Three days later.
Sect Leader Ziyun rubbed her temples, her head aching.
The evil cultivator was too cunning. Despite deploying people to search an area of six to seven hundred li, they couldn't find the slightest trace of the other party.
It was as if the evil cultivator had simply vanished into thin air…
"Beep beep beep." Just then, Ziyun's communication jade rang.
"Sect Leader, something's happened!" the Grand Elder said anxiously, "Hurry to the Outer Sect!"
Three minutes later.
The Outer Sect of the Ziyun Sect.
After inquiring with the disciples who knew, all the answers were the same.
"Those fellow disciples went out last night. I thought they were just going to the privy, so I didn't pay much attention. But they didn't return even by dawn."
Sect Leader Ziyun was stunned!
The disciples guarding the various exits of the Ziyun Sect last night had clearly stated that not a single person had left the entire night.
Yet now, over a hundred outer sect disciples were missing!
It was as if they had disappeared out of thin air!
Sect Leader Ziyun scanned the disciples present and noticed that the thirty-odd disciples who had previously fainted outside were among them. She seemed to recall something but said nothing.
That day, all sorts of rumors spread.
Most of them suggested that the disciples had been captured by the evil cultivator using a wicked secret technique, causing widespread panic among the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining realm disciples of the Ziyun Sect.
A pall of gloom hung over the Ziyun Sect.
That night.
Outer Sect disciple residences.
As everyone slept soundly, a disciple quietly sat up.
The whites of his eyes began to disappear rapidly, and soon both his eyes turned completely black!
Faint streams of black energy enveloped the other sleeping disciples.
This scene was playing out in numerous rooms.
A quarter of an hour later, over thirty disciples, leading over a hundred dazed outer sect disciples, swaggered towards the mountain gate of the encampment.
And these thirty-odd disciples were precisely the ones who had claimed to have fainted in the wilderness!
The disciples guarding the mountain gate were about to call out to them when suddenly their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed to the ground.
And not far behind them, dozens of figures followed.
They were Sect Leader Ziyun and the elders.
The elders immediately cast a look of admiration at Ziyun.
Earlier that day, Ziyun had held a meeting with them, suggesting that the thirty-odd disciples were likely problematic.
The scene before them now perfectly validated Sect Leader Ziyun's assertion.
They had never imagined that the evil cultivator would be so audacious as to openly abduct disciples from their own sect!
However, this was not without its benefits.
At least now, they could follow these disciples directly to the evil cultivator's lair and capture him in one fell swoop!
Sect Leader Ziyun made a gesture: keep quiet and follow stealthily!
Thus, over a hundred outer sect disciples and a group of bosses departed the Ziyun Sect's encampment, one group after the other.
"Seventh Elder, are we going to take down the evil cultivator's lair? It sounds so exciting!"
"Didn't the Sect Leader just say not to talk? You..."
The Seventh Elder, walking at the end of the procession, paused midway and suddenly froze.
He then turned around, looking bewildered at Li Mingbai behind him.
What the heck?
Why had this kid followed?
"Let him come along," Sect Leader Ziyun transmitted mentally as the Seventh Elder was about to drive Li Mingbai away.
In fact, Sect Leader Ziyun had noticed Li Mingbai when he appeared.
She hadn't stopped him, and she had her reasons.
Firstly, it was about the evil cultivator's strength.
Even a Golden Core realm disciple found it difficult to fight the evil cultivator alone. With their protection, Li Mingbai's safety was assured.
As for whether the evil cultivator was deliberately hiding his strength?
That was absolutely impossible.
After all, that day the evil cultivator had been forced to use a body-replacement talisman. If he had the strength to defeat Nascent Soul realm elders, he would never have done something so foolish.
The second reason was for her precious disciple, Ye Fan.
Since Ye Fan was secretly cultivating Li Mingbai, it proved he thought highly of him.
Perhaps Li Mingbai possessed a potential that they couldn't see, but that was no longer important.
This was a good opportunity to broaden Li Mingbai's horizons.
Disciples at the Qi Refining stage like Li Mingbai lacked real combat experience.
At most, they sparred with fellow disciples or competed in exchanges.
However, those were merely matches conducted without the intention of causing harm.
The cultivation world had always been a cruel place. Once one embarked on the path of cultivation, they were destined to experience countless life-and-death battles.
When fighting for one's life, enemies wouldn't play by any rules!
It would be beneficial for Li Mingbai to be exposed to true cultivator combat earlier.
Seeing that the Sect Leader had permitted him to follow, Li Mingbai became even more excited!
He had only stepped out for a moment to relieve himself while practicing, never expecting to encounter something so thrilling!
This was going to be a direct confrontation with an evil cultivator!
A true cultivator's battle.
A life-and-death struggle!
Thinking of this, Li Mingbai's mind suddenly flashed with the image of the old man who had been killed by the evil cultivator a few days ago.
Li Mingbai clenched his fists tightly.
Old man, we will avenge your death soon!
Rest in peace in the netherworld!
"This is going to face an evil cultivator who has killed countless people," the Seventh Elder looked at Li Mingbai with a puzzled expression. "Aren't you the slightest bit afraid?"
"With the Sect Leader and you elders here, what is there for me to be afraid of?" Li Mingbai replied frankly. "Anyway, I'll probably just be a spectator, it's not like I'll have to fight."
"What if we can't win?" the Seventh Elder suddenly felt that this disciple's mind was a bit off.
"Seventh Elder, I have great confidence in you and the other elders!" Li Mingbai nodded emphatically.
"You sure know how to flatter," the Seventh Elder glared at Li Mingbai speechlessly.
Although his tone was one of reprimand, his expression suggested he was quite pleased…
"Of course!" Li Mingbai continued frankly. "The evil cultivator refines evil arts using the flesh and blood of cultivators, all for the purpose of absorbing their energy."
"He'll definitely attack you first. After all, I'm just a Qi Refining realm nobody, my level is too low, right?"
Li Mingbai rambled on:
"Besides, I plan to just watch quietly. If I see anything going wrong, I'll run away quickly!"
The Seventh Elder's expression immediately froze…
"After all, someone has to go back and deliver the message, right?" Li Mingbai said frankly. "Seventh Elder, do you have any treasures for escaping? Just give me anything."
Li Mingbai's voice was not loud, but in the quiet night, it was clearly audible.
Furthermore, these elders were all powerful figures at the Nascent Soul realm, so they naturally heard every word…
A thought suddenly arose in everyone's minds.
Damn it!
It felt like beating this kid to death…
Sect Leader Ziyun's face darkened: "Shut up, stop talking!"
No unexpected incidents occurred along the way.
As the eastern sky turned pale, the two groups arrived at the small village where the evil cultivator resided.