"Senior Sister Qiu, this morning when I went to check, there was no sign of anyone. Frost had formed inside the house, so the door must have been left open since last night."
The Wondrous Palace disciple reporting in front of Qiu Yinger had cold sweat streaming down his forehead. He was the one ordered to keep watch over Wen Zhixing, responsible for reporting on his situation. But he couldn't possibly watch Wen Zhixing every single moment. Who could have anticipated Wen Zhixing would just disappear? This was the Wondrous Palace, after all. Surrounded by various array methods, a mere furnace couldn't possibly leave on its own.
"Have you checked elsewhere?" Qiu Yinger frowned, a bad premonition faintly forming in her heart.
"Reporting to Senior Sister Qiu, we have already searched everywhere in the palace but have not found Wen Zhixing." Every peak in the Wondrous Palace was guarded by disciples, yet none had seen a trace of Wen Zhixing.
"Keep looking! Alive, we need to see the person; dead, we need to see the body!" Qiu Yinger's complexion was as grim as still water. How could a mere Wen Zhixing go missing right under my nose?If this person is lost, how will I explain it to Si Nanyan? Qiu Yinger felt a headache coming on. Now that Si Nanyan and Yun Xinyue are both in closed-door cultivation, I have no one to discuss this with.
Soon, a large number of Wondrous Palace disciples were dispatched to search for traces of Wen Zhixing. The turmoil caused by the pursuit of Feng Ruoli had yet to settle, and now the Wondrous Palace was even more bustling. It felt like the entire place had been thrown into chaos.
「Wondrous Palace, Wutong Peak.」
Inside the grand hall at the peak, Ning Shan was instructing Wen Miner in her cultivation. Wen Miner, though young, was quite formidable. At just thirteen or fourteen years old, she had already cultivated to the peak of the Qi Movement Realm. She was considered one of the most talented disciples of the Wondrous Palace.
"Senior Sister, people from Soul Devouring Peak have come. They said they're looking for someone named Wen Zhixing," a disciple suddenly came forward to report. With Feng Ruoli in closed-door cultivation, all matters big and small at Wutong Peak were handled by Ning Shan, the head disciple.
"Oh?" Ning Shan's gaze flickered as she stood up. "Have you seen this Wen Zhixing?"
The disciple below was taken aback, then quickly replied, "No, I haven't."
"Then tell them you haven't seen him." Ning Shan nodded, satisfied.
"Yes!" The messenger was also insightful and understood Ning Shan's intention.
Soon, those disciples sent to find Wen Zhixing returned empty-handed. But everyone simply assumed it was typical friction between the Palace Master and the Deputy Palace Master, without suspecting anything deeper. Seeing the people from Soul Devouring Tower leave in dejection, Ning Shan's face finally broke into a smile.
"Senior Sister, what are you smiling at?" Wen Miner, who was cultivating in meditation, asked curiously.
"Senior Sister is happy." Ning Shan gently pinched the hair bun on Wen Miner's head. The texture was firm and resilient. BOING! BOING! Such volume, truly enviable.
"Oh." Wen Miner seemed to only half-understand.
"Alright, continue your cultivation. Senior Sister has some matters to attend to." Ning Shan pinched the other hair bun, then stepped out. I know those people from Soul Devouring Hall won't be so easily dismissed.Eventually, they'll send more people.But since this person has fallen into our hands, we won't give him up so easily. Ning Shan sneered softly, then turned and headed towards the secret chamber.
「Inside the secret chamber.」
After a night of essence absorption, Feng Ruoli's condition had greatly improved. Her originally pale face now had a touch of rosiness. The primordial yang within Wen Zhixing was even more abundant than he had imagined; it was like a never-ending flow. No wonder I value this Wen Zhixing so highly.
[Fortune Fragment detected. Consume one month of life-span to randomly acquire it?]
"Acquire the Fortune Fragment." Wen Zhixing wasn't idle either; while cultivating, he also remembered to collect Fortune Fragments daily.
[White Fortune Fragment +1.]
[White Fortune Fragment (2/2) collected. Consume one month of life-span to synthesize and obtain one of the following fortunes:]
[Option 1: Acquire the secret skill: Ancient Evil Curse.]
[Option 2: Acquire 5 Fortune Points.]
[Option 3: Acquire a fortune belonging to Feng Ruoli.]
"Huh?" Perhaps because Grey Fragments have been appearing so often, this White Fragment actually surprised me a little.
"Option one." The next moment, his eyes lit up, and he immediately chose the secret skill [Ancient Evil Curse]. Although 5 Fortune Points were tempting, a sudden idea had formed in his mind. I've always lacked offensive methods.Could the Ancient Evil Curse fill that gap?
[Your luck has surged! You've acquired the Epic Grade secret skill: Ancient Evil Curse!]
[Ancient Evil Curse:] Purple Quality. This secret skill uses one's own fresh blood as a catalyst and life's origin as a sacrifice. Simply having seen the opponent allows for the direct activation of the Blood Curse's power, and the spellcaster will not be detected.
[Disadvantage: This method will harm your enemy by eight hundred, but you will harm yourself by one thousand. Each use results in backlash; the higher the opponent's realm, the greater the backlash!]
[Can only be used once per day.]
[Consuming 10,000 Fortune Points can upgrade it to Blazing Gold Quality.]
An Epic Grade secret skill! My luck has finally spiked again! After seeing the introduction of the Ancient Evil Curse, Wen Zhixing was overjoyed to have obtained an Epic Grade secret skill. This secret skill is perfect.It's exactly what I needed. The Ancient Evil Curse required only having seen the opponent to launch a curse attack, and it couldn't be detected. It's simply too perfect for me.If I can't win head-on, I'll just have to play dirty. Wen Zhixing wasn't afraid of the backlash; as long as he didn't die, he could recover quickly. I'd like to see if I recover faster or if they die faster!
Feng Ruoli's eyes fluttered open slightly, as if sensing something unusual about Wen Zhixing. She saw Wen Zhixing's cheeks begin to flush, as if he were extremely excited.
"Hmm?" Feng Ruoli was somewhat astonished. He's been subjected to essence absorption for a whole day and night; ordinary people would be crying and begging for mercy by now.How can he still be excited?Does he enjoy being tormented?So that's how it is...It seems I've been too gentle.
"In that case..." After a brief contemplation, Feng Ruoli directly increased the intensity.
Wen Zhixing's body instinctively trembled, but he ignored it and entered a state of cultivation. No matter how strong she is, she can't stop me from cultivating the Ancient Evil Curse!
Of course, before starting his cultivation, he didn't forget to collect a Fortune Fragment again. Unfortunately, this time it was only a Grey Fragment.
[Fortune Point +1]
「...」
"Senior Sister Qiu, there's no trace of Wen Zhixing on Lingshan Peak!"
"Senior Sister Qiu, no sign of Wen Zhixing found on Moon Viewing Peak!"
"Senior Sister Qiu, the Alert Array hasn't been triggered!"
"Senior Sister Qiu..."
Groups of disciples rapidly returned, reporting their findings. This made Qiu Yinger's expression grow increasingly grim. Could a living person have just ascended on the spot?!
Just then, another group of disciples returned. The group tensed as soon as they saw Qiu Yinger's murderous gaze. They shivered in fear but still managed to stammer out, "Senior Sister Qiu, th-they... Wutong Peak wouldn't let us search."
"Hm?" Qiu Yinger's eyes narrowed slightly; an idea was forming.
"Forgive us, Senior Sister! Our status is too low; we couldn't force our way in to inspect." The disciples bowed their heads, expressions filled with dread.
Qiu Yinger's expression was far from pleased, but she knew she couldn't blame these individuals. The people of Wutong Peak were already at odds with them; it would have been a miracle if they had cooperated, especially with Feng Ruoli supposedly in closed-door cultivation to heal her injuries.
Healing injuries?Wait... healing! Qiu Yinger's eyes widened as a thought struck her.