Chapter Twelve: Fox's Tail

Chapter Twelve: Fox's Tail

"This Li Changshou, why did he split up into three groups instead of just following one pair?"

Sitting cross-legged on a gray cloud hovering above the chaotic jungle, Jiujiu couldn't help but repeatedly tap her knee in frustration. She felt like grabbing her gourd of wine and taking a big gulp to ease her troubled mind.

There were unexpectedly many disciples from the sect who came to the North Ju Lu Continent this time, and four of them were precious disciples with excellent aptitude. They couldn't afford any mishaps...

And now, these five individuals decided to split up into three groups, with the "brave" ones branching out. Jiujiu couldn't help but feel the pressure.

Each one of them...

Young and fearless, ignorant of the taste of "shit"!

But thinking back to when she was just a junior disciple, wasn't her temperament just as high as theirs?

Jiujiu smiled knowingly, squinting her eyes. She casually took out her wine gourd and uncorked it, but hesitated for a moment before putting the cork back in.

"Forget it, I'll endure for another twenty days."

Due to the influence of the miasma, Jiujiu's immortal realm divine sense couldn't explore too far.

Fortunately, this was just the outskirts of the North Ju Lu Continent, where the strength of the venomous beasts was not high, and there were rarely any human cultivators or demonic activities. —— The latter two usually ventured deeper into the jungle.

After some thought, Jiujiu turned her head to look at Yuwen Ling, who was standing on the gray cloud behind her. She originally intended to let him follow Yǒu Qín Xuányā and Yuán Qīng, so that she could reduce a lot of pressure on herself. But as the words were about to come out of her mouth, Jiujiu blinked lightly...

"Elder Jiu, those whose origins are unknown are always suspicious. It's best not to trust them too easily."

Another voice echoed in her mind, the words Li Changshou transmitted to her when he kicked her in the air. Although Jiujiu somewhat disagreed, she couldn't help but hesitate for a moment, considering that the big guy behind her was, in her opinion, not worth a hit.

But somehow, Jiujiu hesitated.

"Forget it, these five kids won't go beyond the range of my divine sense for the time being, so there's no need to rush."

Continuing to drive the gray cloud forward, Jiujiu didn't forget to turn her head and say, "Big guy, keep up with me."

"Elder, rest assured," Yuwen Ling replied, clasping his hands, maintaining a distance of three zhang, and following behind Jiujiu.

The five people chose three different paths, and the further they went, the farther apart they naturally became.

After thinking it over, Jiujiu decided to temporarily follow Wang Qi and Liu Yan'er, feeling more reassured about Yǒu Qín Xuányā and Yǒu Qín Yuán's situation.

As for Li Changshou...

Although Jiujiu was quite worried, she couldn't just let the two of them go and follow Li Changshou alone, which would be too obvious of a favoritism.

She planned to take turns tailing the three groups, evenly distributing the time spent protecting each of them!

According to the rules of the training conference, the immortal elders of the sect only sent their disciples to their destinations and let them go through the trials on their own without much interference.

It's said that life and death are predetermined, and wealth and honor are in the hands of fate. In perilous situations, disciples can quickly grow, but there's also the risk of losing them.

In Jiujiu's exploration with her divine sense, Yǒu Qín Xuányā and Yǒu Qín Yuán were quickly heading to the area they wanted to go, the area with the spring where the "Yán Huǒ Míng Xīn Cǎo" grew, which was considered a relatively safe area in the chaotic jungle.

Although the two of them couldn't fly in the air, their speed was not slow at the moment. They didn't communicate with each other throughout the journey and simply dashed forward, easily handling occasional ambushes by poisonous beasts.

"It seems that disciples from the Pò Tiān Peak are the most reassuring."

And Jiujiu could easily see the situation of Wang Qi and Liu Yan'er. The two of them chatted as they walked, seemingly having a slight fondness for each other. Although they often encountered ambushes by poisonous beasts and insects, they dealt with them calmly. Their strength was quite good.

"Although not much has happened, I still feel a bit uneasy."

Jiujiu smirked, wanting to observe Li Changshou's situation, she shifted her divine sense...

He's gone!

He was torn apart by poisonous beasts so quickly! Or was he swallowed whole by some ferocious beast?

Jiujiu frowned, immediately increasing the intensity of her divine sense search.

No, there's some kind of method blocking the divine sense. I can feel his aura to the north, moving rapidly. His speed of advancing is nearly twice as fast as Yǒu Qín Xuányā and Yǒu Qín Yuán!

"You, at the ninth stage of the Immortal Transformation, dare to rush deeper into the chaotic jungle, seeking death!"

Jiujiu roared silently, her tattered robe swaying wildly.

She glanced at Wang Qi and Liu Yan'er who were studying a poisonous flower, pointed forward with her left hand, and quickly chased after Li Changshou.

Catch this guy and hand him over to Wang Qi for supervision!

But after a moment, when Jiujiu rushed to where Li Changshou was, maintaining the same speed as him, she frowned deeper as she looked down.

This guy...

Seems to be using a stealth charm to conceal his aura, which can avoid being discovered by ferocious beasts that are slightly farther away; Moreover, Li Changshou didn't take the risk of flying through the air, but used the quite clever "Cloud-Exploring Steps," leaving trails under his feet, even bringing out several afterimages, fully exerting his cultivation at the ninth stage of Immortal Transformation.

No, the medicine cauldron hanging from his waist...

Jiujiu sniffed and smelled a strange scent, pondered for a moment, and then realized.

It's actually the saliva of the Red Sun Poisonous Dragon!

The Red Sun Poisonous Dragon, born in the North Sea, enjoys eating demonic beasts, poisonous beasts, and ordinary creatures. However, due to its extreme brutality and rampant killings, it harmed the already scarce luck of the Dragon Clan, and was eliminated by the Dragon Clan tens of thousands of years ago.

This kind of Red Sun Poisonous Dragon's saliva is not a rare treasure, but it's also quite valuable. Jiujiu didn't know where Li Changshou got it from...

With this thing hanging around, ordinary poisons dare not approach, so it's no wonder Li Changshou dares to rush forward so recklessly.

Jiujiu raised her eyebrows slightly and muttered, "This guy has made a lot of preparations. It seems that he does indeed have some urgent medicinal herbs he wants to find. What does he want to find?"

A rough voice came from behind, "Elder, why not go down and ask?"

"No need. If disciples only cultivate under the protection of the sect, becoming immortals would be meaningless," Jiujiu stretched lazily, glanced at Yuwen Ling behind her, "Let's go, let's go see your highness again. Don't say behind my back that I, as an elder, am biased."

Yuwen Ling immediately nodded in agreement, looking somewhat eager, which was in line with the response of a loyal guard.

However, as Jiujiu turned to fly away, a black beetle flew out from Yuwen Ling's leg and burrowed into the gray cloud beneath him.

This movement was too subtle, and it was done during the gap when Jiujiu was exploring the conditions of the other four disciples with her divine sense. Despite Jiujiu's cultivation being much higher than Yuwen Ling's, she did not detect this small action...

After the two flew away, the beetle continued to speed through the mist, closely following Li Changshou's figure.

...

"Hmm?"

Li Changshou looked up at the sky, feeling a slight difference while speeding along. It seemed that there were eyes watching him in the air.

But upon careful investigation, he didn't find anything unusual.

Elder? It shouldn't be. The gaze was hostile.

Adhering to the principle of being more inclined to believe there's something rather than nothing, Li Changshou stopped his figure, swiftly forming hand seals with his hands, chanting incantations, and suddenly, faint ripples appeared on the gray-black ground in front of him.

With a step, he entered into it, and his figure quickly sank into the ground, disappearing in an instant.

Earth-Stepping, one of the Five Elemental Escapes.

A moment later, Li Changshou's figure emerged from a clump of grass fifty miles away. The poisonous insects and a few poisonous beasts around scattered in all directions.

The feeling of being tailed disappeared.

Li Changshou quickly identified the terrain around him, lowered his head, and continued to dash forward. He casually took out two talismans from his sleeve and pasted them on the outside of his thighs, increasing his speed once again.

Thousand-Mile Divine Movement Talisman — a relatively common talisman that enhances the user's speed of travel, generally prepared for those who have just entered the Qi Refinement stage of cultivation.

Li Changshou was sure that the five of them would definitely encounter some unexpected events this time.

Although the chaotic jungle was dangerous, this was just the outskirts of the North Ju Lu Continent. As long as one was a cultivator at the Return to Void realm and was cautious, they could handle it. The notorious reputation of North Ju Lu Continent was exaggerated.

But the sudden appearance of Yuwen Ling halfway...

Yǒu Qín Xuányā, who always seemed kind...

Yǒu Qín Yuán, who appeared cold on the surface but probably had no deep scheming...

Princess, worldly power...

Li Changshou analyzed a clue in his heart, becoming more and more convinced that something was bound to happen.

The person scheming behind the scenes might think that they had planned everything thoroughly, but letting a cultivator with the status of a military general halfway through the journey, rather than directly finding a senior in the sect to explain the situation, and stopping Yǒu Qín Xuányā from going out, this logic was somewhat flawed...

Forget it, these have nothing to do with me.

Li Changshou ran while taking out a simple map and glanced at it, showing a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

If he hadn't had no choice, he wouldn't have wanted to take the risk of coming to such a dangerous place, which completely violated his life's principle of living in seclusion in the mountains until old age.

But Master...

"In the name of the Great Clear Heaven, all evils shall be dispelled!"

With a light shout, Li Changshou revitalized his spirit and continued to sprint through the black jungle full of poisonous barriers.

However, just moments later, Li Changshou felt a subtle sense of being watched again.

Furrowing his brows slightly, he thought to himself, "Troublesome." But this time, Li Changshou didn't reveal more of his escape techniques. Instead, he checked the items for combat in his storage magic treasure and began to search for a suitable ambush location with his divine sense.

Although he was cautious, he was not timid. There was a difference between the two.

For quite a long time afterward, Li Changshou only had the subtle feeling of being watched, without encountering any ambushes or sneak attacks.

With his spirit tense like this for two full days and nights, and casting the Earth-Stepping technique several times, he still felt that he was being tracked.

Li Changshou calculated his position at the moment and realized that he had already penetrated deep into the chaotic jungle, probably beyond the range that Elder Jiu's divine sense could reach.

He didn't rest for a moment, not feeling tired at all. The perseverance training he had persisted in for many years had also yielded significant results.

Suddenly...

Killing intent?

Li Changshou's scattered divine sense didn't detect any threat, and it seemed that the other party was capable of avoiding the detection of divine sense.

His gaze swept towards the source of the killing intent — the dark forest on the left. Li Changshou continued to sprint forward, but he lightly flicked his left fingertips, scattering invisible threads like spider webs by his side, while his right hand subtly stirred up a breeze on the other side...

Detection tool: Triple-Headed Spider's Silk of Heavy Pupils.

Before long, a somewhat blurry image emerged in Li Changshou's mind.