Chapter 135: Jackals, Wolves, Tigers, and Leopards

To prevent her spiritual essence from being harmed, she had been forced to swear an oath against her inner demon, binding even her true self to obey it. Fortunately, everything would be resolved as long as Ge Qian was killed. If she could subdue him and bring him under her command, so much the better.

Liu Xixi’s eyes were as sharp as an eagle’s as she stared coldly at Liu Qian. She wondered inwardly, Why has that aura suddenly vanished? Could he have escaped so quickly? If I were in his place and discovered that a former enemy had become a Core Formation cultivator, I would not sit around waiting for death either. Running would be the obvious choice, and the teleportation array would undoubtedly be the fastest route. Better to kill a thousand innocents than let one suspect escape.

Her expression softened as she said, “Liu Qian, you are truly fortunate to have won the favor of Grand Cultivator Li Qing. Your cultivation will surely soar from here on. Just do not forget me, all right? Take your time enjoying the tea. I shall be leaving.”

With that, she flew through the window and headed straight for the teleportation hall.

Four late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators radiating violent demonic auras followed on their swords. Their speed was astonishing, and their movements were clearly well trained.

Liu Qian’s expression changed, and her heart leapt into her throat. “Brother Ge, you must be safe!”

She turned and hurried downstairs. At the window, Liu Jie had an ordinary immobilization talisman stuck to his back. In the hands of a Core Formation cultivator, however, even an ordinary talisman became anything but ordinary.

Through her divine sense, Liu Xixi sensed Liu Jie drinking tea below, while Liu Qian was upstairs drinking tea with someone so familiar that she could not possibly mistake him. With a flash of her hand, she cast an immobilization talisman, then entered Liu Qian’s room without pausing.

Liu Qian helplessly removed the talisman from Liu Jie and said, “I hope he is safe.”

“Alas, it is all because I am useless,” Liu Jie said self-reproachfully, his voice filled with shame.

“How can you be blamed for this?” Liu Qian consoled him. “Liu Xixi is sinister, treacherous, and full of schemes. Otherwise, the Beast Taming Sect would never have entrusted her with overseeing the construction of the altar.”

Liu Xixi burst through the air and entered the teleportation hall. After sweeping the teleportation array with her divine sense, her eyes grew even more bloodshot. The fluctuations of spiritual power in the formation indicated that someone had just been teleported away.

Could the timing really be such a coincidence?

Although the aura was completely unfamiliar, it still left her deeply uneasy. Her many years of experience told her that this could not possibly be a good thing.

She glared viciously at Wu Jiang. “Who was just teleported away?”

Wu Jiang’s face darkened. Why had Liu Xixi come here? She was currently one of the sect’s most favored figures and was in charge of a highly confidential matter. Yet he was the trusted aide of Grand Elder Nine Splendors. No matter how highly regarded she was, she was only an early-stage Core Formation cultivator. How could she compare with Grand Elder Nine Splendors, who stood at the great perfection of the late Core Formation stage?

Wu Jiang rose unhurriedly and said, “This subordinate greets Grand Elder Liu. A few rogue cultivators who provide intelligence to our Beast Taming Sect were just teleported away. Is there a problem?”

At that moment, a fierce wind rushed toward them. Four black-clad late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators burst into the teleportation hall and lined up behind Liu Xixi. Their expressions were overbearing, and their auras pressed down like mountains.

The muscles on Wu Jiang’s face twisted and trembled as he glared murderously at the four cultivators.

Liu Xixi narrowed her eyes slightly. “Very good. But I have received word that the people you teleported away were enemies sworn against our Beast Taming Sect.”

Wu Jiang replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, “Grand Elder, I, Wu Jiang, have devoted my entire life to the Beast Taming Sect and have never harbored a second thought. Grand Elder Nine Splendors knows this perfectly well. That is why he entrusted me with guarding the teleportation array, a task of great importance. The array has always been under his personal supervision. If Grand Elder Liu doubts my loyalty and wishes to investigate, you will first need Grand Elder Nine Splendors’s approval.”

The four black-clad late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators shouted in unison, “How dare you speak to Grand Elder Liu like that! You deserve to die!”

Wu Jiang’s eyes hardened. “You are servants just as I am. Without evidence, you recklessly violate the sect’s rules and shout at me. Are you dissatisfied with Grand Elder Nine Splendors being responsible for the teleportation array?”

Liu Xixi smiled faintly. “You are very good, Wu Jiang. You are always using Grand Elder Nine Splendors to suppress me. You want evidence, do you? I will give you evidence. Jackal, Wolf, Tiger, Leopard—teleport over at once and quietly capture the people who were just sent away outside Five Peaks City. Bring them back. I want to question them personally.”

“Yes, Grand Elder!” the four men answered in unison.

They cast contemptuous glances at Wu Jiang, snorted coldly, and stepped onto the teleportation array.

Wu Jiang felt uneasy as well, but he could not allow it to show. Everything would have to wait until that boy was brought back. Reluctantly, he formed the necessary hand seals and activated the teleportation array.

A flash of white light erupted, and the four men vanished.

Liu Xixi said coldly, “The rule of the Beast Taming Sect is simple: no matter how powerful your backer may be, if you commit an act that harms the sect, you will be killed without exception.”

With that, she rose into the air and flew away. She still had to arrange for Liu Qian to travel to Dragon Dispersion City to take a master, as well as oversee the construction of the altar.

By then, Ge Qian had already left Five Peaks City. The four of them flew together on their swords.

Ge Qian gave each person a jade slip. “Recorded inside is the supreme escape art of my Starry Sky Sect—the Compound Whirlwind Great Transference. Study it carefully. It will be of immense use in the future. Once you have fully comprehended it, destroy the jade slip immediately, lest it fall into someone else’s hands or the secret be exposed.”

Ying Xue accepted the jade slip and put it away. “We are not fools. How could we fail to understand something so important? Rest assured, the secret will never be leaked.”

Bai Ruyu and Ye Feng also smiled and nodded.

Ge Qian said coldly, “That Liu Xixi is indeed no ordinary person. She is already an early-stage Core Formation cultivator, and her cultivation speed is simply astonishing. If I had not become familiar with Wu Jiang, even the slightest delay would have put us in danger.”

Bai Ruyu nodded as well. “There is indeed something strange about it.”

Suddenly, Ge Qian frowned. “Four late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Beast Taming Sect are pursuing us. It seems Liu Xixi is still unwilling to give up. Excellent. These four must be her trusted subordinates. We shall show them no mercy.”

Ge Qian’s divine sense was comparable to Liu Xixi’s, yet more subtle and precise. He could detect an opponent at the very first moment.

“How dare they run wild on the territory of our Starry Sky Sect? We will make sure they never return,” Bai Ruyu said, a murderous glint flashing in her eyes.

Ying Xue added, “Nothing has gone smoothly lately. Let us use their blood to wash away our bad luck.”

Ge Qian nodded and gave the three of them a few instructions. He then formed a hand seal and cast Shadow Crossing the Granary, vanishing from the spot and concealing himself beside them.

The three deliberately slowed their sword flight, chatting and laughing as they passed the time.

After an hour, they reached the skies above a remote mountain forest. Four monstrous auras suddenly surged into the heavens.

Four black-clad late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Beast Taming Sect rode their swords into their path, blocking the three travelers.

The leader was thin and gaunt, with disheveled hair and a pair of triangular eyes gleaming with vicious light. He let out a shrill laugh and said, “We are the famous Four Brothers of the Beast Taming Sect—Jackal, Wolf, Tiger, and Leopard. Come with us, and we will not make things difficult for you. But if words fail, you will learn what our methods are. We will make you beg for life and pray for death.”

The other three burst into loud laughter. They did not regard two mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators and one early-stage cultivator as a threat in the slightest, and their voices were filled with mockery.

Ying Xue feigned surprise and asked Bai Ruyu, “Sister, have you ever heard of any Jackal, Wolf, Tiger, and Leopard in the Beast Taming Sect?”

Bai Ruyu shyly shook her head. “No. I only know that the Beast Taming Sect has a woman named Liu Xixi. She is unbelievably ugly.”

“Do not insult my lover,” Ye Feng interjected. “I have shared a spring night with her, and she has captivated me to the very depths of my soul.”

“How dare you!” Jackal roared furiously. “For insulting our mistress, you deserve to die! But our mistress wishes to question you, so I will let you live a little longer. Seize them!”