Chapter 195: Thief Cries Thief!

In the capital of the Frost Water Empire, within an ordinary residence, Xu Ge squatted on the ground, idly playing with the ants using a twig.

Zhao Yan stood not far away, gazing at the sky.

Both were silent, and the courtyard felt exceptionally tranquil.

It wasn't until the sound of the door being pushed open resounded that the two approached.

"My lord." Both of them bowed.

Fang Chen nodded with a weary smile. He had sent his Qingmu Puppet, disguised as himself, to the cave dwelling with the others and had only followed them with his divine soul. He was originally worried that he wouldn’t be able to enter Supreme Immortal Pudu’s cave dwelling with only his soul, but that didn’t turn out to be the case.

After prolonged projection of his divine soul, fatigue sat in. Controlling the movements of the Qingmu Puppet required constant attention. He didn’t have any room for distraction.

"Have you visited the temples in the area these past few days?" asked Fang Chen.

Zhao Yan and Xu Ge both nodded. "The Frost Water Empire worships various divine beings, but none of them is Supreme Immortal Pudu."

Fang Chen nodded slightly. It was very likely that the Frost Water Empire wasn’t around when Supreme Immortal Pudu was still cultivating here. That could be why there were no temples or shrines dedicated to him.

Fang Chen turned to Zhao Yan. "What has the Ji Family been up to lately?"

"Not much. They are aware that I am staying here with Xu Ge, so they haven't sent anyone to keep an eye on us," replied Zhao Yan.

Fang Chen nodded. "Is the sedan you prepared ready?"

"It's ready," confirmed Zhao Yan.

Fang Chen smiled. "Then let's set out."

*

"Damn thing, it turned out to be a puppet?!"

Pacing around the main hall, Supreme Immortal Pudu examined the puppet’s scattered scrap, his face turning grimmer by the second.

How many years had it been since he was last played? And he was played by none other than a Qi Refining cultivator, too!

"That young man is scheming and cautious. It seems that the opportunities he has gained should be substantial; otherwise, he wouldn't be so careful. Perhaps some of his words are true. That place must have saint-grade spiritual herbs," muttered Supreme Immortal Pudu softly to himself.

In the void, Fang Chen's divine soul silently observed him, wanting to see if he still had any special tricks up his sleeve. Since the other party had needed to lure him here, there was a high possibility that restrictions or limitations were preventing him from making a move on him outside. Understanding more about the situation would be helpful for his next move.

The best outcome would be rescuing Li Daoye and the others and obtaining the good things left by Supreme Immortal Pudu. There were both good and bad outcomes, but his next steps were dependent on luck. Calculation accounted for three parts, while destiny accounted for seven.

"Even if I can't catch this kid, I can't let him take away my sword embryo. The Void Immortal Sword Sect has been searching for it for over two hundred years, and the rumors have finally mostly died down." Supreme Immortal thought to himself as he slowly walked out of the main hall. He raised his hand, and a faint light shot out.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Soon, both the bat demon and the giant stone demon appeared, standing outside the mountain, awaiting orders.

"Capture all the living beings that had recently entered here," commanded Supreme Immortal Pudu indifferently. The two demons turned around and left.

A look of fatigue appeared on Supreme Immortal Pudu's face as he slowly walked back to the main hall. He gently patted the jade platform, and a gap appeared below it. He laid down and closed his eyes, falling into a deep sleep.

Fang Chen couldn't help but smile.

It seems that he really can't use this physical body for too long. Perhaps his divine soul has not truly fused with the physical body.

Since Supreme Immortal Pudu couldn't personally take action, what they had to do was easy; As long as Li Daoye and the others held on a bit longer, they could leave this place safely.

In the next moment, Fang Chen's divine soul appeared above Li Daoye and Mi Sheng. The two of them were rushing back, occasionally encountering some ferocious beasts.

Fortunately, those ferocious beasts were far inferior in strength to the giant stone demon and bat demon. The two of them managed to handle the situation and withdraw from each altercation as quickly as possible.

"This can't go on like this. If Daoist Fang was captured by that person, he’ll naturally come for us next," said Mi Sheng in a deep voice,

Li Daoye rolled his eyes. "What do you suggest then?"

Mi Sheng thought for a moment, then said. "My cultivation has recovered a bit, but my injuries haven't completely healed. I can only barely control the flying sword now. When we reach our destination, I'll need time to recuperate. Can you protect me during that time?"

Li Daoye nodded eagerly. "Of course, you can rest assured!"

Mi Sheng immediately summoned her flying sword, and together with Li Daoye, soared through the air. Even though Mi Sheng couldn’t control the sword very well at her current state, it was still much faster than traveling on foot.

Finally, after a day of flight, the two reached the cave’s entrance.

Mi Sheng sat down to recover immediately.

Li Daoye kept his promise, observing the surroundings vigilantly and keeping watch.

Li Daoye sighed suddenly. "Alas. I don't know if Lord Fang is alive or dead. He sacrificed himself nobly to divert that man in the black robe. He’s truly righteous, I owe him a favor."

It was then that a surprised voice came from afar. "Brother Li?"

Li Daoye looked up and happily exclaimed, "It's the three of you. I thought you were killed by that giant stone demon!"

However, immediately after, he noticed Li Xiuming behind Ancestor Xia Yu and the others, and his expression flickered back and forth.

Li Xiuming also saw Li Daoye and noticed Mi Sheng, who was recuperating. He immediately guessed that she had taken a hundred-year Vermilion Fruit to recover. Otherwise, there was no way she could still be alive.

Thinking of that, Li Xiuming's expression became extremely gloomy, and in a deep voice, he said, "Brother Xia, we can't let them live. My junior sister is seriously injured now. It's the perfect time to kill her. Otherwise, when she regains her strength, we won’t be a match for her."

Li Daoye was slightly stunned, but then he burst out cursing. " Li Xiuming, why are you pretending to be virtuous when you’re the one who attacked us first? Both Lord Fang and Mi Sheng told me that it was you, this scoundrel, who made a sneak attack on her, all for the sake of dual cultivating with that senior sister of yours! To be honest, I didn’t know you were such a mooch!"

The three of them, including Xia Yu, were slightly surprised, then a frown creased their foreheads, and they distanced themselves from Li Xuiming slowly.

"How do you explain this, Brother Li?"

"Don't listen to their words; search his body, and you'll know. Those spirit stones, sword embryo, must be on him," said Li Xiuming calmly. "And if they weren’t, they would be on Fang Chen."

"But Lord Fang has already been captured, and his life or death is uncertain," said Liu Suifeng.

"What!?" Li Daoye was stunned with a jump. "What did you say? Lord Fang has been captured!? Did you witness it with your own eyes!?"

Ancestor Xia Yu sighed lightly. "Exactly, Lord Fang has indeed been captured, and we were unable to help him due to our low cultivation.”

Li Daoye's expression changed rapidly. "Damn it! That guy can’t be so short-lived!"

"Well... To prove what he said, can you let us search you?" requested Liu Suifeng.

"Search me? You actually believe the words of an outsider? Even Mi Sheng suffered severe injuries because of him. Do you think we can snatch things from him?" Li Daoye sneered. "Don't be fooled by his sorry figure; his vitality was as vigorous as can be, but it was all plundered by a senior in a black robe. Before that, even if the three of us joined forces, we wouldn't have been his match."

Xia Yu remained silent for a moment and then sighed. "Regardless of any of that, we have suffered injuries and lost some spiritual items this time. We can’t be dealt the short end of the stick like this. Just let us search you. If there are no spirit stones or Blood Ginseng on you, we'll take your words for it."