As he floated over the wall and entered the mansion, the round-faced middle-aged man shook his head: "Is it necessary to be so secretive?"

The thin middle-aged man said softly: "This is a secret nest, we must be careful. Once it’s leaked, they often silence the witnesses."

"Silence us?!" The round-faced middle-aged man laughed, sneering slightly: "Do they even have that ability!"

"Don’t forget we’re not at our full strength," the thin middle-aged man replied.

The round-faced middle-aged man pouted, "Even not at full strength, dealing with them is a breeze."

He turned his head to look at Zhu Lingyun, who was serene and motionless: "Brother Zhu, what do you think?"

Zhu Lingyun said indifferently, "Let’s wait and see."

The two middle-aged men exchanged glances and shook their heads.

Yet Zhu Lingyun was secretly smiling inside.

A shadow suddenly flickered, and Su Qi appeared, his face dark and stormy.

"Brother Su, what’s wrong?" the round-faced middle-aged man asked hastily.

"Let’s go!" Su Qi said in a low voice.

He floated away like a phantom, swiftly moving along the wall, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

The round-faced middle-aged man was utterly baffled, and he turned to look at the thin middle-aged man.

The thin middle-aged man said, "Let’s follow."

The three of them turned to glance at the grand mansion, sensing the aura inside was normal.

There was a group of experts inside, their auras intense, but no signs of combat.

Why was Su Qi in such a state?

They closely followed Su Qi out of the city, racing outside for dozens of miles before stopping.

Stopping in a woodland at the mountainside, resting against ancient trees, Su Qi exhaled a long breath.

"Brother Su, what exactly happened?" the round-faced middle-aged man was intensely curious.

Su Qi said in a deep voice, "The divine statue has already been destroyed."

"What do you mean?" the round-faced middle-aged man was puzzled.

Su Qi said coldly, "The divine statues have all been destroyed, and they still don’t know!"

"How’s that possible?!" the round-faced middle-aged man was even more baffled: "Don’t they worship daily, how could they not know?"

Zhu Lingyun said indifferently, "It must have been done not long ago, after their ritual today."

"They destroyed the divine statue in complete secret, and they didn’t know?" the round-faced middle-aged man laughed: "Is that possible? Who has that ability?"

He believed that no one could achieve such a feat.

These experts of the Qianye Sect are connected to the divine statues; if they are lost, they will definitely sense it.

If the divine statues are destroyed, they would feel as if struck by a sword.

"Chu Zhiyuan, perhaps?" Zhu Lingyun said indifferently.

"Him—?" the round-faced middle-aged man frowned, looking at Su Qi.

Su Qi gritted his teeth: "Besides him, no one else could do it!"

"How did he find this place?" the round-faced middle-aged man said: "Even if he interrogated the experts from Qianye Sect, it couldn’t have been this fast, right?"

The thin middle-aged man shook his head: "Impossible, moreover, the disciples of the Qianye Sect can’t be interrogated."

The disciples of this Evil Sect, Qianye Sect, have the method of self-immolation. If something goes wrong, it’s easy for them to commit suicide.

They prefer to die rather than disclose information.

It’s impossible to obtain any information from the disciples of the Qianye Sect.

Zhu Lingyun said, "Brother Su, are there any secret places left in the Qianye Sect?"

"...There is one more," Su Qi said through gritted teeth.

The round-faced middle-aged man admired: "Brother Su, you are indeed formidable, to be able to know even this."

The thin middle-aged man said, "After all, it’s the mental method from Qianye Valley, Brother Su can hear their inner thoughts."

For the Undying Evil Venerable, if the mental method is the same, they can easily hear the followers’ prayers.

So it’s easy to know the secrets of the Qianye Sect that outsiders can’t learn.

Su Qi said: "This is the last place, if the divine statue here is also destroyed, our plan will fail!"

"The last place also destroyed; that’s impossible, right?" the round-faced middle-aged man said.

"Let’s go!" Su Qi gritted his teeth.

...

An hour later, they stopped at the foot of a mountain cliff, looking at the cave halfway up the mountain.

Su Qi floated down from the cave, drifting gently like a feather, looking gloomy.

Seeing his expression, the three of them didn’t need to ask, they knew the outcome.

"Was the divine statue here destroyed again?" the round-faced middle-aged man asked.

The thin middle-aged man and Zhu Lingyun closely watched Su Qi.

Su Qi gritted his teeth, "Destroyed!"

"When was this done?" the round-faced middle-aged man said: "It can’t have just been destroyed, right?"

Su Qi gritted his teeth, "Don’t know when it was destroyed, those fools!"

Zhu Lingyun said, "It may not be their incompetence; perhaps Chu Zhiyuan has a Secret Technique that can block their perception. After all, experts in two secret places can’t all be so incompetent."

"What Secret Technique?" the round-faced middle-aged man asked.

Zhu Lingyun shook his head: "Hard to say; the Court has many Secret Techniques. The Ascension Technique from before is one of them, no one managed to master it, so it remained unknown. But Chu Zhiyuan could master it; if so with the Ascension Technique, what about other Miracle Techniques?"

"...This Chu Zhiyuan, he must be eliminated!" Su Qi gritted his teeth.

He increasingly felt Chu Zhiyuan was a great threat, unable to sleep soundly unless he was eliminated.

Zhu Lingyun said: "If we no longer descend, it doesn’t matter to us if Chu Zhiyuan is strong or weak."

"Can you endure being idle?" Su Qi asked.

The round-faced middle-aged man shook his head: "Endure it? It’s hard to do, considering there are many places to descend to, but few as good as this one."

"Can’t endure it," the thin middle-aged man shook his head: "But this Chu Zhiyuan can’t be removed, ... this time our plan failed, it’s impossible for the Third Elder to deal with him now."

"Third Elder..." Su Qi looked up at the sky.

Zhu Lingyun said: "Brother Su, do you still have any ideas?"

Su Qi slowly nodded: "There is one more move!"

"Quick, tell us!" the round-faced middle-aged man urged: "There’s still a move?"

"Just leak the news to Hu Yaoyang," Su Qi said: "His divine statues were completely destroyed; he must be anxious and furious."

"How will you leak it to him?" the round-faced middle-aged man asked: "The divine statues are destroyed, how can he connect to here?"

"What if we give him a hand?" Su Qi smiled.

"How do we help him?" the round-faced middle-aged man asked: "Are we supposed to build a divine statue for him?"

He shook his head, "That’s too great a cost; forget it."

The thin middle-aged man said slowly: "The problem is, if we do this favor, we’ll be discovered by the Third Elder and pulled in."

Su Qi said: "Then I’ll find someone to send him a direct message."

Zhu Lingyun said: "With the Third Elder’s abilities, he can trace it back to you."

Su Qi sneered: "I’ll have someone spread it in the taverns, making it known to the whole world; no matter how skilled the Third Elder is, he can’t trace it back to me."

"Impressive, Brother Su," the round-faced middle-aged man praised: "That’s a good plan."

The thin middle-aged man nodded as well.

Zhu Lingyun said: "It’s worth a try, then let’s go back now... the longer we stay here, the more likely something will happen, always feels dangerous."

"Yes, let’s retreat quickly!" the round-faced middle-aged man urged: "I’m also jittery."

Su Qi took a deep breath and said slowly: "Let’s retreat, once the Third Elder eliminates Chu Zhiyuan, we’ll return!"

"Right."

"Then let’s each go our separate ways," Zhu Lingyun said: "Regroup at You Meng Heaven."

"Regroup at You Meng Heaven," the round-faced middle-aged man laughed: "The four of us together can explore many places, searching for fortuitous encounters, perhaps even break through to becoming a Divine Venerable."

"Precisely." Su Qi forced a smile.

They each shot off in four different directions.

Zhu Lingyun drew a Light Gate in mid-air and stepped through, disappearing.

The next moment, he appeared in a small courtyard in You Meng Heaven.

Chu Zhiyuan, meanwhile, returned to Xiao Ruoling’s courtyard in Profound Yin Palace.

He was very satisfied.

Having destroyed all the divine statues of the Qianye Sect, especially in the other two places, preempting Su Qi by a step, effortlessly.

Xiao Ruoling saw him appear and greeted him with a charming smile.

Soon, the two of them pressed their palms together and continued their cultivation.

Chu Zhiyuan felt the changes in his body, constantly breaking through his limits.

Vaguely, it was as if he saw the opportunity for a breakthrough.