A few days ago, Elder Linghua took her disciple and left the sect, claiming that Su Ling had encountered a bottleneck and needed to seek solutions outside.
Under normal circumstances, core elders of the sect are not allowed to leave the mountain gate at will. Not to mention the daily responsibilities of the elders, even someone of their status appearing recklessly in the cultivation world would cause quite a stir.
However, Elder Linghua was an exception; she had little impact within the sect and had not shown any significant contributions. Moreover, the training of sword cultivators is indeed more complex than that of ordinary cultivators, so it seemed reasonable for her to take her disciple out for practical experience.
In any case, she certainly wasn’t trying to avoid punishment from the sect leader by timing her departure…
Given Elder Linghua’s level of cultivation, aside from a few dangerous places, whether she took Su Ling to the Hundred Poison Mountains or the Western Marshes, there shouldn’t be any issues.
But just a few days ago, the elders of the sect received a message from Linghua.
“Su Ling is missing.”
In the main hall of the sect leader, upon hearing this news, several people wore expressions that seemed to ask, “What kind of reaction should I have?”
She wasn’t a child; how could a living cultivator go missing?
“The message said this,” Xuan Miao explained, “When Linghua was traveling to a certain place, she discovered a group of suspicious individuals, so she followed them. Unexpectedly, their strength exceeded her expectations, and after a brief entanglement, they managed to shake her off. When she returned to look for Su Ling, she found that the person was already gone.”
“Suspicious individuals?”
Although Linghua was the lowest in cultivation among the core elders of the Xuanling Sect, her strength was not to be underestimated; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to hold her position.
To be able to shake her off, they would have to be at least Nascent Soul level or even higher.
“Su Ling is really unfortunate,” Shui Qiu remarked. “Is she okay right now?”
“Linghua has her life lamp, and the message said that she is not in danger,” the Grand Elder replied. “But delays could lead to changes, so we need to find her as soon as possible.”
From the sequence of events, it was hard to say whether Su Ling’s disappearance was related to that group of suspicious individuals.
“The suspicious individuals mentioned by the elder,” the Saintess spoke up, “are they related to the recent cleanup plan?”
“Cleanup plan?”
The disciples of the Xuanling Sect showed puzzled expressions.
“Linghua didn’t find any concrete evidence,” Xuanmiao nodded slightly, agreeing with her statement, “but she said she had a feeling it was related; her intuition has always been quite reliable.”
Xu Lexian pondered for a moment, noticing that the people nearby seemed to be confused, and began to explain.
“The cleanup plan is a covert investigation operation secretly carried out by some major cultivation sects,” she said. “The appearance of a demonic undercover agent at the Qing Shui Sect startled quite a few people, especially since it is a sect with considerable regional influence.”
Since it is a secret investigation, it cannot be conducted openly; only core elders and the sect leader are generally aware of it.
“That’s basically the situation,” Elder Xuan Miao concluded the background and then issued a task. “The urgent priority is to find the missing Su Ling. Yi Rou, you take a team of disciples and prepare to set out. The elder in charge of the rescue will also move out, so be careful.”
“Yes!”
Yi Rou responded with a cupped fist, feeling a long sigh of relief in her heart.
Generally speaking, such important tasks are assigned to the chief disciple, similar to the previous Hundred Poisons Mountain operation.
If she could find Su Ling and complete the task, her support among the disciples in the sect would far surpass that of her competitors nearby!
As long as she wins in the final arena competition, even if her contribution to the sect’s reputation is slightly lower afterward, it wouldn’t matter!
“Wait a moment.”
Unexpectedly, Xu Lexian spoke up again.
“Such an… important matter, I want to participate too!”
“Huh…?”
Elder Xuan Miao immediately gasped.
“It’s a search mission; having one more person means one more bit of strength,” the Saintess said in a tone that brooked no argument. “No need to thank me; I also want to see how the Xuanling Sect operates in the face of unexpected situations.”
Who the hell is thanking you!
This is no joke; no one knows the background of the person who kidnapped Su Ling, and the mission is fraught with danger and uncertainty.
Letting the Saintess take risks?
What if something goes wrong? Tomorrow, the forces of Sacred Immortal Mountain could be at their doorstep!
“Um…”
Elder Xuan Miao wanted to refuse but was interrupted by Xu Lexian, who spoke first.
“I won’t take back what I’ve decided,” the Saintess declared with a haughty demeanor, spreading her hands and saying, “It’s settled.”
If it were an ordinary junior acting so arrogantly in the main hall, even the usually mild-mannered elder would likely lose their temper.
But the other party was the Saintess, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to confine her within the sect to prevent her from going out, right?
The elder could only shift his gaze to Tang Xin.
“Fine,” the senior sister of Xuanling Sect understood her intention and shrugged, saying, “I’ll go with you.”
The Saintess clearly found staying in the sect uninteresting and wanted to go out and cause some trouble.
What could one do with someone like her?
“This…”
Seeing that Senior Sister Tang was once again tied to the Saintess’s plans, Shui Qiu’s little face immediately turned unhappy.
Damn it, this person must be trying to avoid everyone’s gaze and torment Senior Sister in a more cruel way, like making her lick her toes without clothes… and Senior Sister would definitely sacrifice herself for Xuanling Sect and everyone!
No, I can’t let Senior Sister be sullied to that extent!
“I want to go too!” Shui Qiu quickly raised her hand and said, “The more people, the more strength!”
“Huh?”
Seeing her disciple wanting to join as well, Elder Xuan Miao found himself in a difficult position.
The little one had made good progress recently, but she was still quite far from being ready for real combat.
Moreover, this was a time of troubles, not a good time for training.
“Master,” Shui Qiu looked over with her big, watery eyes, adorably pleading, “I have to go!”
Sigh, not this tactic again…
“What’s the problem with that?” the Saintess glanced at the busty girl beside her and smiled, “If the elder is worried, she can just let her form a team with me.”
“This,” Xuan Miao hesitated for a moment but still agreed to her disciple’s request, “then I will trouble the Saintess more. My disciple is quite obedient and well-behaved.”
“Obedient and well-behaved?” Xu Lexian glanced at the blue-eyed girl who was pouting and secretly cheering herself on, then said to the elder, “I understand…”
“It is truly an honor for Xuanling Sect that the Saintess is willing to help,” Lian Xin turned around and cupped her hands in respect, “I will have a team of disciples stay by the Saintess’s side, ready to follow your orders at any time, should there be any…”
“No need,” Xu Lexian waved her hand without even looking at her, “You can use your own people. I have these two guys, and that’s enough…”
