At least there's no need to bustle about for a living, and with fewer foolish sighs over love and desire, one won't be heartbroken or sad. Being in a bit of a haze might not be such a bad thing!
Having said that, Big Boss thought it over and nodded,
"What you've said isn't bad at all!"
Once he figured it out, he immediately became spirited again and, twisting his body, said,
"It was just bad luck that got it chopped down. One like myself who has opened Spiritual Wisdom will have a lifespan of tens of millions of years. Who knows, I might even grow into the greatest divine tree in this realm one day, with a life as long as the heavens!"
Gu Shi Yi and Li Yaner immediately nodded repeatedly, both bowing and saying,
"Right, right, right, Big Boss is wise!"
They chatted and laughed, driving the carriage straight along the main road towards Xuancheng City, leaving the continuous green mountains behind them, unaware that at that moment, five beams of Flight Light were searching in all directions within the mountain range.
And there, within the grand hall of its own abode, the rat spirit that was appreciating the Ancient Tomb Sect decorative style suddenly felt something, looked up at the sky, sniffed around with its nose, and then squeaked a few times towards the many holes in the mountain wall. In the hazy light of the Luminous Pearls, several rats as big as dogs scurried out in response. They stood upright like humans, supporting themselves with powerful hind legs, and folded their front paws like the Human Race, bowing. The rat spirit commanded,
"Send the kids out to see who has come to the mountain!"
"Squeak!"
The big rats took the order and left, and before long, they returned to report,
"Squeak, squeak, squeak..."
Frowning, the rat spirit gave an order,
"If it's Great cultivators, they're not ones we can afford to provoke. Have the kids hide well, don't get caught!"
"Squeak!"
The big rats scattered, and the rat spirit looked up at the ceiling again, muttering,
"Still, the feeling is nerve-wracking. It's best to hide!"
Having said that, it looked at the stone sarcophagus beside it. Why would the rat spirit place such a casket in its nest? Of course, because it had an unusual sense of aesthetic, and also because the sarcophagus was carved with a secret talisman from Ancient Times, capable of isolating it from Divine Sense probes.
With its aid, the rat spirit had avoided being tracked by many of its same-stage natural enemies. Without another word, the rat spirit twisted its body and transformed into a tiny gray rat, squeezing through a crack in the casket and leaving behind a Confucian Robe on the ground...
Meanwhile, above the mountain range where it resided, the five beams of Flight Light converged, and someone cursed angrily,
"It's all your fault, Lao Wu. They were just a few mortals; why did you have to take issue with them? You killed them, leading the Spirit Clearing Guards here, making us unable to freely search. Now we don't even know where the people have run off to!"
Those three Spirit Clearing Guards were all at the Foundation Establishment Stage of Cultivation, and the leader among them was at the Mid Foundation Establishment Great Perfection. Such a person could kill the five of them as easily as crushing ants. If it weren't for the fact that their eldest brother acted quickly back in the small town's hinterland, they would have already been caught. Not to mention failing the mission assigned by their sect leader, they would probably have met an end with both their bodies destroyed and their paths as cultivators extinguished!
Kicking up a fuss only made it more infuriating!
Someone replied,
"Third brother, it's not my fault. Those mere mortals dared to deceive Master Five with diluted wine. If I don't kill them, who should I kill?"
"We came out to attend to serious business. Because of what you did, you've drawn the attention of the Spirit Clearing Guards. Now see, we can't complete our task, and the sect leader will surely punish us upon our return!"
"I..."
Lao Wu still wanted to retort when a hoarse voice interjected,
"Enough, you two stop wasting time here. While the Spirit Clearing Guards haven't caught up yet, let's sweep the mountain with Divine Sense again. If we still can't find them, we'll just capture a few of the local mountain spirits and wild monsters and ask them!"
This person seemed to be the leader of the group. As soon as he spoke, the arguing stopped and the five beams of Flight Light dispersed once more, flying off in all directions. After another shichen, they regrouped, "Big brother, we didn't find..."
"We didn't find..."
"Hmm... I did find an Old Turtle Spirit that's been alive for ten thousand years in this valley just now..."
Muted conversations filtered through the Flight Light, and after about half a shichen, the five beams merged into one and zipped away. Another half a shichen later, three beams of Flight Light appeared again, flying in one after the other. After sweeping the area with Divine Sense and encountering the Old Turtle Spirit on the mountain peak whose soul had been searched, the lead Flight Light flashed down onto a rock, revealing the figure of a man with a gentle smile. He came over and nudged the half-dead turtle with the tip of his foot,
"Someone has searched its soul. It seems they are following in this direction..."