Unable to contact Yu Xiu, Ling Luo, and Chu Yi went to Tinghua Quarter first.

Chang Fei and Song Yuanyuan were watching the medicine shops and clinics in this area, while Xu Shen was keeping watch in the neighboring Sixiu Quarter.

“Many people are seeking medical treatment and buying medicine, but none stand out. However, that female doctor secretly went out last night—” Chang Fei paused, cleared her throat with a cough, and under Chu Yi’s steady gaze waiting for the rest, she somewhat embarrassedly said, “to meet her lover.”

Chu Yi: “…”

“Where is my Second Senior Brother?” Ling Luo flipped up to the rooftop to survey the surroundings.

“Senior Brother Yu Xiu is in the neighboring Sixiu Quarter,” Song Yuanyuan pointed in a direction. “With Xu Shen. If there’s any news, we all report to Senior Brother Yu Xiu.”

“The three sects report separately. Tianzhu Sect is responsible for the south, and Sanji Sect for the north. I’ve noticed most cultivators entering the city these days are from our Tianji.”

Chang Fei kept her eyes on the clinic ahead while lowering her voice, “But Senior Sister Tian Rong is the Second Sect Leader’s last disciple. Do we need to kill her on sight? The Second Sect Leader has been in seclusion for so many years; they probably haven’t seen each other for a long time.”

“Keep her alive,” Chu Yi said. “Bring her back for the Second Sect Leader to see.”

A sect’s disciple turning to demons was an extremely humiliating matter for their sect, and all sects tried to avoid it. Even if there was news, they would initially suppress it and resolve it internally.

Mu Hengtian didn’t want Tian Rong to return alive, nor did he want her to live another day to become a laughingstock for other sects to mock Tianji.

Song Yuanyuan sighed, “It’s not easy for the Second Sect Leader. Even her last living disciple is acting so recklessly.”

The Second Sect Leader of East Island Tianji had quite a few personal disciples, the most among the three sect leaders. She wasn’t very picky about talent, accepting anyone who caught her eye as a disciple. Sometimes when she traveled down the mountain, she would bring back disciples from outside.

But later, all her disciples died.

Killed by another personal disciple who was now confined in the Saha Realm.

Only Tian Rong was young at that time. Qingshun paused before striking, silently staring at this little junior sister kneeling and trembling on the ground for a moment. The Second Sect Leader finally arrived in time to save her last disciple.

“Just capture them; don’t overthink it,” Chu Yi said.

Ling Luo came down from the rooftop. “Second Senior Brother has replied to my message.”

She took Chu Yi to the neighboring Sixiu Quarter, casually sending the quarter’s name to Senior Brother Zi Xiu.

Zi Xiu was sightseeing and enjoying himself with the two Sacred Sword Sect disciples. After seeing the jade communicator message, he laughed, “Ling Luo has only been gone for one day and already misses me. Ah, Chu Yi isn’t enough; Ling Luo prefers her Senior Brother Zi Xiu, hahaha.”

Walking ahead, Yue Liangze turned his head slightly to give a calm glance backward.

Bai Cang, eating skewers, looked at the jade communicator message shown to him: “Sixiu Quarter? It’s quite possible. But without the Myriad Phenomenon Formation, can Tianji’s jade communicator receive messages from such a distance as Pingyao City?”

“A couple of years ago, the elders improved the Myriad Phenomenon Formation, and the jade communicator is no longer limited to the Tianji area,” Zi Xiu said proudly. “Now it’s completely comparable to your Sacred Sword Sect’s Cloud Messenger! Plus, it can store contact information from outside the jade communicator—oh, by the way, Brother Bai, shall we add each other as Cloud Messenger friends?”

“Sure,” Bai Cang didn’t refuse, smiling as he took out his own Cloud Messenger. “Though this is my first time adding a friend from Tianji’s jade communicator.”

“Same here! It’s also my first time adding a friend from Sacred Sword Sect’s Cloud Messenger! Here, this one, infuse spiritual breath and send, connected—great, completed!”

Zi Xiu and Bai Cang tapped their jade communicator and Cloud Messenger together, making a crisp sound to celebrate.

The two seemed to have discovered a new world and began studying at the roadside stall.

Zi Xiu asked, “Can the Cloud Messenger send voice and image transmissions?”

Bai Cang: “Yes, take a look.”

He sent an image recorded by the Cloud Messenger.

“Oh, this is great! The jade communicator can receive images outside Tianji, but it can only send text messages itself. When I get back to Tianji, I must urge the elders to improve it,” Zi Xiu said.

Zi Xiu caught a glimpse of Bai Cang’s Cloud Messenger contact page and exclaimed in surprise, “Really, Brother Bai, you have so few people on your Cloud Messenger?”

“My senior brothers and junior brother, plus one small disciple,” Bai Cang pointed to the count—five people—and raised an eyebrow. “Not that few, is it?”

“Look at mine,” Zi Xiu handed over his jade communicator for him to see. “A full three hundred and forty-six people!”

Bai Cang was shocked by the comparison, lightly touched his nose, and spread his hands, “Your Tianji has many people.”

“Which sect doesn’t have more disciples than the Sacred Sword Sect? Even a small immortal sect has at least twenty people!” Zi Xiu said, scrolling through the list. “But not all of these are Tianji people. There are also people from other sects, like Moon Court, Taichu, Xuehe, and other places with message systems, plus some independent cultivator friends.”

“You’re much more impressive than me, so why do you have so few friends?” Zi Xiu looked at Bai Cang, puzzled. “The world shouldn’t be so blind!”

Bai Cang smiled, “You know the relationship between the major immortal sects and the Sacred Sword Sect.”

Zi Xiu looked around, then shielded his face with the back of his hand and said in a lowered, serious voice, “Then you must never let anyone know I have you as a Cloud Messenger friend, or they’ll forcibly separate us lovebirds by deleting me from your friends!”

Bai Cang stroked his chin, “Brother Zi Xiu, ‘separating lovebirds’ seems a bit inappropriate?”

“It’s all the same! I’m now just a useless person who can only play with low-level incantations. They won’t be too wary about me having you as a Cloud Messenger friend. Oh, by the way, Junior Brother Yue! Shall we also add each other as friends?” Zi Xiu turned back to look at Yue Liangze, who had been forgotten in the crowd.

Yue Liangze looked up at Bai Cang.

Bai Cang was busy fiddling with his Cloud Messenger and didn’t notice. After hesitating for a moment, he finally took out his own Cloud Messenger and added Zi Xiu as a friend.

Zi Xiu asked, “Your senior brother’s Cloud Messenger has only five people. What about yours?”

Yue Liangze said, “Five.”

Zi Xiu’s eyes twitched slightly, “You two are so boring. Having been in the world for so many years, don’t you have any friends?”

“We do,” Bai Cang said, “But you’re the only one who has asked for my Cloud Messenger friendship.”

Others either didn’t dare or didn’t want to.

Zi Xiu was momentarily stunned, “Then I’m quite honored?”

Bai Cang nodded.

Zi Xiu looked at the two with sympathetic eyes, “Really… those rules are quite harmful. What’s wrong with adding each other as message friends to chat occasionally and share interesting sect stories? It’s not like we’re secretly plotting rebellion.”

Bai Cang smiled with narrowed eyes, “Brother Zi Xiu has good insight.”

“Come, come, I’ll give you Chu Yi’s spiritual signature. Add him too. He’ll be shocked to death when he sees your request!” Zi Xiu said to Bai Cang as they walked.

Yue Liangze looked at Zi Xiu’s name in his Cloud Messenger, blinked, and followed them thoughtfully.

In Pingyao City.

Yu Xiu saw the two approaching at the wonton shop and stood up, “I ordered a bowl for each of you. Eldest Senior Brother came too?”

Chu Yi sat opposite him, his face dark, “Ask her.”

Ling Luo obediently sat down and said, “Eldest Senior Brother was afraid you would be bullied by the White Bell Lotus, Senior Sister Tian Rong, and that demon together, so he came specifically to help you.”

Yu Xiu was slightly startled hearing this and looked at Chu Yi, his gaze gentle, his words carrying a smile, “So Senior Brother was so worried about me.”

Ling Luo nodded in confirmation.

Chu Yi: “…”

Now he had to agree with this, damn it.

Yu Xiu summarized the intelligence gathered over the past few days, indicating they needed to continue watching for a while longer.

Ling Luo had no objections. Leaving Chu Yi here to keep watch for three to five months was fine with her.

But Chu Yi was very active, wanting to complete the task quickly and return to Tianji to rest. After eating, he began setting up formations around various medicine shops to catch the fugitives.

After three to five days like this, there was still no movement.

Today, as they were changing shifts and having dinner, Yu Xiu said, “She was injured by Master’s Crossing Heaven technique. For recovery, she must have nylon flower leaves and Giant Jade Pills, both precious medicinal materials and pills.”

Chu Yi pondered, “What if she doesn’t need to appear in person to buy medicine in the city?”

Yu Xiu said, “I’ve considered that, so I contacted the city garrison, asking them to help patrol. If they find anything suspicious, they’ll immediately signal us.”

Cultivators have their rules, and mortals have theirs.

The imperial family and nobility all had their cultivator guards. The Imperial Academy of each dynasty was controlled by three cultivator family lineages, seeking peace and prosperity for the nation rather than the Great Way and ascension, thus differing from other cultivators.

Though the two sides maintained a delicate balance without interfering with each other, throughout history, people paved the way to maintain good relations with the major immortal sects. This was tacitly permitted as long as lines weren’t crossed.

Great immortal sects with thousand-year legacies like Tianji would occasionally receive invitations to major palace banquets. The various sects understood the protocol; they would respond with gifts to show their appreciation but would not send anyone to attend.

When it came to capturing renegade cultivators or demons, both sides would cooperate to maintain peace in the world.

Ling Luo ate her wontons, head lowered. Ordinary people without spirit veins shouldn’t be underestimated.

In this vast world, the most numerous were mortals, not cultivators.

“Tian Rong is seriously injured, and the White Bell Lotus member she rescued is also seriously injured. These two aren’t the problem. The problem is the demon who opened the Death Mist Gate to rescue them,” Chu Yi said, resting his chin on one hand, deep in thought. “Why the Twenty-Six Demons are involved is truly puzzling.”

Yu Xiu said, “White Bell Lotus has been killing cultivators; they’ve shown intentions of turning to demons before. The Twenty-Six Demons are probably here for White Bell Lotus, not Senior Sister Tian Rong.”

“Let’s watch for a few more days. She definitely can’t escape from Pingyao City,” Chu Yi said, looking somewhat bored. Keeping watch here was quite tedious.

Whether cultivators or city patrols, everyone was looking for Tian Rong and White Bell Lotus.

But after nearly ten days, there was still no news.

Ling Luo, keeping watch in the shadows, noticed Chu Yi had been playing with his jade communicator all along. She tapped the wall with her finger: “Senior Brother, focus.”

“Aren’t you watching?” Chu Yi didn’t look up, concentrating on replying to messages.

Ling Luo asked curiously, “Who are you chatting with so intently?”

Chu Yi said, “Brother Bai.”

Ling Luo was stunned, “Bai Cang?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“How did you get him as a Cloud Messenger friend?” Ling Luo couldn’t believe it.

“He proactively applied to add me as a friend,” Chu Yi waved his jade communicator at her, casually saying, “All because you sent ‘Sixiu Quarter’ to Zi Xiu the other day, making him think you missed him after just one day away.”

Ling Luo was speechless for a moment, then said, “What’s this about missing him? Sixiu, sixiu—I wanted Senior Brother Zi Xiu to drink less and focus on cultivation to recover his health.”

Chu Yi raised an eyebrow, smiling lazily.

“What do you and Bai Cang have to chat about?” Ling Luo asked, trying to look at the jade communicator screen. Chu Yi raised his hand upward; she stood on tiptoe to see, but Chu Yi turned to block her view.

“Sacred Sword Sect’s Cloud Messenger can send images, so there’s plenty to chat about,” Chu Yi flipped through some previous images to show her.

Ling Luo stood on tiptoe to look. Chu Yi tilted his head and swiped, and dozens of images flashed by.

All were images of eating, drinking, and having fun in Western Sea City, some with just the two of them, others including Yue Liangze.

Ling Luo’s eye twitched slightly as she looked, “These were sent to you by Senior Brother Zi Xiu, right? His jade communicator can’t send images, so he borrowed the Cloud Messenger to send them to you.”

Chu Yi of course knew this was the case.

“It was before, but not now,” he said. “A few days ago, the Sacred Sword Sect began looking for the demon that stole the Spirit-Subduing Jade.”

“What about Senior Brother Zi Xiu?”

“Playing with Bai Cang in Western Sea City.”

Ling Luo asked puzzledly, “Aren’t they looking for the sword?”

Chu Yi said, “Those two are playing; they let Yue Liangze go look.”

Ling Luo thought to herself that this was exactly what these senior brothers would do.

While she was chatting with Chu Yi, darkness had completely fallen.

Ling Luo was naturally casual about capturing people, and after a while, she left Chu Yi and wandered over to the neighboring Tinghua Quarter.

She asked Chang Fei and Song Yuanyuan, “What do you want for a midnight snack? I’ll go to the bustling market area to look.”

The two eagerly named some snacks. Song Yuanyuan said, “I’d also like to taste my little father’s brown sugar cold cake again!”

Ling Luo sneered, “Dream on.”

She went to the long street market area, wandered around to her heart’s content, then bought some snacks for the two and returned.

Just as she returned to the edge of the medicine shop street in the Tinghua Quarter, she saw the tightly closed doors of the medicine shop open. Ling Luo instinctively used Instant Shadow to hide behind a wall.

Chang Fei and Song Yuanyuan, who had been keeping watch all along, also became alert, only to see that the cloaked figure emerging from the medicine shop was again that female doctor going to meet her lover.