Chapter 1677: Missing

After Shao Zisong was thrown out of the meeting, one elder said, “We should have never released him. Master Bei may have taken him off the mountain, but he’s still a slave. He truly hasn’t changed his ways.”

The others agreed.

Gong Ling frowned. He had not had any particular concerns regarding Shao Zisong since Master Bei had already died. The sect master looked out of the Neo-Vestige Sect, wondering whether or not Lu Yin would be able to help them.

On Arrow Mountain, Shao Zisong gritted his teeth and cursed the elders.

One disciple shouted at Shao Zisong, “Shut up! You’re just a slave, so stay silent. Don’t you know how important it is to pick an arrow?”

Another disciple chimed in, “Get lost and don’t disturb us.”

Everyone was in a bad mood given the giant sitting outside of their sect.

Shao Zisong left with his head bowed. He had been Master Bei’s disciple, and those disciples had not even had the right to meet with him in the past. However, they acted rude to him once he had been sentenced to be a slave for 100 years. His future was ruined, given that he was a slave that anyone in the Neo-Vestige Sect could insult or order about.

No, he could not continue to live in this manner. He refused to accept such a fate. Since he no longer had a future within the Neo-Vestige Sect, he needed to look elsewhere. Gong Ling, since you didn’t believe in me, there’s no need for me to be loyal to you anymore.

Darkness shrouded the Neo-Vestige Sect at night, but Gong Ling continued to solemnly stare out of the sect.

Suddenly, a flash of light shot up into the sky above Arrow Mountain.

When Gong Ling noticed the light, his expression instantly changed.

He immediately headed to Arrow Mountain, and there he found Shao Zisong glaring at him viciously.

Gong Ling bellowed, “What have you done, Shao Zisong?”

Shao Zisong sneered, “Sect Master, you condemned me to act as a slave for a hundred years, but did you ever consider my feelings? You would have never done such a thing if my master were still alive!”

Gong Ling became furious, and he smashed Shao Zisong into the ground. “I asked you—what have you done?”

The commotion on Arrow Mountain quickly attracted the attention of others in the Neo-Vestige Sect, and elders appeared one after another. “Sect Master, what’s happening?”

“Father?” Gong Chou asked.

Suddenly, the entire Neo-Vestige Sect trembled as a terrifying laugh rang out, “Hahahaha, so there’s still some smart people here. You’re Shao Zisong, right? From now on, you belong to the Arrow Sect. We’ll see who dares to touch you now.”

A powerful gale swept through the area, and a huge arrow shot past Gong Ling to pierce through Arrow Mountain.

When Arrow Mountain, which had existed since the founding of the Neo-Vestige Sect, was pierced by the arrow, Gong Ling vomited blood and collapsed. He had been injured by the arrow’s impact.

The disciples of the Neo-Vestige Sect were all forced to the ground, their faces pale.

The giant, Man Li, emerged from the true universe and looked down at everyone on the ground.

Shao Zisong was elated, and he immediately kneeled down. “I’m Shao Zisong, sir.”

Man Li grinned. “You aren’t bad, hahahaha.”

Gong Ling’s face was deathly pale from the attack that he had just suffered.

The Neo-Vestige Sect was ruined. The sect master immediately ordered Gong Chou to find a way to escape.

Anyone but Gong Chou could die.

“Sir, that’s Gong Ling, the sect leader of the Neo-Vestige Sect. He has access to the Neo-Vestige Sect’s full inheritance.” Shao Zisong pointed at Gong Ling.

Man Li glared at Gong Ling. “You, follow me.”

Gong Chou bellowed, “We are a part of the Great Eastern Alliance!”

Man Li frowned and stared at Gong Chou. “So what? Who’ll say anything even if I destroyed your Neo-Vestige Sect?”

He then lifted a hand and moved to crush Gong Chou.

Gong Chou’s mind went blank; he had absolutely no means of fighting back.

Gong Ling screamed, “Stop!”

Man Li sneered and slapped a hand towards Gong Ling. Suddenly, he hesitated. A disheveled old man in a sloppy green robe had appeared beneath his palm and was smiling up at the giant.

Man Li immediately stepped back and descended to the ground. His tone grew incredibly respectful, “I didn’t know you were here. I am at fault, but please forgive me.”

Everyone from the Neo-Vestige turned to look at the old man. He was Master Qing Hua.

He had appeared to uphold his promise to Lu Yin. The man had only recently left Blazing Mist Flowzone, and he had specifically traveled to the Neo-Vestige Sect in order to take Man Li away.

“You’re Man Li, right?” Master Qing Hua asked.

Man Li quickly replied, “Yes, I’m Man Li from the Arrow Sect. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Master Qing Hua.”

Master Qing Hua? Gong Ling had heard of this person before. When the Sixth Mainland had moved to the Outerverse, people from the Fifth Mainland had started slowly getting more acquainted with the Sixth Mainland’s powerhouses, and Master Qing Hua was one such powerhouses: he was an Empyrean Imprinter.

How powerful was an Empyrean Imprinter? Gong Ling could not even imagine the strength of such a person. The most powerful person that the Neo-Vestige Sect had ever had was the Arrow Mountain Elder, but he had only been an Envoy, which meant that he had been comparable to an Imprinter from the Sixth Mainland. Beyond that, there were still World Imprinters and Cosmic Imprinters before one reached the realm of Empyrean Imprinters.

There were rumors that Empyrean Imprinters were second only to Progenitors. In that case, would such a person visit the Neo-Vestige Sect? There was no reason for the Neo-Vestige Sect to have caught this expert’s attention.

“Why are you here?” Master Qing Hua calmly asked Man Li.

Although the Empyrean Imprinter’s tone sounded very friendly, Man Li still acted very politely. Even though Man Huang, the leader of the Arrow Sect, was also an Empyrean Imprinter, he was still Master Qing Hua’s junior. There were even rumors that Master Qing Hua might replace the dead Toolwielder Ancestor as one of the Daosource Sect’s Four Empyreans. This was a key reason why Man Li was so respectful to Qing Hua.

“Elder, I’m following my master’s orders to take him to the Neo-Vestige Sect,” Man Li answered.

Master Qing Hua looked around. “Forcefully?”

Man Li replied, “There are disciples in this Neo-Vestige Sect who have already joined the Arrow Sect, so I’m not actually taking anyone away by force.”

Master Qing Hua smiled. “Then just take those who have joined your sect with you. Are you trying to start a war between the Sixth and Fifth Mainlands? Is that your plan? Or rather, is that Man Huang’s plan?”

Man Li explained anxiously, “I was too rash, forgive me.”

Master Qing Hua continued, saying, “We have only just arrived at the Fifth Mainland, and even though the Outerverse belongs to us, we should not wantonly kill people as that will only intensify the Fifth Mainland’s hatred for us and make it harder for us to truly rule the Outerverse. Leave. I’ll go speak to Man Huang about this.”

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Man Li hesitated. “Elder, my sect leader tasked me with guarding the Neo-Vestige Sect. If I suddenly return…”

Master Qing Hua’s eyes flashed, and Man Li was suddenly forced to the ground as a huge rod pressed down on him. Man Li screamed in pain from being pinned to the ground as a terrible wound had already appeared on his back, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Additionally, he found that he was unable to control his own stellular energy, and some of it was even being forcefully removed by the true universe.

Man Li started begging, “Please let me off, Elder! Please let me off.”

Master Qing Hua asked in a calm manner, “Did you hear what I just said?”

“Yes, yes!” Man Li was terrified. This was the first time he had felt this helpless after becoming an Envoy. Even when Lu Yin had rung the Chief Justice’s bell, he had not suppressed that badly, as even that had only momentarily dazed Man Li. But at the moment, he was being tortured.

Master Qing Hua always had a sloppy appearance no matter who he met, and he very rarely lost his temper. However, he was still an Empyrean Imprinter, and the very skies changed when he raised his hand.

The people of the Neo-Vestige Sect all stayed silent as they watched on in horror.

Man Li left with Shao Zisong. Since Shao Zisong was someone from the Neo-Vestige Sect, Man Li had managed to complete a portion of his mission.

Master Qing Hua left as well. He did not speak even a single word to anyone from the Neo-Vestige Sect. He had only stopped by to take Man Li away as he had promised Lu Yin.

In the Outerverse’s Suna Weave, a serving girl bowed low within Flying Horse Manor. “Madam, there is someone from the Tong family here to see you.”

Nobody answered.

The girl repeated, “Madam, an elder from the Tong family has brought Tong Chou here to meet with you.”

There was still no reply.

After a long time, the elder from the Tong family impatiently entered to look for Madam Hong.

There was a Cosmic Imprinter within the Tong family, which gave them a higher status than Flying Horse Manor. Thus, the elder was unafraid of Madam Hong punishing him despite his extraordinary rudeness.

The elder pushed the door open but did not see anyone inside. This was supposedly Madam Hong’s training room, but there was no trace of her.

The elder glared at the serving girl. “Where’s Madam Hong?”

The girl was confused. “She should be inside.”

“Contact Madam Hong now,” the elder ordered. Tong Chou observed the room with curiosity. The Tong family had a close relationship with Flying Horse Manor, and there should not be any reason for Madam Hong to avoid them. Besides, the serving girl would have never dared to lie about the Madam leaving the training room to the Tong family elder. So, where was the woman?

News of Madam Hong’s disappearance soon spread, as nobody from Flying Horse Manor was able to get in contact with Madam Hong.

In a dark place in Southside Weave, a faint light shone on Madam Hong, who had been held captive for about ten days.

Ten days ago, she had been worrying about her failed plot against Master Qing Hua. She had been thinking of ways to deal with Lu Yin when disaster had suddenly struck. She had been kidnapped, but she was clueless about her kidnapper’s identity. Despite being a World Imprinter, she had not even been able to fight back, which meant that her kidnapper was an extremely powerful Cosmic or Empyrean Imprinter.

“Who are you?” Madam Hong screamed in an exhausted voice. It would have been fine if she had just been held captive during these ten days, but she had actually been tortured excessively as well. Her stellular energy had been forcefully retrieved by the true universe, and all of her limbs had been broken. She had never expected to endure such torture.

“Give me Progenitor Wushang’s hide. You have no right to possess a Progenitor’s item,” a voice rang out.

Madam Hong could not determine who was speaking. She weakly muttered, “Who are you? I don’t have Progenitor Wushang’s hide. Who are you?”

“I will kill you if you don’t give it to me. Nobody can save you.”

“I really, truly, don’t have Progenitor Wushang’s hide,” Madam Hong weakly protested.