Chapter 60

Ge Pi ran all the way, hurriedly crossing several side roads, and the sound of water reached his ears. He turned right and immediately leaped over a deep, dark ditch that was several dozen feet deep. After running forward for a while, the scenery suddenly opened up, revealing a large cave.

The cave was about ten zhang high, with many night-luminescent stones hanging from the stalactites. In the center was a large pit. A black tree trunk was tightly bound with iron chains covered in talismans, and from the middle of the trunk, a black branch extended, on which hung a fist-sized fruit without any leaves.

Yuan Zhi and Yuan Zisi stood by the pit, whispering to each other, while the others were busy searching for the two cultivators.

"Senior Brother!" Ge Pi shouted as he ran over, angrily yelling, "Senior Brother, you almost got me killed. Look at my chest; if it weren't for the golden-scaled armor, I would have died long ago."

Yuan Zhi was waiting for him to bring the children, and when he appeared and immediately started blaming him, he said in confusion, "How did I harm you?"

"It's you! Earlier, I encountered a rabbit at the Spirit Transformation stage. She said she was your old lover and even showed me evidence. So I brought her here, but she suddenly kicked me several times and took away the seven children I brought." Thinking about this, Ge Pi became furious, blaming everything on his senior brother.

This was utter nonsense. Yuan Zhi said in bewilderment, "Ge Pi, you don't practice diligently and spend your days loafing around, relying on Master's favor to cause trouble everywhere. When you're asked to do something, you never finish it and always make excuses and lie. Now, you can't even kidnap a few children in the city and make up a lie about a Spirit Transformation rabbit. This is truly disappointing."

"That's not true. This time, I'm telling the truth," Ge Pi was taken aback, not expecting his senior brother to shift the blame onto him. He stomped his foot in anger, almost rolling on the ground, "Senior Brother, it's clearly your fault, and you're blaming me. I have to go to Master to get justice; you're framing me."

Yuan Zhi didn't bother with him. This little junior brother was brought back by Master over ten years ago. He didn't understand why Master brought back such a young child, probably because he had a child with someone else. Master never intended to teach him properly, was very indulgent, and taught him the most sinister cultivation techniques.

Moreover, he didn't study hard, and with Master's favor, he was already showing signs of being a waste at just sixteen or seventeen. Even evil cultivators wouldn't tolerate such a person in the future.

Seeing that he was being ignored again, Ge Pi angrily said, "Senior Brother, the rabbit had your fan, the one Master gave you when we left."

Hearing this, Yuan Zhi and Yuan Zisi looked at him and frowned, asking, "What did the Spirit Transformation rabbit look like?"

"She's a girl, about my age, carrying a large tripod, and a bit slow-witted." Finally, someone was listening to him, and Ge Pi spoke with a bad temper.

Yuan Zisi immediately laughed, "Little junior brother, we have indeed seen the person you described, but she's not a Spirit Transformation rabbit. She's a medicine attendant from the Yunjian Sect. Didn't she change her clothes and wear a light green robe with the sect's emblem?"

Ge Pi thought about it in surprise. Lu Xiaodi was indeed wearing green clothes, but he had always thought rabbits liked to eat grass, so she wore green. Could he have been wrong, and completely deceived by an untrained medicine attendant?

Wait, he suddenly felt something was off. An untrained medicine attendant could injure him, and even the tripod she carried felt heavy. How useless was he?

"You said she injured you, and if it weren't for the golden-scaled armor, she would have almost killed you?" Yuan Zhi's lips curled into a smile as he looked at his junior brother and laughed.

He couldn't admit it; it would be too embarrassing and would become a laughingstock in the sect. Ge Pi quickly thought of another excuse, "It wasn't her kick. Someone followed us in and used her as a cover to attack me. I caught a glimpse of the person, and they were at the Foundation Establishment stage... almost at the Golden Core stage."

Since he was lying anyway, he might as well exaggerate the person's cultivation to make himself seem more capable.

"Really?" Yuan Zhi's voice rose, full of skepticism.

"Believe it or not, but that person had your fan. I've already found the children, and they were taken away in the cave. The disciples at the entrance can vouch for it. If the Black Wood Fruit doesn't absorb the children's souls today, not only will its maturation be delayed, but its effects will also weaken. Master won't let you off easily if this fails," Ge Pi pointed at the tree and said firmly.

Yuan Zhi had little patience with this unruly and mischievous junior brother. If he didn't suspect that Master was the father, he would have killed him outside and blamed it on the righteous cultivators.

That old man might have placed some secret technique on him, and killing him would be discovered. He would have to wait for the right opportunity. Two people from the Yunjian Sect had already come here, and if they sent out a message, others would also come. The Black Wood Fruit couldn't be delayed.

He looked at Ge Pi with a sinister gaze and said, "Little junior brother, if the Black Wood Fruit doesn't absorb the souls of the children today, Master will indeed blame us. But do you know something? You are a perfect child, not yet eighteen, and the only one among us who can be used."

"Master dotes on you so much, yet he let you come out with me before you reached the Foundation Establishment stage. What do you think he's planning? As long as you're here, even if we don't find the children for a day, we can still ensure its growth."

Ge Pi felt as if he had been struck by lightning, looking at him in terror. Did Master really say that? Yes, we are evil cultivators, and killing a disciple to achieve our goals is nothing. What should I do? Am I going to die today?

"Hehehe, I'm just teasing you, little junior brother. How could Master, who loves you so much, give such an order?" Seeing him scared, Yuan Zhi laughed, but his laugh was still cold and chilling.

"Yes, Master wouldn't say that. Senior Brother, you're too cruel," Ge Pi, drenched in cold sweat, said with a racing heart, feeling a wave of fear.

At this moment, Yuan Zhi suddenly changed his tone and said thoughtfully, "But if you can't find those children and delay the Black Wood Fruit, for Master to advance to the Spirit Transformation stage, I will have to sacrifice you. Master will understand my efforts and forgive me for feeding you to the Black Wood Fruit. You have four hours left, little brother."

"Damn it!" Ge Pi didn't have time to think and turned to run, diving into a path and frantically searching his sleeves for some magical tools to find Lu Xiaodi and the children.

Yuan Zisi watched him run off and said to Yuan Zhi, "How did that girl end up here? If the Yunjian Sect has sent people, they wouldn't send such an incompetent one."

"Regardless of the reason, she has the Soul Devouring Fan. I'll wait for Ge Pi to bring her back and see how the souls in the Soul Devouring Fan are cleared. Perhaps there are evil cultivators among the righteous sects, which would be interesting." Yuan Zhi laughed coldly, having already placed many soul-controlled puppets in Taixian City and the surrounding area. If any cultivators approached, he would know. For now, there were no signs of anyone.

After kicking Ge Pi away, Lu Xiaodi put the awakened and crying children into the tripod and ran off. She didn't know where the path led, but she ran far before stopping. The children kept crying and calling for their mothers, making a terrible noise. If they continued crying, they might attract evil cultivators, and their movements inside the tripod could damage the things she had placed in it.

If it weren't for the fact that she had cleared out the living essentials to store crystal fruits and forgot to take them when she left, she wouldn't have been able to fit the children.

Thinking about this, she pulled the children out of the tripod, which made them cry even more. Three of the children's clay faces fell off, and the others knocked them off, causing all seven to cry loudly.

Lu Xiaodi rummaged in the tripod and found a small, colorful bag. She poured out a few colorful pills that looked like candy and threw them into the children's mouths. Each child got one, and they almost choked. As soon as the pills entered their mouths, the seven children immediately fainted.

"Thank goodness I brought sleeping pills; otherwise, I would have had to knock them out." Her ears finally quieted, and she picked up the children, placing them in the tripod like pickled cabbage. Fortunately, none of the children were fat, and she managed to stuff them all in, motionless and asleep.

She closed the tripod and carried it, looking for her senior sister. She didn't know any spells and had no talent for sensing, so she used the most common and effective method.

"Senior Sister, where are you? I'm Lu Xiaodi, and I've come to save you!" She shouted in the stone paths, crushing some pills as she walked, shouting and spreading poison, acting with utter recklessness.

The evil cultivators searching for them were all stunned. How could someone from the Yunjian Sect be so bold, not only sneaking in but also shouting so loudly to find people? It was too arrogant.

All the evil cultivators followed the sound, determined to catch anyone from the Yunjian Sect. According to the righteous cultivators' habits, using acquaintances to threaten them was the most effective way to force them out of hiding.