When this explanation reached everyone's ears, they became completely convinced. The logic was sound, and everything seemed to align perfectly with the truth. Once this understanding settled in, the urgency of the situation became clear.
One elder immediately spoke up: "We must deploy our teams right away! We need to send our forces there immediately to capture him before he can execute his escape plan!"
This statement received strong agreement from several other elders, who nodded vigorously and voiced their support.
Another elder raised an important concern
"Vice Sect Master, what about the three puppets he had under his control? Two of them have been destroyed, and one has been freed. Won't the Witch Spawn realize that his cover has been blown? Since two of his three puppets have been eliminated and one has been freed from his control, surely he must know that we've discovered his presence?"
Mu Feixue shook her head calmly. "The Mind-Binding Gu insects he used were designed purely for control purposes. They could only make the victims follow orders—nothing more sophisticated than that. There was no special psychic connection or communication link between the Witch Spawn and his puppets. Because of this limitation, we don't need to worry about him being immediately alerted to what happened."
She paused to let this sink in before continuing with the crucial information.
"The reason we can be certain he doesn't know yet is simple: according to the freed cultivator's testimony, the Witch Spawn was scheduled to meet with his puppets in ten days. He only collects the gathered Ki Stones at the end of each month, and the end of this month is exactly ten days away."
The implications hit everyone like a thunderbolt.
"This means we have a ten-day window of opportunity," Mu Feixue continued, her voice growing more intense.
"The Witch Spawn won't discover that his three puppets are no longer under his control until he attempts to meet with them. By then, it will be too late for him to realize his cover has been blown."
She looked around the hall, making eye contact with the key elders.
"Therefore, we have exactly ten days to locate and capture him before he discovers the truth. Once those ten days pass and he realizes his puppets are gone, he will either accelerate his escape plans or abandon Azure Sky City altogether. We cannot afford to let this opportunity slip away."
The weight of the deadline settled over the assembly like a heavy shroud. Ten days to end a twelve-year hunt. Ten days to prevent a dangerous monster from escaping to a ghoul continent where they could never reach him.
The race against time had officially begun.
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Azure Sky City
While walking, Ye Xian sensed someone following him. When he turned around, he saw a Moonlight Sect female disciple was following him.
Ye Xian had seen her earlier .
When Ye Xian noticed her watching him, she quickly turned her face in another direction, pretending as if she wasn't following him at all—as though she had some other destination in mind.
Ye Xian turned back around and continued walking. After covering a few dozen meters, he glanced back again and saw that she was still following him.
The moment she realized he had spotted her, she immediately turned her face away again, acting as if she wasn't following him but was simply looking at something else entirely.
Seeing this obvious charade, Ye Xian decided to test his suspicions.
He continued walking for a few more steps before ducking into a narrow alley. Once inside, he positioned himself at the corner near the entrance where he had entered, waiting to see if she would pass by.
After waiting for some time, he noticed that she hadn't walked past the alley entrance. When he carefully peered around the corner to get a better look, there was no one there at all.
"It seems she must have gone about her own business," he muttered to himself. "Why would she be following me anyway? That doesn't make sense."
Just as he turned around to leave the alley, he froze in shock. Standing directly in front of him was the same Moonlight Sect female disciple, a pair of beautiful hazel eyes stared directly at him."
Ye Xian was startled for a moment but quickly composed himself, maintaining his calm demeanor as he looked back at her without showing any nervousness.
She was indeed stunningly beautiful. Her brown skin had a healthy glow, and her features were perfectly proportioned.
After what felt like an eternity, she finally spoke, her voice soft but clear.
"You... you healed him, didn't you?" she asked.
Ye Xian raised an eyebrow, feigning confusion. "I'm sorry, what do you mean?"
"Your friend, Rainer. When Luke gave him that poison pill—the Genesis Pain Amplification Pill—his condition was critical. The unstable energy was spreading through his arm like a living shadow. But when I checked on him later..." She paused, studying his face carefully.
"There was no trace of the harmful energy left. Not only that, but his broken bones had been completely healed."
Ye Xian maintained his neutral expression. "Perhaps the pill eventually worked as intended, despite the initial side effects."
She shook her head, her eyes never leaving his face. "That's impossible. A Genesis Pain Amplification Pill doesn't heal—it only destroys. There's no antidote that works that quickly, and certainly only high grade medicine that can mend bones so perfectly without leaving any trace of the healing process."
The young woman took a step closer.
"The academy's infirmary elder confirmed what I suspected. You were the only one who stayed with him in the infirmary long enough to give him medical treatment."
Ye Xian studied her carefully. This disciple was far more perceptive than he had initially thought.
"Even if what you're suggesting were true," he said slowly, "why would that matter to you? You're from the Moonlight Sect—one of the most prestigious sects in the Silver Moon Empire. Why would you care about what happens to students from Azure Sky Academy?"
She looked at him with determination and said, "Take me to the person who provided you with that healing medicine. If you take me to that person, I will reward you handsomely."
Hearing this, Ye Xian studied her carefully and asked, "What exactly will you do if I take you there?"
A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes. She could understand his concern—he was worried about whether bringing her to his benefactor might cause problems. That's why he was being cautious, she realized.
"Someone I know needs it..." she wanted to say something along those lines but thought such an excuse wouldn't work, so she spoke differently. "I need treatment from that person."
Ye Xian thought for a few seconds and said, "He only provides treatment through needles."
Hearing this, she became slightly surprised and wondered, "Then how did you heal your friend?"
He pulled out the marble that had been given to him by the Moonlight Sect disciple. It was supposed to turn black within a hundred-meter radius of the Witch Spawn. But when he looked at it... the marble remained exactly the same as before—clear and calm.
Clearly, she wasn't the Witch Spawn.
She was speechless at Ye Xian's sudden action.
Ye Xian just shrugged.
"Hey, can't be too careful these days. You popped up in an alley, after all."
Ye Xian mentally communicated with Aureliana and asked, "What do you think about this girl?"
'Her cultivation is much higher than yours but right now her cultivation is unstable due to destructive energy roaming in her body. She has done well to suppress it in place, but if not treated, it would make her lose the ability to reproduce. Even in such a condition, if she wanted to, she could end your life.'
Hearing this, he was surprised.
'It seems she's much stronger than Luke. She could be at the peak of Elemental Disciple realm, or maybe even higher - possibly at the Elemental Master realm,' he thought to himself.
Ye Xian then said, "I was the one who treated him through needles using traditional methods."
Hearing this, the girl narrowed her eyebrows, though she still looked quite beautiful. The way she furrowed her brows was quite cute. She asked, "Are you wasting my time? Wasting my time like this won't end well for both of us."
He said, "If you don't believe me, that's fine."
The girl saw his confidence as he began to walk away and called out to him from behind, asking him to stop. She asked, "How did you treat him?"
Since he couldn't reveal his secret, he could only tell a story. He told her that it was a secret, and that his master had instructed him never to disclose anything about him or his teaching methods, though he had been told to help those in need.
Then she asked what his master's name was and where he was, but Ye Xian didn't tell her anything about that. She took a breath and said, "If you're telling the truth and not joking with me, trying to fool me will be very bad for you."
Ye Xian just smiled.
"Tell me the place where the treatment will be performed. I will arrive there later."