Chapter 2342: Another Encounter with the Nature Jade Plate

“Ah Zu, I saw some weapons and armor of decent quality. Should we take them?” Pei Mianman asked as she arrived next to Zu An. But when she saw that he didn’t respond to her even after some time had passed, she tugged on his sleeve. “Ah Zu?”

“Huh?” Zu An finally reacted. Only then did he notice that his clothes were completely wet from sweat.

“What’s wrong?” Pei Mianman checked his forehead’s temperature with the back of her hand and cried out in surprise. “Why is your body so cold?”

The other women rushed over when they heard the news, looking worriedly at Zu An.

“It’s nothing.” Zu An didn’t tell them about what had happened. After all, time was pressing and he couldn't explain everything in a short amount of time. They would only get really nervous.

Everyone else calmed down when they saw him gradually recover. Then, they began to explain their various discoveries.

Ji Xiaoxi said, “With the help of little aunt and big sister princess, I found many manuals and ingredients.”

“Big sister Yun also helped me find some manuals related to formations.” Xie Daoyun was holding several jade strips, and there was a faint smile on her face. After she learned the the Secrets of Spatial Distortion, many manuals related to space had become useless to her. She'd looked through the manuals present and found that only these books would be of help to her.

Zu An nodded. “It’s good that we’ve found some useful things. We need to hurry and leave this place. The Monster Lord will return soon.”

“Are we not going to search a bit more?” Pei Mianman found it a bit strange. They hadn’t spent that much time here and should still have been alright.

Why is Ah Zu already in such a rush to leave?

“We’ll talk once we’re back.” Zu An returned the Resurrection Technique manual to its place and was about to set up the defensive formation again. He couldn't let the Monster Lord know that he'd already discovered this secret.

“Hm?” As he returned the Resurrection Technique manual, he saw that the wall seemed to have changed a bit. He reached out and searched with his ki, and quickly noticed that there was a hidden switch behind the wall. The stone the wall was made of could block divine sense, so it was no wonder he hadn’t previously found the space behind it.

He felt around and quickly activated the switch. It revealed a strangely-shaped stone the size of a fist.

The object seemed to resemble both jade and stone, but was neither. It was actually a material that none of those present could recognize. The shape resembled the face of some animal, but it was too indistinct and none of them could tell what it was.

“Huh? I seem to have seen this thing before.” Xie Daoyun suddenly voiced her surprise. She reached out and took the stone from him.

“You’ve seen it before?” Zu An was a bit surprised.

Little sister Ling’er really is well-learned.

“I don’t know where, but I feel a mysterious sense of familiarity.” Xie Daoyun gently stroked the stone. Her expression became a bit blank.

Suolun Shi suddenly smacked her forehead and said suddenly, “I remember! I saw this design before back in the clan when we were offering sacrifices to the first ancestor.”

“Sacrifices to the Demon race’s first ancestor?” Zu An was a bit startled. It seemed the Demon race and the Monster World really did have a special relationship.

Just then, the strange stone shone with a faint luster and trembled slightly.

Jiang Luofu voiced her surprise. “It seems to be resonating with a certain person or bloodline here.”

Xie Daoyun seemed to realize something. She quickly looked at Suolun Shi. “Princess, could I borrow a drop of your blood to place on its surface?”

“Of course.” Suolun Shi wasn’t too bothered. She ran a fingernail across her fingertip, and several drops of blood landed on the stone’s surface. The drops of blood were absorbed by the stone, and faint red lines extended along its surface. The previously blurry animal features gradually became clear.

“A fox?” Zu An was surprised. This fox’s face was a bit different from what he was used to. It had a hint of charming and seductive allure. He couldn't help but remember the captivating Bluefield Lord, Tushan Yu. This stone was related to the Demon race, but he wondered if it had anything to do with the Bluefield Fox race as well.

However, while Zu An was lost in thought, cracks suddenly spread across the stone's surface and it fell apart, revealing a blue jade core inside. Just then, he felt a burst of spatial ripples around them. His expression changed and he immediately shouted, “Throw that stone away!”

But it was already too late. Xie Daoyun looked at him in confusion, and the stone in her hand suddenly turned into a black hole. Shortly after, that black hole became as big as a person. Before Xie Daoyun could react in time, she was sucked inside. The black hole also disappeared without a trace.

Rrrip!

Zu An looked at the scrap of torn clothing in his hand with an ashen expression. Everything had happened so quickly that even with his cultivation, he couldn't react in time. He'd only managed to grab a corner of her clothes at the last second. Unfortunately, the mysterious black hole’s suction force was too great, and he couldn't pull her back at all.

Zu An had some understanding of spatial formations now. He quickly tried to open up another spatial passage through another method. A black hole opened up in the air again, but Zu An had a grim expression. He could sense that there was nothing behind this space, and it wasn’t the same black hole as before. A single mistake in spatial transport could take someone an immeasurable distance away.

The women all had blank expressions. None of them had expected these sudden developments.

“Ah Zu, where did little sister Xie go?” Pei Mianman hurriedly asked.

“That black hole seems to be a certain special type of spatial passage," Jiang Luofu said. She came from the academy, so she had a plethora of knowledge.

“It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have dropped my blood on it.” Suolun Shi’s face was pale and her eyes were filled with guilt.

“It has nothing to do with you. She was the one who told you to place the blood on it. No one could have known that this kind of thing would happen.” Zu An patted her shoulder to comfort her while thinking as hard as he could with furrowed brows.

“Big brother Zu, don’t you know how to make a spatial distortion formation? We’ll help you set it up. Let’s hurry and save big sister Xie.” Ji Xiaoxi was so nervous she was about to cry. After all, Xie Daoyun had always taken good care of her after she came to the academy. They had always been really close. How could she not be nervous after Daoyun disappeared mysteriously?

Zu An shook his head slightly. “It’s already meaningless.”

He took out a piece of stone while speaking. After his hand touched its surface, a stone that looked extremely similar to the previous one appeared in his hand. WIth his cultivation and art skills, it wasn’t too hard for him to make an imitation. He placed it back into the secret compartment and reapplied the defensive formation. A yellow barrier covered the wall again.

“Ah Zu, do you already know something?” Jiang Luofu couldn't help but ask.

“Yes. The stone in her hands should have been a Nature Jade Plate. She's most likely already been sent to another point in spacetime.” Zu An had a grave expression. He'd learned about the Nature Jade Plates when he asked about Chu Chuyan’s circumstances back in the White Jade Sect.

In that instant, Zu An had sensed a familiar power. That was why he knew that no amount of effort could bring Xie Daoyun back. He'd wanted to find a piece of Nature Jade Plate to save Chuyan; but even though he finally found one, it had only ended up harming Xie Daoyun.

Fortunately, the Nature Jade Plate would only bring someone to another point in spacetime. There wouldn’t be any danger to their life. There would be a chance he could meet her again. Of course, he also knew that chance was slim. After all, there were countless worlds and different times. A person was like a speck in the ocean. How could there be that much of a coincidence...

His expression suddenly became grave. A terrifying figure appeared in his mind, projected by the the alerting formation he had prepared outside the palace. The Monster Lord was going to return to the palace soon.

He quickly collected his thoughts. “We’ll talk in detail later. We need to leave immediately. The Monster Lord has returned.”