Wen Fuxian was also beginning to feel uncertain too. "This painting is very important to us. We can't lose our quarry no matter what happens."
The Lord Amethyst Sword understood the reason behind his concern.
A painting that could allow one to attain enlightenment of the Immense Righteous Energy was simply too valuable.
At home in Jingwen Square,
Xiao Ran took out the Sky Demon Skeleton.
Whoosh!
The moment the Sky Demon Skeleton appeared, it released a terrifying demonic aura that converged into a beam of green light that shot out.
"Come back." Xiao Ran made a grab in the air.
A powerful suction force erupted from his palm and pulled it back.
Thousands of beams of golden light shot out and sealed the demonic energy that it emitted.
"Why is it flying towards the northwest? Could it be that something is attracting it there?" Xiao Ran was puzzled.
When he was in the Celestial Dungeon, he didn't get this sensation.
However, now the message he was getting from the Skeleton was that it simply couldn't wait to rush to that destination.
It was still struggling vehemently against the golden light confining it.
"It's not a convenient time to go there now. Let me settle the Sky Devil Sect Master first before going there to check what's going on."
He sealed it again and put it back into the Seven Treasures Rainbow Jade Belt.
The next day,
Xiao Ran left the house at noon and arrived at the Petite Six Inn.
It was an ordinary inn with only two staff, an innkeeper and a waiter.
When he scanned them using the Spiritual Clarity Eye, they were revealed to be ordinary people without any spiritual energy fluctuations inside their bodies.
He asked for a private room on the second floor.
He used the Spirit Shifting Soul Control technique to gain control of the waiter. After some questioning, he verified that he was just an ordinary worker. He retracted his spiritual skill and asked him to call the shopkeeper over.
"Sir, are you looking for me?" The shopkeeper smiled and pushed the door open.
Just like before, he used the Spirit Shifting Soul Control technique again to overcome him.
The Sky Devil Sect was very scheming. They put someone without evolution skills in charge of this secret lookout.
He learned from him that the sect master would arrive at the capital city around daybreak.
After getting the answers he wanted, Xiao Ran withdrew his spiritual skill and gestured for him to leave with a wave of his hand.
After finishing the meal,
he happened to run into two constables patrolling the streets. He activated his spiritual soul energy to transmit to them the information that the Petite Six Inn was a secret lookout of the Sky Devil Sect.
When the two constables turned around to check for the source of information, they only saw people bustling back and forth on the streets. They looked like ordinary folks.
Constable A: "Did you hear that?"
Constable B: "You heard it too?"
They looked at each other.
Constable A: "Do you believe it?"
"I'd rather believe it than not. You stay here and keep watch on that place while I go back and call for backup."
Constable A agreed with his proposal.
After exiting the city, Xiao Ran stopped by the river.
He looked up at the sky. There was still some time before dawn. He made a fishing rod and flicked the fishing line into the river without a fish hook.
At the crack of dawn,
in the valley,
the Lord Amethyst Sword couldn't take it anymore and complained, "It's been two whole days and that Wu guy still hasn't returned. He must have taken the treasure and fled."
Wen Fuxian stroked his beard thoughtfully. It did not feel good to be bitten by mosquitoes either, but he didn't want to give up. "Let's bear with it for one more night. If he still does not return by daybreak, then we'll call it off."
"All right," the Lord Amethyst Sword nodded.
The night sky trembled as demonic energy rolled in from afar.
A demonic figure arrived at the hut in a flash.
"They're here." The Lord Amethyst Sword's eyes lit up.
"No! Isn't the one surnamed Wu a Daoist priest? When did he become a member of the demonic sects?"
"I don't care if he is or not. Let's take him down first."
"Sure! After making us wait for so long, we can take it out on him." Wen Fuxian nodded in agreement.
The Lord Amethyst Sword immediately gave the order to attack.
The twenty Divine Sword Guards that were lying in ambush in the surroundings dashed out from the shadows and attacked the demonic shadow.
The Sky Devil Sect Master was stunned. This was already the third time.
When he thought of this, his face became as dark as black ink. A giant wave of murderous intent surged into the sky.
"There must be a traitor in the sect who leaked my whereabouts."
His anger erupted as he vented all his anger on the Divine Sword Guards that were charging at him.
"Die!"
The demonic palm punched out, sweeping out several hundred feet, wiping out all the charging guards in one stroke.
He turned his icy cold eyes at Wen Fuxian and the Lord Amethyst Sword. "It's you bunch of despicable rats again!"
"Sky Devil Sect Master?" The Lord Amethyst Sword's pupils constricted in astonishment.
He pulled Wen Fuxian back and retreated.
"Don't get me wrong. We're not after you."
Wen Fuxian could sense the severity of the situation. The two of them combined were no match for the other party.
"It's a pleasure to have a friend from afar. Fighting and killing is not civilized at all. Why don't we sit down and have a cup of tea to discuss some poetry?"
"Go f*ck yourself!" The Sky Devil Sect Master cursed out loud.
He turned into a demonic shadow and charged towards the two of them.
"Sky Devil Soul Devouring Palm!"
A palm print more than a thousand feet wide echoed the motion of his arm and ruthlessly smashed towards them.
Wen Fuxian's expression changed drastically as he hurriedly shouted, "Hurry up and inject your spirit energy into my body."
The Lord Amethyst Sword did not dare to delay. Without holding back any power, he injected all his spirit energy into his body.
"Immense Righteous Energy!" Wen Fuxian executed his move first.
A shower of golden light scattered all around. The power of righteousness and saintliness formed a barrier that protected them.
Swish!
The protective shield was instantly broken. The impact from the violent force sent the two of them flying thousands of feet before they crashed onto the ground and fainted.
"Go to hell!" The Sky Devil Sect Master shouted.
He struck his palm out in empty space and unleashed a lethal force towards them.
"You are the Sky Devil Sect Master?" Xiao Ran's voice suddenly came from behind.
As soon as the voice finished speaking,
a figure zipped across thousands of feet and appeared before the two fallen men.
With a flick of his finger, he released a blast of Immense Righteous Energy like a river of sunlight that drowned out and neutralized the oncoming palm print.
"You're also from the Dragon Lake Institute?" The Sky Devil Sect Master suddenly felt fearful.
"No! I was fishing at the bank. You guys created too big a commotion here and it annoyed me. So, I decided to come here," Xiao Ran said.
"On your account, I'll let them off this time. Take them away!"
"You haven't answered my question."
The Sky Devil Sect Master held back his displeasure and answered, "That's right! I am the Sky Devil Sect Master."
"I was waiting for you." Xiao Ran's eyes lit up.
Using his purifying spiritual force to propel the Immense Righteous Energy, a beam of golden light shot into the sky. Everything within a thousand feet radius was bathed in a golden sea.
Under the demon's terrified gaze, he drew out the Beryl Lotus Brilliance Sword.
With the augmentation of the Sword Intent, the soaring sword energy churned and transformed into a Sword Domain. A huge swath of destructive force followed the Sword Energy in its wake, annihilating everything in its path.
"Wait!" The Sky Devil Sect Master frantically stopped him.
"Anything else?"
"I hate fighting and killing. Why don't we sit down and have a cup of tea to exchange our knowledge?"
"You are an intellectual?" Xiao Ran asked.
"Age is no barrier to learning. As long as one is determined and diligent, problems can be overcome."
"Allow my sword to greet you first," Xiao Ran said.
The Beryl Lotus Brilliance Sword slashed down, augmented by the Immense Righteous Energy.
The terrifying sword energy plunged down from the heavens, destroying everything it touched as it slashed towards him.
Even though he was also at Level 1 of the Profound Realm, before the might of this sword energy, the Sky Devil Sect Master couldn't activate the spirit energy within his own body. In fact he couldn't even move a finger.
Watching in despair as the wave of sword light got closer and closer, he roared in bitter resentment, "No…"