Stealing Immortal

Chapter 71: Chapter 70: Array

Unlike Xu Baoling, who was clearly panicked, Chen Qingyang appeared exceptionally calm. After all, this wasn’t the first time he’d experienced something like this.

Instead of immediately dealing with the woman before him, he focused on using his Divine Soul Perception to sense his surroundings. At this moment, the small hut seemed to have been cut off from the world. No matter what happened inside, it would be impossible for anyone outside to notice a thing.

Waves of dark green light rippled through the air, and an aura gathered at the woman’s feet. Within this small space, she was in complete control.

She was extremely cautious. This move—hiding in plain sight—made it very difficult for Leng Yueru to detect her.

”Hmph!” Perhaps sensing what Chen Qingyang was doing, the woman snorted coldly. ”The power of this Divine Soul is quite impressive. I almost underestimated you!”

An invisible blade descended upon him from all directions, slashing down beside him. In an instant, all his thoughts were severed. Besides his eyes and ears, he could no longer perceive any changes in the outside world.

However, this seemed to loosen the world’s grip on him slightly. At least his hands and feet could move now. Unhurried, he bowed with his hands clasped toward the woman opposite him. ”Senior Sister, you are truly formidable. I’ve heard that a masterfully executed Array can create a world of its own. You clearly possess such a skill!”

Perhaps finding him amusing, the woman threw her head back and laughed. There was no grace in it, only wild abandon. ”You’re quite the eager old scholar, aren’t you? This is indeed an Array, and right now, I’m the one who calls the shots—including whether you live or die. I’m sure you can understand that, right?”

Chen Qingyang nodded. ”Yes, I understand perfectly. May I ask how I should address you, Senior Sister?”

The woman laughed again. ”I see you’re not the useless Miscellaneous Task disciple that Master Xuan Gui made you out to be. Your composure alone is quite impressive. The reason I’m here is simple: I’m going to ask you a few questions. Answer correctly, and you live. Answer wrong, and you die!”

As she spoke with anger, the dark green light enveloping the hut pulsed. Chen Qingyang and Xu Baoling were like a small boat tossed on monstrous waves, in danger of capsizing at any moment.

”Actually, I have a question as well,” Chen Qingyang said. ”Since you’re from the Yu Xiao Demon Sect, Senior Sister, why are you always hiding out at Master Xuan Gui’s place?”

The woman wasn’t surprised by his question. ”I have my mission, of course. But now it’s my turn to ask you: who on Four Golden Peaks is secretly helping you?”

’Even at a time like this, she still doesn’t believe I’m the calamity star. As expected, she’s incredibly arrogant.’

”I’m not sure who you’re referring to, Senior Sister. After all, I’ve received a great deal of help on Four Golden Peaks. In the past, many Outer Disciples, for Li Qianxue’s sake, helped me remain in the Immortal Sect. On that note, I’ve heard that Master Xuan Gui is colluding with the Demon Sect and plans to defect. I wonder if that’s true?”

The woman could see it now: Chen Qingyang was completely unfazed by her threats. He was only interested in getting the answers he wanted.

”It seems I’ll have to make you suffer a little before you understand what I’m capable of!”

As she raised her hand, the dark green aura morphed into countless fine threads that shot toward Chen Qingyang. ”No one can withstand my Soul Capturing and Spirit Stealing technique for even a moment. Let’s see just how tough you really are!”

Just then, Xu Baoling found she could speak again. ”Master, be careful!” she cried out to Chen Qingyang.

”Hmph, you shameless pair!” As expected, this display of affection enraged the woman. ”I hate it when people get all lovey-dovey in front of me!”

She extended her right palm and then clenched it into a fist. Xu Baoling’s Divine Soul Body was crushed down to the size of a palm, and her bloodcurdling screams echoed endlessly.

Seeing this, Chen Qingyang’s expression grew cold. ”I thought you actually had some real skill, but it seems you’re just a clumsy amateur. Even with such a formidable Array, your control is far from perfect!”

”You’re courting death!” The woman waved her hand, and the countless threads surged toward Chen Qingyang.

A bone-chilling pain, as if the threads were taking root in his very flesh, wracked Chen Qingyang’s body, making it almost unbearable.

At that critical moment, a burst of pure white light erupted from his chest. It was the Gold Coin Sword, and it shot toward the woman’s brow with incredible speed.

In an instant, it was buried halfway into her forehead.

He thought she was finished, but unexpectedly, dark clouds gathered in the sky. The massive figure of an old man appeared, and with a swipe of its giant hand, it blocked the Gold Coin Sword’s advance.

Its power was so immense that a gale seemed to sweep across the land.

Following the old man’s appearance, a massive star pattern materialized in the sky, and giant bolts of lightning flashed from within the dark clouds.

A deafening thunderclap echoed through heaven and earth. The old man’s colossal figure instantly dispersed, and the Gold Coin Sword pierced through the woman’s head, killing her completely.

An image flashed through Chen Qingyang’s mind: Stealing Immortal collecting a White Flame from atop the dead woman’s head. The Array that had enveloped the hut dissipated into nothing.

”Master!”

Freed from her restraints, Xu Baoling regained her form. Her aura was so weak that she was almost undetectable, a testament to the suffering she had just endured.

”This isn’t the time to talk. Go hide in the boys’ room next door. Their Qi Mechanism will mask your presence, making you difficult to find. Senior Sister Leng should be here any moment.”

”Okay.” Xu Baoling drifted away, and Chen Qingyang wasted no time, beginning to search the woman’s body.

He found a White Jade Token, a few Magical Artifacts, and a letter hidden in her sleeve. Without hesitation, he tore the letter open, but just as he was about to read it, he heard a noise outside and quickly tucked it into his own sleeve.

BANG!

The door flew open, and Leng Yueru strode in.

”She’s dead?”

Chen Qingyang nodded. ”Dead. Killed by the Gold Coin Sword.”

At that moment, the sword lay beside Chen Qingyang’s hand, its blade unstained by even a drop of blood.

Leng Yueru narrowed her eyes, and he could feel her scanning the small hut. ”It’s a shame I didn’t expect her to show up here. I only realized it was this place after seeing the commotion in the sky!”

Chen Qingyang had been completely unaware of the events outside. ”Senior Sister, what commotion?”

”This Demon was carrying the aura of a Golden Core True Monarch, which nearly saved her. But then the Sect’s Circulation of Stars Demon Suppression Array activated and blocked it!”

Hearing this, Chen Qingyang broke out in a cold sweat. ’If not for that Array, wouldn’t I have been in grave danger?’

”You don’t need to worry. As long as she was within the bounds of the Tai Xu Sect, she couldn’t have caused much trouble.”

After speaking, she began to search the woman’s body as well. She laid out a few Magical Artifacts on the ground. Only the letter remained hidden by Chen Qingyang. He had glanced at it earlier; it seemed to be a Cultivation Technique.

”Her Cultivation wasn’t low; she must have been in the Realm of Essence Condensation. These Magical Artifacts are clearly of Demon Sect origin, which proves her identity. Especially this...”

Chen Qingyang looked over. It was a White Jade Token, the one he had found just moments ago. ”Senior Sister, what kind of Magical Artifact is this?”

”This item can neither protect the body nor harm another, but it has the ability to shield one from Celestial Secrets. Without it, she would have been exposed by our Sect’s Grand Array long ago.”

Chen Qingyang said, ”But this only proves her origins. It doesn’t prove she was colluding with Master Xuan Gui. I tried to ask her a few questions, but she wouldn’t say a word about it!”

Leng Yueru stood up. ”It’s not a total loss. We still have the body, don’t we? I can arrest all of Zhang Wenyuan’s dozen or so miscellaneous task disciples. As long as one of them recognizes this corpse, it will be enough to prove our case. As for Master Xuan Gui, his fate will depend on what Zhang Wenyuan confesses!”

Chen Qingyang said, ”That is an excellent plan, Senior Sister.”

Then, Leng Yueru added, ”And don’t you worry, I’ll take care of Lin Qingxuan.”

Chen Qingyang bowed with his hands clasped. ”Thank you, Senior Sister Leng.”

The Law Enforcement Hall was swift. Within moments, a number of people had arrived and gathered in the small courtyard. Leng Yueru directed them to remove the body and search the entire area.

”Master Xuan Gui’s Astrological Inference has been thwarted, and I’m about to apprehend his chosen disciple. He’ll likely lay low for a while, so you don’t need to be too concerned!”

After saying this, she didn’t forget to press the Gold Coin Sword back into his hands.

The Law Enforcement Hall disciples arrived quickly and left just as fast. Once the courtyard fell completely silent, the two boys from the room across the way finally couldn’t hold back and came out.

”Senior Brother Chen, are you okay?”

”What just happened? I saw a lot of people come...”

Concern was evident in both their voices. Chen Qingyang explained, ”An intruder broke into the courtyard, but the Law Enforcement Hall disciples arrived in time. Everything is fine now.”

”An intruder? What kind of intruder? Even if someone wanted to steal something in the Immortal Sect, they wouldn’t come to a place like ours, would they?”

This made Zhang Ping even more curious, but as soon as the words left his mouth, Li Sheng pulled him away. ”Why wouldn’t there be intruders in the Immortal Sect? Didn’t you see the Law Enforcement Hall came? What else would they be doing if not catching intruders? Let’s not bother Senior Brother Chen. Come on, let’s go to bed!”

Seeing this, Zhang Ping said no more.

Back in the small hut, just as Chen Qingyang sat down, Xu Baoling floated over, her aura extremely faint.

”Are you alright?”

Xu Baoling shook her head. ”Thank you for your concern, Master. I’m only slightly injured. I’ll be fine after a few days of recovery. Was that woman from the Yu Xiao Demon Sect?”

Chen Qingyang nodded lightly. ”Yes. We finally managed to draw her out.”

Xu Baoling said, ”It’s a good thing you’re unharmed, Master, and that this Demon Fiend has been eliminated. I think Master Xuan Gui’s road is coming to an end!”

”Yes. For now, get some rest. I’ll get some more Elixirs for you in the coming days.”

Xu Baoling bowed. ”Thank you, Master!”

Chen Qingyang took out the letter again. It was a manuscript of twenty-odd pages, containing over ten thousand words, detailing an extremely profound method of Astrological Inference. It was even systematically divided into five ranks of mastery.

Although it was unsigned, Chen Qingyang had already guessed that this was the Tai Xu Star Pivot Ziwei Scripture.

’Did the woman steal this, or did Master Xuan Gui intend to gift it to the Demon Sect?’

[Chen Qingyang]

[Qi Refining Sixth Realm]

[Great Soul Scripture (Incomplete): (351/600)]

[One-Origin Sword: (4/1200)]

[Dragon and Tiger Fighting Calamity Pill: (0/50)]

[Tai Xu Star Pivot Ziwei Scripture: (0/1000)]

[Available Immortal Seedlings: 2423]

As the small golden words floated before his eyes, Chen Qingyang saw them clearly, confirming the identity of the Astrological Inference technique.