Chapter 204 - Disturbing News

A year went by. On the surface, it seemed like a calm year: Jing Yi and Qiu Ling had traveled without being disturbed. Yu Jin had returned to the Yun Zou Sect and just continued to cultivate like always. In fact, the disciples of all the deity sects didn't seem to be doing much more. It really was too peaceful and people became restless, waiting for something big to happen.

The first sign of things shifting was that one of the outer sect disciples of the Yun Zou Sect called Qiguan Cheng Da somehow had a stroke of luck when he was outside on a mission: He had had minor spirit veins that only lacked the wind spirit vein when he left his sect but when he returned he had a heavenly spirit vein. And it wasn't just any spirit vein but a water spirit vein that had mutated into an ice spirit vein. It was something especially rare and naturally, the other sects started to eye the Yun Zou Sect with envy once more.

The Yun Zou Sect made Qiguan Cheng Da into an inner sect disciple but they didn't have much time to care about that because shortly after a special guest arrived at their gates and asked to meet their Sect Master.

Yuchi Bing Xia smiled at the man that had come over and poured him a cup of tea. Inside, he felt wary, though. That man wouldn't come over if it wasn't of utmost importance and urgency.

Yuchi Bing Xia lightly coughed. "Sect Master Xian, you probably still prefer to get to the point right away. So let me just ask: What brought you here today?"

The man frowned and pressed his lips together. "Some news that can't easily be shared but our Chun Feng Sect needs help with this. I couldn't think of anyone besides you that I can trust with this."

"That sounds grave."

"It is. You don't know but six years ago I took in a young woman. My disciple Liu Cheng had brought her back and asked me to let her stay for a while. The girl was willing to join the sect and was really hard-working. I never regretted taking her in." He fell silent for a moment and took up the cup of tea. "A year ago, that girl vanished. We still haven't been able to locate her. There aren't any valuable leads, too. We only know that a few days prior to her disappearance a man was asking to see her. We only found out because the message that was intended for her somehow ended up with Liu Cheng."

He shook his head and took a sip of the tea before putting the cup down again. "I know you might think she has just run away. But I'm certain that that isn't the case. It was obvious that she liked Liu Cheng and he liked her back. She wouldn't have run away with another man just like that."

"But you still believe that this has to do with that man?"

Sect Master Xian nodded. "Mn. The thing that worries me most is that girl's identity. She's called Hong Bao."

"Hong Bao?" Yuchi Bing Xia repeated the name but couldn't pinpoint what Sect Master Xian was trying to tell him. He couldn't remember anyone by that name

"She is the younger sister of the Hong Ai. The genius cultivator that also vanished."

Yuchi Bing Xia blankly stared. Hong Ai? Ah, he remembered her. She had raised a storm when she appeared in the cultivation world and had done so once more when she suddenly disappeared.

"Both sisters vanished just like that …" He frowned. That was indeed suspicious.

Sect Master Xian nodded. "That is exactly what worries us. Furthermore, we found out through Hong Bao that her sister's disappearance seemed connected to a man, too. I'm afraid that the demonic sects might be at work here."

Yuchi Bing Xia nodded. "That seems to be the most likely explanation. Was Liu Cheng able to tell you anything else about that man?"

"Well, he wasn't dressed like a cultivator but instead like a rich merchant and he couldn't feel any Qi fluctuations from him so Liu Cheng thought he was a mere mortal at first. But thinking about it I'm quite sure that that man's cultivation base was just much higher than Liu Cheng's."

"Liu Cheng is talented, though. That man can't be a simple disciple."

"I think so, too. Most likely the demonic sects are planning something big. I just don't know how to counter it. Our Chun Feng Sect was always specialized in hunting demons."

"So you want my Yun Zou Sect to do something instead?" Yuchi Bing Xia sighed. He understood why that man had come to him for help. He felt a bit honored and naturally, he understood that he couldn't reject this task. If Sect master Xian was right and the demonic sects indeed planned something, then it was imperative that they thought of some countermeasures.

"Mn, Sect Master Xian, how about this? We'll send someone over to the Hei Dian Sect to gather information. If the demonic faction really plans something, then the Hei Dian Sect should be involved in it."

"That sounds good. Do you have somebody in mind?"

Yuchi Bing Xia thought it over. There were a lot of disciples in the Yun Zou Sect. Naturally, he had a lot of people to choose from. But since they didn't know if there were spies of the demonic faction in their sect they had to be cautious. It couldn't be one of their inner sect disciples. It had to be someone from the outer sect that wasn't well-known and wouldn't have attracted their attention.

"Let me think it over for a while. I'll notify you as soon as I've found a good candidate."

"Alright. Then I'll take my leave." Sect Master Xian stood up and cupped his fists.

Yuchi Bing Xia bid him farewell and sat down again with a sigh. "It seems the peaceful time is over." He sipped his tea and carefully thought over whom to send. Actually, there weren't that many candidates that came to mind.