"Duan Heng, this kid is only in the Nascent Yuan Realm. How could he possibly find out important intelligence? Besides, all he heard was talk about some sneaky people. How can you be sure it's the Red Ghost Sect?" Xiao Pingtian disagreed with Duan Heng.
Faced with the irritable Xiao Pingtian, Duan Heng calmly made a decision. "Senior Brother Xiao, how about this? I'll lead the other disciples and guard this place to ensure the ancestral worship ceremony proceeds as scheduled in two days. You can head to Weiyang Mountain immediately. If you encounter anyone from the Red Ghost Sect, you can use our Flowing Cloud Sect's signal to notify us."
Xiao Pingtian rejected it outright.
Lin Yun then said petulantly, "If Senior Brother Xiao is unwilling to believe me, then how about this? I will accompany you, and I promise not to hold you back. If there's nothing unusual, I am willing to accept the sect's punishment."
Duan Heng's expression changed. "Junior Brother, you mustn't." The sect's punishments were severe. A light one would leave you bedridden for half a month; a heavy one could even shake your cultivation foundation.
But Lin Yun remained firm. "What do you think, Senior Brother Xiao?"
Xiao Pingtian looked at Lin Yun with contempt. "What a reckless fool. You hear one rumor and think it's the truth. How many missions have you even been on, to be so certain that your intelligence is real?"
This time, even Duan Heng felt worried. "Junior Brother Lin, this intelligence you've obtained is unconfirmed. What if..."
"Rest assured, Senior Brother Duan, I know what I'm doing."
Seeing Lin Yun so certain, Duan Heng stopped trying to dissuade him. Xiao Pingtian, on the other hand, sneered. "I've seen plenty of arrogant fools like you who don't know their own limits. Fine, you brat. What's the harm in me taking a trip with you?"
In any case, Weiyang Mountain wasn't far from their current location.
Early the next morning, Xiao Pingtian left Duan Heng and his group to protect the Chen family, while he took Lin Yun and left Chen Family Fort by sword.
Weiyang Mountain covered a radius of several hundred miles. Xiao Pingtian brought Lin Yun to a location near Chen Family Fort. After a thorough check, they found nothing unusual.
"Junior Brother Lin, where is this suspect you spoke of?" he looked at Lin Yun coldly.
Lin Yun was also muttering to himself. You're asking me? Who do I ask? Spirits of heaven, spirits of earth, suspect, please appear!
Perhaps his prayer was heard, as the sound of a breaking tree branch came from nearby.
Xiao Pingtian's expression turned cold, and he immediately looked in that direction. A black shadow was scurrying into the forest at an incredible speed.
Damn it, was this kid telling the truth? Xiao Pingtian was shocked. He had thought Lin Yun was just spouting nonsense.
"Wait here." After saying that, he transformed into a streak of light and gave chase.
Lin Yun watched from behind and sneered. Have me wait? Dream on.
The moment Xiao Pingtian gave chase, Lin Yun followed close behind. Although his speed was no match for the other two, he could barely keep up with the help of his "Void-Rushing Ghostly Art."
The black shadow was very fast, covering dozens of meters in the blink of an eye. Xiao Pingtian, following behind, was no less impressive.
A quarter of an hour later, they arrived in a deep, old forest. The vegetation was dense, blocking out the sunlight. All around them were century-old trees, making it difficult to get one's bearings. Xiao Pingtian also stopped when he got here. The black shadow clearly knew his speed was no match for Xiao Pingtian's and had lured him here.
"Senior Brother, we lost him." Seeing Lin Yun catch up, Xiao Pingtian frowned, but then quickly relaxed. This was clearly a trap. If he were alone, he would have to be more careful, but with Lin Yun here, things were much simpler.
Of course, Lin Yun knew what Xiao Pingtian was thinking. The only reason he had followed was that he had checked both his and Xiao Pingtian's life panels. Their fates hadn't changed. He wasn't going to die on Weiyang Mountain.
"Didn't I tell you to wait outside?"
"I was worried about Senior Brother, so I thought I'd come up and help."
They were both being completely insincere.
Just then, Xiao Pingtian crouched down. Although the opponent had planned a way to shake them, he had clearly underestimated his methods. "I've already left a mark on him. Even if he runs to the ends of the earth, he won't escape from my grasp." After speaking, he pointed to the right. "This way."
Using the signal Xiao Pingtian had left, the two of them soon arrived at another lake.
"The trail disappears here. Could it be... underwater?" Xiao Pingtian looked at the lake before him. It stretched for several thousand feet, its green surface shimmering, making it impossible to see what was below.
When Lin Yun saw Xiao Pingtian's gaze shift toward him, he immediately pretended to look in another direction. This lake looked anything but simple. And for some reason, Lin Yun felt his heart palpitate as he got closer. It was as if something was hidden in the bottomless depths of the lake. It was just a pity that neither he nor Xiao Pingtian would likely be able to trigger the opportunity here.
Suddenly, Lin Yun was surprised to find that his Mysterious Yuan Embryo, which had been quiet all this time, was reacting.
"Lin Yun, you go down and take a look. I'll keep watch up here," Xiao Pingtian ordered.
"Senior Brother, we don't even know what kind of monster is at the bottom of this lake. How could they dare to go down? Besides, I've already caught the guy."
With the help of the Mysterious Yuan Embryo, Lin Yun was like a man with a cheat code. He could see the surrounding yuan qi. Something was definitely hidden at the bottom of this lake; the yuan qi of the entire Weiyang Mountain was gathering here. And cultivators, without even trying, would absorb the yuan qi between heaven and earth.
Comparing the ambient qi to Xiao Pingtian's, Lin Yun quickly found the hidden man. Although he had cleverly hidden in a tree and concealed his aura with a secret technique, he still couldn't avoid absorbing yuan qi to maintain the technique. And that was the fatal flaw that exposed his identity.
"Senior Brother Xiao, he's over there." Lin Yun pointed out the opponent's location.
Xiao Pingtian was surprised. Kid, did you learn some kind of truth-seeing art? How did you spot him?
He looked up and quickly sensed the person hiding in the tree. His attention had been so focused on the lake that he hadn't noticed him earlier, nearly letting him get away. Now that he was caught, there was nothing more to say.
Xiao Pingtian snorted coldly and summoned his flying sword. "Go!"
The flying sword shot through the air. A man's cry of alarm was heard from the treetops, and then he fell from the tree.
"Aiyo!"
The man scrambled up from the ground pathetically, only to freeze. A sword was pressed against his neck. Xiao Pingtian's face was as cold as ever. If he hadn't needed to confirm the man's identity, he would have killed him on the spot.
"Why were you running?"
The man was short, with shifty, weasel-like eyes. But upon hearing Xiao Pingtian's question, he retorted irritably, "Isn't that obvious? You're chasing me, what am I supposed to do if not run? Wait around to be served up as a side dish?"
The moment he finished speaking, blood began to seep from his neck.
"You'd better think carefully before you speak again. Otherwise, I'll kill you!"
Seeing Xiao Pingtian's overflowing killing intent, Lin Yun hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over. "Senior Brother, don't be hasty... I'll talk to him."
Good heavens, if I let you interrogate him, it'll take half a month.