NOVPUBGong Rui, filled with hope, said that he believed Su Changkong, being an Innate Martial Artist and an Elder of the Spirit Taoist Sect, was the only one who could lead in these dire times, now that the rest of the elders and Sect Master Helian Yuan were missing, their fates unknown.
"What use is there in gathering the other disciples?" Su Changkong retorted, leaving Gong Rui speechless.
Indeed, now that the Spirit Taoist Sect didn’t even have its gate left, even if their disciples heeded the call and came back, there would be nowhere for them to stay.
"I must leave now, I will pay attention to the whereabouts of the Sect Master and the others. Once the Sect Master and they return, we can discuss other matters," he said.
After understanding the situation, Su Changkong took one last look at the ruins of the Spirit Taoist Sect and spoke to Gong Rui.
Without waiting for Gong Rui to respond, he turned and left along the mountain path.
Gong Rui opened his mouth but didn’t stop him; he gritted his teeth: "This Elder Su... really unreliable! When the sect is in trouble, he seeks his own way out!"
In Gong Rui’s eyes, Su Changkong was, after all, just a Guest Elder. He was willing to contribute when times were good, but now that the Spirit Taoist Sect was facing a disaster of destruction, his eagerness to leave meant he was looking for his own way out and had no intention of suffering and overcoming this difficulty with the sect.
But Gong Rui couldn’t say much more; Su Changkong wasn’t someone who had grown up in the Spirit Taoist Sect, so it was normal for him not to have strong feelings for the sect!
"Is the Spirit Taoist Sect... really finished?" Gong Rui clenched his fists, looking helplessly at the dilapidated ruins.
As someone who had lived in the Spirit Taoist Sect since childhood, he found the reality hard to accept, but he was too powerless to do anything about the situation.
"Those four people in black robes are probably targeting the Spirit Veins of the Spirit Taoist Sect and have no personal grudge against the sect. Perhaps the Spirit Taoist Sect isn’t the only victim," he thought.
As he walked, Su Changkong pondered.
If those four in black robes bore a grudge against the Spirit Taoist Sect, they wouldn’t have let the others go easily; their objective was the Spirit Veins of the Spirit Taoist Sect!
They didn’t just destroy the Spirit Veins; instead, they used some method to take them away.
Otherwise, destroying the Spirit Taoist Sect’s Spirit Veins would have been an act that hurts others without benefiting themselves. Such experts wouldn’t make a pointless trip to the Spirit Taoist Sect just to sever its lineage.
As for the exact method they used to take away the Spirit Veins from Zhongling Mountain, Su Changkong had no idea.
The only thing clear was that these four were all formidable experts, any one of them capable of overpowering the Spirit Taoist Sect with ease, and were definitely not an easy adversary.
"First, let’s make a trip to Feiyun City and have Tang Ming contact Cangwen Yu, the Sect Leader of the Cangyun Sect, to ask him to pay attention to this matter. I’ll stay in Feiyun City for a while," he decided.
Su Changkong had made up his mind about what to do next.
Naturally, Su Changkong had no intention of abandoning the Spirit Taoist Sect in its hour of need. Those black-robed people had captured the Innate Martial Artists of the Spirit Taoist Sect, including Helian Yuan, who were likely still alive. Rescuing them first and then having them call back the scattered disciples to rebuild the sect was not something Su Changkong was interested in dealing with.
And with the Cangyun Sect being a first-rate sect with deep foundations even within Central State and having better intelligence networks than most, it was not feasible for Su Changkong to investigate the four black-robed people on his own. He could let the Cangyun Sect assist in keeping an eye out, while he could temporarily reside in Feiyun City, practicing alchemy and enhancing his cultivation.
Whew!
After leaving Zhongling Mountain, Su Changkong leaped into the air, conjuring the silhouette of a white crane which took to the skies, heading in the direction of Zhongling Mountain.
Capable of flight, Su Changkong’s speed was beyond the imagination of ordinary people; without hurrying, he arrived in Feiyun City in just under half an hour.
Feiyun City, Cangyun Pavilion.
The appearance of Su Changkong, who hadn’t been seen in half a year, undoubtedly made Tang Ming, who was in charge, treat him with great enthusiasm.
"One hundred portions of Spiritual Medicine ingredients; here is a deposit of ten percent." Su Changkong didn’t waste words and immediately took out a strand of Innate Qi as the deposit, instructing Tang Ming to help him procure ingredients for the Heavenly Spirit Pill.
The Heavenly Spirit Pills he had refined from the one hundred portions of ingredients had all been used up by Su Changkong during his time at Book Fragrance Mountain.
"No problem!" Tang Ming nodded repeatedly, amazed at Su Changkong’s generosity—casually providing ten strands of Innate Qi to purchase Spiritual Medicine was not even something the big sects did!
"Also, please hand this letter over to Cangwen Yu," he said.
Su Changkong also took out a letter, handed it to Tang Ming to deliver to Cangwen Yu. The letter inquired whether Cangwen Yu knew about the annihilation of the Spirit Taoist Sect, and whether other sects had experienced similar events.
After completing these tasks, Su Changkong left his contact information and rented a spacious and quiet manor in Feiyun City where he decided to stay for the time being.
Just four or five days later, thanks to the swift messenger pigeons, Cangwen Yu replied, with Tang Ming personally delivering the letter to Su Changkong’s new residence.
"Brother Blade, these are the materials you asked for. The Sect Leader thought you might order again and had collected and stored them," Tang Ming said.
Tang Ming had brought the hundred portions of Heavenly Spirit Pill ingredients that Su Changkong had requested. If they would have to buy them now, it would have taken at least a month.
"Good, please thank Sect Leader Cang for me," Su Changkong nodded slightly and thanked Tang Ming.
Then Su Changkong opened the letter from Tang Ming. The letter started with a few courteous words to Su Changkong, followed by the answers Su Changkong wanted to know.
"The Spirit Taoist Sect is not the only one; in the past half a year, four sects within Central State have fallen victim... All with their sect’s Spiritual Energy disappearing and their Inner Door Innate Martial Artists captured alive."
