"She vanished?" Ling Chuan's expression darkened as he stopped in his tracks, his brow furrowing as he spread his divine sense in all directions. The mental probe swept through the stagnant air like a fine-toothed comb, searching for any ripple of spiritual power.
But that faint, lingering trace belonging to Yu Xiaotang and Elder Hua seemed to have evaporated into thin air. It left not the slightest hint behind for his senses to latch onto.
"How is that possible?" He knit his brows tightly, his gaze darting across the desolate landscape. "They're badly injured, especially Elder Hua. Carrying her, there is no way they could hide this perfectly. Unless… she used another high grade spatial escape talisman?"
Yet, as he scanned the immediate area, there were no obvious remnants of the spatial fluctuations that always accompanied such a powerful tool.
Xie Zhaolin also stopped beside him. She closed her eyes, her face a mask of concentration, and the sensing connection from You You through the You Ming Bracelet on her wrist had completely cut off at this point.
It felt as if the target had been wrapped in an invisible curtain, utterly concealed from the world.
"It's not a spatial escape talisman," she said as she slowly opened her eyes. The words carried a low, leaden weight. "Those always leave spatial ripples in their wake. They have completely suppressed their auras and used an extremely advanced concealment method to hide themselves perfectly." Her gaze swept over the seemingly ordinary mountain range and the dense, shadowy forest ahead. "They're nearby. Not far."
"Completely concealed?" He felt even more unsettled by her assessment. "Elder Hua is seriously injured; her spiritual energy fluctuations should be hard to fully control. Even if Yu Xiaotang has a secret method, it shouldn't be possible to leave zero traces. Unless they have hidden in some natural forbidden zone that isolates auras, or…"
He thought back to how Yu Xiaotang had previously ignored his formation as if it were mere smoke, still unable to comprehend how any of this was possible for a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Xie Zhaolin, however, was almost certain this was once again the power of that mysterious Xi Tong.
But she knew concealment this heaven defying could not come without a heavy price.
Maybe each use consumed some precious resource, or perhaps it overdrawn Yu Xiaotang's own origin, draining her life force.
"Good that she used it," she thought coldly, her eyes narrowing. She wanted to see how many times Xi Tong could save Yu Xiaotang before the cost became too high. Each use draining something was better than letting the enemy stay hidden in the shadows, quietly accumulating strength for a counterattack.
"Staying here won't help," the black-robed woman broke the oppressive silence that had settled between them. "Since they chose to hide completely, they won't show themselves anytime soon. Or rather, until Elder Hua recovers some mobility, they won't move lightly."
If they were truly that easy to find, the shadow guards of Yingsha would not have failed so miserably to locate even a trace of the Hehuan Sect in the past.
He understood the logic, but watching the enemy escape with the star core essence fragment after exposing his own hidden trump cards left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"Yu Xiaotang…" He muttered her name under his breath, a cold, sharp light flickering in his eyes. "That person is unpredictable and terrifyingly talented. She will become a massive threat in the future. In this secret realm, no matter what, I must find her and eliminate the danger at its root!"
She did not respond to his declaration. Instead, she looked deeper into the hazy horizon of the secret realm and asked casually, "Daoyou… have you ever heard of Xi Tong?"
"Xi Tong?" The abrupt shift in the conversation caught him off guard. He frowned and searched through his memory for the unfamiliar name.
He came from the Northern Ice Palace and had studied countless ancient sect records since his childhood, but the name Xi Tong meant absolutely nothing to him.
After a long moment of silence, he slowly shook his head. "Never heard of it. Is it… a kind of spiritual object? Or the name of some technique or secret art?" He looked at the woman with a sharp glint of suspicion. "Why do you ask? Could it be… related to Yu Xiaotang's strange methods?"
"Perhaps," she replied noncommittally, her face showing no surprise at his answer.
If even the Hehuan Sect from her previous life had no records of such a thing, it was only natural that the Northern Ice Palace knew nothing. This only reinforced her growing suspicion that the secret behind Yu Xiaotang far exceeded what ordinary cultivators could imagine.
"It's just an old name that came to mind," she said lightly, dropping the topic as if it were of no consequence. "Since you do not know it, forget it. This place isn't suitable to stay for long. The earlier commotion might draw others to investigate. Let us go."
He took a deep, measuring look at her.
This black-robed person was not only powerful and mysterious, but also seemed to know far more than any ordinary cultivator should. Bringing up Xi Tong had clearly been a probe, or perhaps a way to confirm some hidden information she already possessed.
It reminded him of their very first meeting half a month ago.
Back then, news about the Northern Ice Palace obtaining the star core essence had somehow leaked out to the public.
In an instant, their group had become the most conspicuous target in the entire secret realm, hunted by greed.
Three days ago, a chaotic Nascent Soul battle had erupted near an ancient, crumbling ruin deep within the realm, with the clue to the star core essence acting as the focal point of the carnage. His protector elder had been forced to go all out to hold back the strongest opponents, buying him a precious chance to break through the encirclement.
But even with the elder restraining the other Nascent Soul cultivators, he was far from safe.
Countless Golden Core cultivators, and even some half-step Nascent Soul loose cultivators and members of small sects, had launched a frenzied pursuit through the wilderness.
The temptation of the star core essence was simply too great for them to resist.
Just as he was nearly exhausted and cornered in a desolate valley by several late stage Core Formation cultivators, a strange, black baleful qi had descended from the sky. It instantly killed the two men in front of him.
Then this black-robed person had appeared at the very edge of the battlefield. She did not attack him. Instead, she helped him out of the encirclement and swiftly eliminated the remaining pursuers with cold efficiency.
"Ling Chuan of the Northern Ice Palace? Want to get rid of these flies? How about we cooperate?"
His first reaction had naturally been one of suspicion and immediate rejection. But the other party's bizarre strength, along with her apparent lack of greed toward the star core essence in his possession, made him hesitate.
After weighing the pros and cons, and recognizing the need for a strong and relatively clean ally to handle the complex situation ahead, he ultimately chose to cooperate for the time being.
That led to everything that followed: the joint killing of Xue Shouren, the severe injury of Elder Hua, and their clash with Yu Xiaotang.
So far, that decision had proven correct.
The black-robed person was powerful, ruthless, and frighteningly experienced in the heat of battle. She kept her promises, showed no interest in the star core essence, and coordinated her movements flawlessly at every critical moment.
And yet, because of that very perfection, the sense of unease quietly resurfaced, tightening in his chest.
From being saved in the desolate valley, to fighting side by side against Elder Hua and Xue Shouren, and even their brief confrontation with Yu Xiaotang, there was always an uncanny sense of synchronization between them.
It felt as if the other party could always predict his attack intentions and his spell rhythm, filling in perfectly whenever he needed support. That kind of tacit understanding was not something strangers in a temporary partnership should possess.
He went through everyone he had ever encountered in his long years of training, yet none of his memories matched the figure standing before him.
So what does this person… actually want?