Chapter 92: The Early-Death White Moonlight in a Cultivation Novel (Part 23)

When Zhou Yanxi received the devastating news, she immediately contacted her senior brother Yuan Hen through her sound-transmitting jade slip. The two began to discuss what they should do next.

Before they could reach any conclusion, the sect suddenly dispatched another Nascent Soul cultivator—True Lord Yuan Neng—to take over her father's position.

Although Zhou Yanxi rationally understood the sect's decision—after all, the team needed a leader to maintain order and continue fighting—she couldn't help but feel disheartened by the cruelty of the cultivation world.

Her father had just gone missing, and the sect was already so eager to replace him. It felt like they were kicking the donkey after it carried the grindstone.

Worse still, a Nascent Soul peak master had disappeared, and the sect only sent a few Core Formation cultivators to investigate. It was clearly a perfunctory act, and of course, they found nothing.

Think about it—if a peak master of Nascent Soul stage had vanished, shouldn't the sect have dispatched at least another Nascent Soul elder? Sending a few juniors was practically insulting.

In that moment, Zhou Yanxi's opinion of the sect hit rock bottom. She resolved that from now on, she would do only the bare minimum for them. If it weren't for the fact that defecting meant a life of constant hiding, she would've left this cold-hearted sect already.

In truth, most of the conservative elders in the sect believed that at such a critical time, True Lord Chongyuan's disappearance was likely the work of the demonic race. They assumed he was already dead and saw no point in wasting effort on him.

Some of Chongyuan's close friends wanted to launch a search, but the sect blocked them with the excuse:

"Now is a time of great turmoil."

As one of the sect's few powerful protectors, Daojun Daoyun wasn't allowed to leave the sect unless it faced a life-and-death crisis. So even if he wanted to help, he couldn't.

Thus, the elders who wanted to save him, and Daojun Daoyun himself, were both locked down in the sect.

Meanwhile, far away in Yunlan City, Zhou Yanxi and Yuan Hen initially didn't dare break away from the main force to find her father due to the sect's mandatory orders.

But True Lord Yuan Neng's series of outrageous moves soon forced them to change their minds.

The new leader—like many freshly appointed officials—immediately made sweeping changes. His first move? Disbanding True Lord Chongyuan's previous squad arrangements and reassigning Zhou Yanxi to the most dangerous team.

This squad already had mostly peak Foundation Establishment disciples. His intent was obvious: send her to die.

Zhou Yanxi, always someone who valued her life, naturally refused to comply.

When she found out that Yuan Hen had received the same treatment, the two quietly discussed their options. In the end, Zhou Yanxi personally contacted her master, Daojun Daoyun, to report the situation.

Thanks to Daoyun's intervention, the sect reluctantly agreed to let the two of them leave the frontline temporarily to search for True Lord Chongyuan.

Initially, even Daoyun was against the idea. He had a bad feeling—he suspected this whole situation was far murkier than it seemed.

But once he learned what Yuan Neng had done, he finally gave his reluctant blessing.

If it weren't for the fact that Daojun Daoyun still had 48 years left on his sect-guarding duty, he would have gone himself. He wouldn't need to send two juniors into danger.

And so, Zhou Yanxi and Yuan Hen set off on their mission. She wasn't rushing into it blindly—thankfully, her system had given her a tool to rely on.

Right after receiving the news of her father's disappearance, her system popped up with its usual sales pitch:

"Host, the shop has a 'Fate-Tied Family Talisman' for just 6666 points! It'll lead you right to True Lord Chongyuan~!"

Zhou Yanxi:

"Come on, we've known each other so long—can't I get a discount?"

System:

"That is the discounted price! If I go any lower, HQ will dock my pay!"

This time, the system wasn't lying. This was a heaven-defying item, and it had already been marked down as much as possible. If Zhou Yanxi hadn't been truly desperate, the system wouldn't have made it available at all.

Zhou Yanxi:

"Fine, tell me how it works."

System:

"Host, you simply insert one strand of your hair into the talisman's slot, and it will lead you to your blood-related family within this world. It has four uses total."

Luckily, it wasn't a single-use item, or she would've been at a huge loss.

Later, while they were searching, Yuan Hen noticed her holding a strange-looking object, but he didn't ask too much. After all, treasures were part of a cultivator's private fortune—not something to pry into.

Zhou Yanxi said,

"Senior Brother, it clearly shows that he's nearby, but I can't find the exact location. Can you check if there are any traces of a formation here?"

Yuan Hen nodded.

"Alright, step back and let me take a look. If anything dangerous happens, you can back me up."

Zhou Yanxi felt a surge of warmth. She knew that "backing him up" was just an excuse—he just didn't want her walking into danger first.

Half an hour passed. When she saw sweat beading on Yuan Hen's forehead and the way his brows were tightly furrowed, she realized this formation was anything but simple.

She held her breath, gripping her magic weapon tightly, not daring to interrupt him.

Finally, Yuan Hen expended most of his spiritual power to break the natural trapping array.

He recognized it as his master's work, mostly because of the formation pearl at its core—every array master used uniquely marked pearls, and this one had the curled-cloud emblem of his master.

If the formation hadn't been hastily set up, Yuan Hen would've had to work much harder to break it.

Once the array was undone, the two saw True Lord Chongyuan, now shrouded in thick black demonic qi.

He was convulsing, his mind clearly being eroded by the demonic influence.

Zhou Yanxi acted immediately, pulling out a Grade-7 Demon-Expelling Pill and feeding it to her father.

Sure enough, the pill worked fast. The black qi began to dissipate into nothingness, and True Lord Chongyuan's eyes slowly opened.

But the first thing that appeared in those eyes wasn't relief—

It was sheer panic.