Chapter 86

Kong Xincai looked at him with some surprise and immediately understood that he was regretting not having caught Lu Xiaodeng just now. So she smiled slightly and said, "Alright, Nan Zhi."

"Why?" Yuan Zhi asked. Lu Xiaodeng only had a human body and no cultivation. He was already at the Golden Core stage; catching her should not have been a difficult task.

"I'm doing this for your own good. If you were to make a move, you might end up dead at her hands. Some things are secrets between spirit artifacts, and I can't tell you for now." The restrictions on the use of spirit techniques were the weaknesses of spirit artifacts, and Kong Xincai did not want to reveal them. Spirit artifacts could use spirit techniques to protect themselves in times of crisis, which is why it often happened that cultivators died in battle, but their magical treasures were mostly preserved.

Everyone thought it was because these were just objects, and they were all taken as spoils of war. In fact, it was the spirit artifacts using spirit techniques to save their own lives. Even if their divine souls weakened, they could still ensure they did not die and could simply find a new master.

"Do you mean I can't beat her?" Yuan Zhi was a bit不服, why should he be inferior to her?

Kong Xincai thought for a moment and had to tell the truth, "She is a spirit artifact at the Spirit Entry stage. If she uses her techniques recklessly, unless you are at the Soul Transformation stage, you won't be her match. She is not an ordinary spirit artifact; she has a body, which is different from your understanding."

Yuan Zhi pondered for a while and suddenly chuckled, "Perhaps, I can persuade her. We'll talk about this later. If I hadn't learned from you, I wouldn't have been able to see through her identity. Before I subdue her, other cultivators won't recognize her, so I'll let her go for now."

This arrogant attitude was good, although if they really fought, Lu Xiaodeng might lose. Kong Xincai didn't know that Lu Xiaodeng had learned the Sleeve Technique, which allowed her to store spiritual energy and divine soul inside, and after removing the divine soul, only usable soul power remained.

But he knew that if he had a body to move around, he would never accept control by any cultivator again. So Lu Xiaodeng would probably fight to the death and wouldn't be so easy to subdue.

"Let's go. Those righteous cultivators might discover this place soon. It's best to leave quickly." Yuan Zhi felt his injuries were well-controlled, and using spiritual energy to support the escape artifact should be no problem.

So he took the newly acquired Sound String Sword and led Yuan Zisi out of the cave, not flying directly into the air but diving into the forest to escape far away.

Lu Xiaodeng finally managed to lead Ge Pi out of the area with the ghost tree vines and headed towards the Ghost Spirit Sect. They were now all allies, and if they wanted to return to the Heavenly Spirit Sect, they would have to use the teleportation array.

"Who are you? Are you evil cultivators from the Ghost Spirit Sect?" As soon as they entered the Ghost Spirit Sect, a Foundation Establishment cultivator descended from the sky, his face cold as he shouted.

This person was wearing the uniform of the Bright Sect, but he didn't recognize them, so he must have arrived later. Lu Xiaodeng quickly pointed to her own clothes and said, "I am from the Cloud Sword Sect in Yun Dan State. This is our uniform. I found the son of a female cultivator who was kidnapped by evil cultivators." As she spoke, she nudged Ge Pi with her elbow and whispered, "Quickly tell them your mother's identity. If you don't want to die, speak up."

Ge Pi was very nervous. It wasn't easy to be a good person. He immediately clasped his hands and respectfully said, "Esteemed Daoist, I am the son of True Lord Lan from the Bamboo Stream Pavilion in Bei Dou State. I was saved by the Cloud Sword Sect and want to meet the young sect leader of the Bright Sect."

"The son of a True Lord from the Bamboo Stream Pavilion?" The cultivator looked at Ge Pi with suspicion. He was wearing the uniform of the Ghost Spirit Sect, and it didn't look like he had been kidnapped. Could he be here to assassinate the young sect leader?

Seeing his disbelief, Lu Xiaodeng said, "If you don't want us to meet the young sect leader of the Bright Sect, I'll take him to the Cloud Sword Sect. When we return the son of True Lord Lan, who has been missing for over a decade, the favor will be immense. Please step aside; I need to take him to Daoist Lian."

"Wait, you can't just wander around here. Both of you follow me. If you want to meet the young sect leader, it depends on whether he wants to see you. Hand over all your magical artifacts first to ensure there's no danger, and take off the cauldron too." The Foundation Establishment cultivator couldn't let them wander around here, regardless of whether they were telling the truth or not, he had to take them back.

Lu Xiaodeng was not about to comply. This was her main body, and there was a newly hatched bird inside. She couldn't hand it over. She immediately frowned and said, "Who confiscates things as soon as they arrive? Who knows who you are? You might be an evil cultivator from the Ghost Spirit Sect, just pretending to be from the Bright Sect."

"Nonsense, I am a disciple of the Bright Sect, and everyone here can vouch for my identity. If you have nothing to hide, why are you unwilling to hand over your things?" The cultivator watched them warily, very worried that they had ulterior motives.

"There are only three people here, you, me, and him. We can both vouch that you are not from the Bright Sect." Lu Xiaodeng pointed at him and looked at him defiantly. It was ridiculous to accuse someone of being an evil cultivator just by talking.

The cultivator didn't expect her to talk back. Seeing that she was just a mortal with no cultivation, he was about to make a move to capture them and take them back.

Just as he was about to act, someone flew by in the sky and suddenly noticed Lu Xiaodeng. She always carried that large cauldron, making it impossible for anyone to ignore her. He immediately flew down.

"Lu Xiaodeng, what are you doing here?" It was Bai Zhen. He had entered the Ghost Spirit Sect with the reinforcements from the Bright Sect and was searching for the scattered evil cultivators. He didn't expect to see Lu Xiaodeng. If he remembered correctly, Lu Xiaodeng had stayed in the city and didn't even participate in the battle.

Although she used poison, he didn't let her come along. Now seeing her with an evil cultivator was very strange.

The cultivator recognized Bai Zhen, who was a promising disciple of the Cloud Sword Sect, and asked, "Fellow Daoist, do you know these two?"

Bai Zhen pointed at Lu Xiaodeng and said, "I only know her, not the other one. She is a medicine child from the Heavenly Pill Peak of our sect. We found the lair of the evil cultivators thanks to her leading the way, or the Ghost Spirit Sect would have remained hidden."

"Thank you for the information, Fellow Daoist. This young friend claims to have saved the son of True Lord Lan from the Bamboo Stream Pavilion in Bei Dou State. I find it suspicious and wanted to subdue them and take them back for questioning." The cultivator from the Bright Sect explained, not wanting any misunderstandings.

"This person is only at the Qi Condensation stage, and my junior sister cannot cultivate. It would be better if I accompany them to the Heavenly Spirit Sect for my uncle to question them." With Lu Xiaodeng there, Bai Zhen couldn't leave directly, so he spoke up.

This was much safer, and the cultivator agreed, "Then I'll leave it to you, Fellow Daoist. One of us will take each of them back."

After dividing the tasks, the cultivator from the Bright Sect didn't grab Ge Pi but pulled Lu Xiaodeng instead. Bai Zhen smiled slightly, a cautious guy. He grabbed Ge Pi by the collar, and the two flew towards the teleportation array.

Using the teleportation array, they arrived at the Heavenly Spirit Sect and flew towards the main hall. The Heavenly Spirit Sect was in ruins, with many low-rank cultivators surrendering. Many of them had been deceived as children and couldn't leave because their divine consciousness was restricted. Some didn't even know about the Ghost Spirit Sect, an evil sect hidden within their own.

The high-rank cultivators were all loyal to the Ghost Spirit Sect and had either fled or been killed. The Nascent Soul cultivators from the Heavenly Spirit Sect had already left the sect and were fighting the Nascent Soul cultivators from the Bright Sect outside, no one knew where they had gone.

The main hall of the Heavenly Spirit Sect was occupied, and Lin Jilu and the people from Yun Dan State were sitting inside, waiting for reports.

Lu Xiaodeng was pulled by the cultivator from the Bright Sect, flying through the sky. She looked up, and it was already broad daylight, the sun already up. She didn't see Zhen Ling, who must have hidden to avoid being discovered by the cultivators.

Since the egg had already hatched, she could wait until Ge Pi's matter was resolved before delivering the egg. She had already waited for a long time, so a little more wouldn't matter.

Then she looked down and suddenly asked the cultivator, "Senior Brother, I heard there is a red-scaled dragon in the Heavenly Spirit Sect. Where is it? I'd like to see it if you could point it out to me."

"Red-scaled dragon? It has already escaped. Three Golden Core seniors couldn't stop it. What a pity, it was a treasure all over. It's all because of those evil cultivators causing trouble." The cultivator casually replied. When he entered the Ghost Spirit Sect, he saw the dragon with flames rushing into the sky. He thought if its scales were used to make armor, the defense would be excellent, but even the seniors couldn't stop it.

Lu Xiaodeng sighed in relief. It seemed that if she encountered the red-scaled dragon again, she could repay her debt of saving her life. At the very least, she should get a divine soul from one of its legs. She thought about it carefully and realized that helping demon cultivators in this way was quite good, as she could eat a lot of divine souls offered voluntarily.

The four arrived at the main hall, where the bodies on the floor hadn't been cleared away. They ignored them and walked straight into the main hall.

The disciple from the Bright Sect bowed and said to everyone, "We have met the young sect leader and several True Lords and Dao Lords. We encountered an evil cultivator who claimed to be the son of True Lord Lan from the Bamboo Stream Pavilion in Bei Dou State and wanted to meet the young sect leader. We couldn't confirm his identity, so we brought him directly here."

Lin Jilu frowned and tried to recall. After a while, he suddenly realized, "Indeed, there was such a thing. True Lord Lan had a son sixteen years ago, but it was a secret of the Bamboo Stream Pavilion. I have some connections with the Bamboo Stream Pavilion, but I have never seen the child. I heard he was sent away. Could this be him?"

Ge Pi had been nervous since entering, and now that it was confirmed, he finally relaxed and quickly said, "I only found out about this recently. These evil cultivators deceived me from a young age, telling me my parents were dead. I now hate them to the bone for deceiving me for so long and forcibly taking me away from my mother."

"Alright, I will arrange for someone to take you to the Bamboo Stream Pavilion as soon as possible." Lin Jilu didn't ask many questions. A late-stage Qi Condensation cultivator was nothing to worry about. If it was true, the Bamboo Stream Pavilion would owe him a favor. If not, the Bamboo Stream Pavilion could deal with it.

He then turned his gaze to Lu Xiaodeng, the more important person, and coldly said, "Lu Xiaodeng, why are you here?"

Lu Xiaodeng thought she was off the hook and was looking away to avoid eye contact, but didn't expect the topic to turn to her. She was a bit puzzled and said, "I don't know. When I realized, I was already in the Ghost Spirit Sect."