The blue-robed cultivators looked up at Xiao Chen and saw that although he was young, he had a calm demeanor and deep eyes, unlike an ordinary cultivator, so they put away their contempt.
One of them replied with a smile, "Fellow Daoist is also interested in this woman? She is still at the Chen family mansion. I heard that the Chen family has sent many experts to guard her in order to prevent any accidents."
"The Chen family will personally escort her to Mo Zezong tomorrow morning and present her to the young master."
"The Chen family mansion..." Xiao Chen repeated softly, his mind racing with calculations.
The Chen family of Moze City, having the confidence to cooperate with the Moze Sect, must be quite powerful, but regardless...
He had to go and see if that woman was indeed Ling Xue. If she was, he absolutely could not let Ling Xue fall into the hands of Young Master Mo Ze!
He bowed to the group and thanked them, saying, "Thank you for informing me, fellow Daoists." After saying this, he turned and quickly walked out of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
The sunlight outside was a bit dazzling, but Xiao Chen didn't care at all.
He gripped the Dragon Spear tightly, his eyes resolute. No matter how many obstacles lay ahead, he had to reach the Chen family mansion before tomorrow.
If Ling Xue is really trapped there, he must rescue her!
The streets of Moze City remained bustling, but Xiao Chen's steps were unusually hurried as he headed towards the Chen family mansion in the city.
Xiao Chen hid on the top of an ancient locust tree outside the Chen family mansion, his spiritual energy completely concealed, even his breathing extremely light.
The dense foliage concealed his figure, and the Chen family cultivators patrolling below, despite their Dao Proving Realm cultivation, were completely unaware of the strangeness above them.
He had been observing here for half an hour: the Chen family mansion covered a vast area, with walls made of black stone and covered with spiritual runes, clearly indicating the presence of a defensive formation.
Two cultivators at the Dao Proof Realm stood guard at the gate, swords at their waists, their eyes sharp, changing shifts every fifteen minutes.
Occasionally, spiritual energy fluctuations could be heard from deep within the mansion, and five different auras could be vaguely sensed. These were the five Dao Proving Realm experts he had inquired about.
“Five Dao Proving Realm experts…” Xiao Chen gently stroked the shaft of the Dragon Spear with his fingertips, already having a plan in mind.
With his current peak cultivation level, dealing with five Dao Proving Realm cultivators would not be difficult, but forcibly entering the Chen Mansion would be too risky.
Once the fight breaks out, the commotion will inevitably alert the Moze Sect, which is a major sect in the star field.
There will definitely be cultivators at the Tai Xu Realm or even stronger. At that time, let alone saving people, it will be a problem whether he can even get away.
Rather than charging in head-on, it's better to ambush.
Xiao Chen leaped silently from the treetop, landing like a falling leaf, and turned to head out of the city.
He had already found out that the Chen family would be escorting the woman to Mo Zezong tomorrow via the "Black Stone Valley" outside the city.
That was the only way to Mozezong. The valley was narrow, with towering cliffs on both sides and only a narrow path in the middle that could accommodate two horses side by side. It was the perfect place to ambush and launch a surprise attack.
Half an hour later, Xiao Chen arrived at Black Stone Valley.
He stood at the valley entrance, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings: the cliffs on both sides were covered with protruding rocks, easily concealing his figure.
The valley floor is covered with gravel, making footsteps particularly clear and easy to detect movement in advance.
There was a bend in the valley, and behind the bend was a secret passage hidden by weeds, which he had just discovered. It led directly to the dense forest outside the valley and was an excellent escape route.
"This is it." Xiao Chen nodded in satisfaction, then flashed and leaped behind a boulder on the left cliff to hide.
He gathered spiritual energy at his fingertips, creating a pale golden concealment barrier around himself—a minor technique included with the [Eight Desolate Demon-Suppressing Mountain] cultivation method.
It can blend perfectly into its surroundings, and is extremely difficult to detect unless a cultivator at the Taixu Realm deliberately investigates it.
Then, he took out a palm-sized talisman from his storage bag. The talisman glowed with a pale blue spiritual light and was engraved with complex spatial patterns. It was the "Void Teleportation Talisman" that his master Lin Zhou had given him before he left.
This talisman allows people to teleport short distances through the void in times of crisis. Although it cannot directly leave the Moze Starfield, it is enough to buy time to escape when encountering a powerful enemy.
Xiao Chen held the talisman in his palm, the cool touch of the paper reassuring him: "Everything is ready, just waiting for tomorrow."
He closed his eyes and began to adjust his state, circulating the [Eight Desolations Demon-Suppressing Mountain] technique to allow the spiritual energy within his body to flow slowly, maintaining his peak condition while avoiding excessive consumption.
At the same time, he released a wisp of his divine soul power, enveloping the entire entrance to Black Stone Valley. As soon as the Chen family's escort team approached, he would be able to detect them immediately.
The wind in the valley carried the coolness of gravel, and the weeds on the cliff swayed gently. Apart from the occasional bird song, there was no other sound.
Xiao Chen remained hidden behind the boulder, seemingly one with the valley. Only his grip on his spear and the occasional sharp glint in his eyes proved that he was always ready.
Tomorrow, he not only needs to confirm whether the woman is Ling Xue, but also to rescue her from the Chen family.
No matter how many risks lie ahead, he will never let Ling Xue fall into the hands of Young Master Mo Ze.
As night fell, Black Stone Valley was shrouded in twilight. Xiao Chen remained standing still, like a lurking cheetah, waiting for its prey to appear.
...
The following morning, golden sunlight bathed the earth, dispelling the morning mist of Blackrock Valley.
On the distant official road, a group of people slowly approached. Leading them were more than ten cultivators clad in black armor, riding snow-white "Cloud-Stepping Beasts" with a single horn.
The beast's hooves pounded the ground with a steady "clatter"; in the middle were three magnificent carriages, their carriages crafted from golden nanmu wood and inlaid with pale blue gemstones.
The wheels and carriage of the middle carriage were still wrapped with faint black runes, obviously to prevent the people inside from escaping.
On the hillside, Xiao Chen suddenly opened his eyes, his sharp gaze instantly locking onto the group of people.
The aura of the Cloud-Stepping Beast and the spiritual energy fluctuations of the Xuanjia cultivator were consistent with the Chen family's power that he had investigated last night. The carriage in the very center must be the place where the woman with the Innate Ice Soul Saint Body was imprisoned!
He gripped the Dragon Spear tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white, and his spiritual energy circulated quietly around him, ready to launch a surprise attack at any moment.
At this moment, inside the carriage in the very center, Ling Xue was huddled in a corner.
She wore a sky-blue dress, the hem of which was slightly dusty, yet it could not conceal her ethereal and beautiful appearance.
Her skin was as white as snow, her eyebrows and eyes as beautiful as a painting, and her long eyelashes drooped down, concealing the despair in her eyes. Only the occasional trembling of her eyelashes showed that she had not given up the struggle.
Thick black chains, as thick as fingers, were wrapped around her wrists and ankles, and the chains were covered with obscure runes.
Whenever she tried to circulate her spiritual energy to break free, the runes would light up, releasing a bone-chilling cold that would seep into her meridians along the chains.
It made her feel cold all over, and she couldn't even gather her spiritual energy. This was a "Spirit-Locking Chain" specially made by the Chen family, specifically used to bind cultivators, especially those with special constitutions like hers.
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