Xu Geng’s Escape
Translator: Cinder Translations
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Time passed quickly in intense cultivation, and in the blink of an eye, two years had passed.
Having stabilized his cultivation, Song Wen walked out of the temporary cave.
During these two years, there had been no abnormality on Ji Yin Island, which made Song Wen feel relieved.
The spiritual energy on the deserted island was scarce, and the energy needed for cultivation was entirely supplemented by spirit stones, which consumed a great amount. In these two years, he had only managed to maintain his cultivation without regressing, consuming tens of thousands of spirit stones in the process.
Now, he understood why high-level cultivators would rarely venture into places with thin spiritual energy.
Returning to Ji Yin Island, Song Wen used his spiritual sense to scan the island and found that everything was normal.
An Yin was on the island's top spiritual field, taking care of the spiritual herbs. She had already completed the foundation-building stage and was now in the early stage of foundation establishment.
An Tong was in her cave, in closed-door meditation, having already reached the perfected stage of Qi Refining.
Song Wen contacted the Shadow Gu he had left on the island, confirming that there had been no abnormalities while he was away. He then released all five of the Gu before heading toward the spiritual field.
"An Yin, come here, I have something to ask you," Song Wen said.
During the past two years, Song Wen had instructed the Shadow Gu to leave a sum of spirit stones outside An Yin and her sister's cave, asking them to collect the island's rent from the disciples of Wu Ji Island.
This led An Yin and her sister to mistakenly believe that Song Wen had been in closed-door cultivation on the island.
Seeing Song Wen, who had been in "closed-door cultivation" for two years, suddenly appear, An Yin was momentarily stunned, but her face quickly lit up with a smile.
She hurriedly flew out from the spiritual field and approached Song Wen.
"Senior! You've finally come out of seclusion."
Song Wen nodded lightly. Before he could speak, An Yin added.
"Senior, I have already completed foundation building."
Song Wen said, "You've done well."
An Yin's smile brightened, like a child being praised.
"It's all thanks to your guidance, senior. Otherwise, I would never have been able to establish my foundation."
Song Wen said, "These two years, has everything been peaceful on the island?"
An Yin replied, "Everything has been fine."
Song Wen said, "That's good. I have a few tasks for you."
An Yin's face lit up with anticipation as she asked, "What is it, senior?"
Song Wen said, "I need you to go to Wu Ji Island and purchase some spiritual materials required for my alchemy. Also, find out about the situation on Wu Ji Island over the past two years."
An Yin's excitement grew as this meant she could finally leave the island.
"Senior, please don't worry. I will complete the task perfectly."
Song Wen took out a storage bag and handed it to An Yin.
"Here are fifty thousand spirit stones, along with a list of the spiritual herbs I need."
Then, Song Wen asked, "Can you control a flying sword?"
An Yin shook her head. "I haven't cultivated sword control yet, nor do I have a flying sword."
Song Wen's mind stirred, and a flying boat appeared before him.
"For this trip, you'll use this flying boat to head to Wu Ji Island. When you return, I'll teach you sword control and give you a flying sword."
Next, Song Wen flipped his palm, and a corpse-rearing coffin appeared in his hand.
"Have you practiced corpse control techniques?"
An Yin replied, "I have."
"This is a mid-stage second-level corpse puppet. I give it to you for self-defense."
An Yin joyfully said, "Thank you, senior."
Song Wen said, "Take your time to refine the flying boat and the corpse puppet, and depart as soon as possible."
"Yes, senior."
Half a month later, after An Yin had refined the flying boat and the corpse puppet, she set off for Wu Ji Island.
She didn't notice that a small Gu, the size of a sesame seed, had quietly climbed onto the flying boat.
Several days later, she safely returned.
"I'm at the pavilion on the island's peak. Hurry over," Song Wen's voice echoed as soon as An Yin stepped onto the island.
An Yin hurried to the pavilion. "Greetings, senior."
Song Wen asked, "Was the journey smooth?"
An Yin replied, "The journey was mostly smooth. However, something major seems to have happened inside Wu Ji Island's inner sect. The entire Shadow City has been under martial law, with protective arrays activated. Only one entrance and exit in the north and south are open for cultivators to pass. Everyone entering or leaving is subject to body searches."
Upon hearing this, Song Wen furrowed his brows.
His first thought was that Wu Ji Island might be investigating the deaths of Yu Jiao and the other two.
But after a second thought, he felt it was unlikely.
Yu Jiao and the others had been dead for two years. It wasn't possible for the city to be sealed off for such a long time, and besides, they didn't die in the city.
"How long has the city been sealed?" Song Wen asked.
"It happened just in the past few days," An Yin replied.
"Do you know why the city was sealed?" Song Wen asked again.
An Yin said, "According to rumors in the market, something precious was lost from Wu Ji Island."
"Lost something precious? Wu Ji Island is one of the five major powers of the Unordered Sea. Who could steal something precious from Wu Ji Island?" Song Wen asked, surprised.
An Yin shook her head. "I'm not sure about that. There are many guesses circulating in the market, but they're all just hearsay with no solid basis."
Song Wen thought for a moment before deciding not to concern himself with the matter. No matter what happened on Wu Ji Island, it had nothing to do with him.
"Did you manage to buy all the spiritual herbs?"
An Yin handed over a storage bag. "Yes, I bought everything."
Song Wen took the bag and disappeared into the pavilion.
A month later, Song Wen sent An Yin to Wu Ji Island once more.
From the news she brought back, it was confirmed that Wu Ji Island had lifted the blockade.
As for whether the lost treasure had been recovered, it remained unknown.
Upon hearing this, Song Wen gathered the pills he had refined over the month and decided to visit Wu Ji Island in person.
As soon as he arrived in the city, Song Wen took out a communication jade slip and contacted Chu Qian.
Half an hour later, in a private room of the Tide Listening Pavilion, Song Wen met the arriving Chu Qian.
"Senior Ji Yin, it's been more than two years since we last met," Chu Qian said.
"I accidentally came across a secret technique and had to go into seclusion for a while," Song Wen casually explained.
Chu Qian smiled. "I see! I thought maybe I had done something wrong, and that senior was unhappy and no longer wanted to trade with me."
Song Wen said, "You're overthinking, my young friend."
Saying this, Song Wen took out three jade bottles.
"These are the new pills I've refined—Golden Jade Pills and Spirit Pills. My young friend, please check their quality."
Chu Qian laughed. "The pills refined by Ji Yin senior are always top-notch. There's no need to check. Senior, shall we trade at the previous price?"
Song Wen nodded.
After the trade, the two chatted for a while. Then, Song Wen suddenly asked, "My young friend, do you know why the island was sealed recently?"
Chu Qian lowered his voice and said, "The sect lost something."
"What was lost?" Song Wen asked, intrigued.
Chu Qian replied, "A wooden statue, about half a foot tall."
When Song Wen heard this, his mind flashed to the soul shackles that had sealed Xu Geng.
Had Xu Geng broken free from the shackles and escaped? Or had the soul shackles been stolen?
Song Wen leaned more toward the first guess. The possibility of the soul shackles being stolen from inside Wu Ji Island seemed too low.
With countless thoughts swirling in his mind, Song Wen's face betrayed no emotion. He furrowed his brows and asked, "A wooden statue? I think I've seen such an object inside the inner sect. What kind of treasure is it?"
Chu Qian made a silencing gesture and said, "Senior, please avoid discussing this item. It could bring trouble."
Song Wen nodded and then asked, "Other than this matter, have there been any major incidents on the island in the past two years?"
This was the real matter of concern for Song Wen—he wanted to learn more about the deaths of Yu Jiao and the others.
(End of the Chapter)
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