range, so I can't sense their identity yet," Yu Changge replied.
Hearing this, the Golden Core elders of Jiuhua Zong looked shocked.
"What? His spiritual sense is even stronger than yours, Sect Master? Could it be a Nascent Soul cultivator?" Ge Liuyang's words made everyone's faces turn solemn.
A Nascent Soul cultivator had suddenly appeared here and was threatening the sect's disciples. Though they were puzzled, they dared not be careless, and everyone accelerated their flight.
Yu Changge flew ahead, surpassing the rest and taking the lead.
The distance between the two groups had narrowed to about a hundred and fifty miles.
Chu Ning's spiritual sense was becoming more and more tangible, and a surprised expression also appeared on his face.
"The Sect Master has broken through and become a Nascent Soul cultivator. As expected, he was one of the most promising Golden Core cultivators in Yunxiao Meng back then.
I wonder if the one from Guiyuan Zong has also broken through."
At this moment, Chu Ning slowed down and soon, Shang Xiaohan and the others caught sight of Yu Changge first.
Seeing him, they heaved a sigh of relief.
Shang Xiaohan quickly asked, "Sect Master, there's a possible late-stage Golden Core cultivator chasing after us. Do you know who it is?"
"I still can't sense who it is," Yu Changge shook his head. "You all go back first. The sect's elders are on their way to meet you. Wait..."
Yu Changge had just said this when he suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "It's him!"
After saying this, the grave expression on Yu Changge's face immediately softened.
Chu Ning had flown into his spiritual sense range, and Yu Changge recognized him.
A smile, a mix of surprise and joy, appeared on his face.
Seeing even the usually stoic Yu Changge express such emotion, Shang Xiaohan couldn't help but ask curiously, "Sect Master, who is it?"
"Someone you would never expect," Yu Changge replied mysteriously, smiling. "Don't rush off yet. Let's wait here and greet him."
Hearing this, the group became even more curious.
Soon, Ge Liuyang, Fu Lihong, Ling Cang, Luo Jie, and Qi Guangshou arrived, followed by other Golden Core elders from Jiuhua Zong.
Back at the sect, Gong Yuyuan and Yuan Zhuo, two late-stage Golden Core cultivators who had been in seclusion, were called out to guard the sect.
After all, Yu Changge and the others had suspected the presence of a Nascent Soul cultivator, so they dared not be negligent.
"Sect Master, who is this person?" the Golden Core elders asked as they flew over, seeing the smile on Yu Changge's face.
Yu Changge laughed and said, "Haven't you sensed it yet?"
As soon as Yu Changge finished speaking, Luo Jie, the most highly cultivated among them, exclaimed in surprise, "It's him!"
Then, Ling Cang, also a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, spoke up.
Ge Liuyang hurriedly asked, "You're all saying 'it's him,' but who is it?"
"Chu Ning!" Ling Cang's eyes sparkled with laughter.
"What? Chu Ning is back?" The other Golden Core cultivators exclaimed in surprise.
Shang Xiaohan and the others were even more astonished.
"Sect Master, is it really Elder Chu who's returned?"
(End of Chapter)
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