The three individuals consisted of one with a composed face clad in dark robes, another in resplendent brocade with a frivolous gaze, and finally, a woman around thirty years old, her charm still lingering.
"Ah, so it's Senior Brother Xun from under the command of Senior Soul Fragmentation. What a coincidence." Upon seeing these three disciples of the Soul Fragmentation True Person, the woman surnamed Liu immediately offered a radiant smile.
However, the three cultivators on the opposite side heard her words and coldly sized them up a few times, their expressions appearing rather gloomy.
The woman among them, in particular, wore an unfriendly look as she questioned: "Coincidence? You two junior sisters from the Spirit Command Sect, instead of staying properly in the Yuanwu Kingdom, why have you secretly run into the Yue Kingdom! Do you look down on our Ghost Spirit Gate so much?"
"Senior Sister Lin has misunderstood. Sister Han and I came to the Yue Kingdom this time precisely on our master's orders. The matter was urgent and brooked no delay, so we didn't have time to inform your honorable sect. Furthermore, we will only be staying in the Yue Kingdom for a few short days before leaving, and we hold no intention of slighting your honorable sect." The woman surnamed Liu chuckled softly and explained.
"Regardless of why you two junior sisters have come to the Yue Kingdom, I, Xun, do not wish to inquire further into this matter. I only wish to ask one thing: did you two visit the Taiyue Mountain Range a few days ago to retrieve something?" The dark-clothed cultivator stared at the woman surnamed Liu, his voice devoid of emotion.
"The Taiyue Mountains! Senior Brother Xun, are you referring to the Taiyue Mountain Range where the Seven Sects' Yellow Maple Valley used to be located in the former Yue Kingdom?" Han Yunzhi's brow furrowed, a hint of strangeness on her face.
"Oh? So you two junior sisters really have been there." The cultivator surnamed Xun maintained his composure, but a cold glint flickered briefly in his eyes.
Upon hearing these words, the brocade-robed scholar and the woman beside him both tensed simultaneously, hostility flickering across their faces.
Han Yunzhi and the woman surnamed Liu exchanged a glance upon seeing this.
Neither of them was foolish; both had caught the undertone of hostility in the other party's words.
However, the two of them had never visited the Taiyue Mountain Range. They had only been using their techniques to remotely track the location of the spirit infant from a distance. They knew that the cultivator who had placed the restriction on the spirit infant had lingered somewhere in the Taiyue Mountains for the better part of half a day.
After a subtle roll of her eyes, the woman surnamed Liu parted her cherry lips and ventured: "We sisters have never been to the Taiyue Mountains. However, about a hundred li behind us, there is a cultivator who stayed in the Taiyue Mountains for some time — roughly the same duration you mentioned, Senior Brother Xun. Could it be that you are looking for this person?"
"A hundred li behind you? Junior Sister Liu, surely you are not talking nonsense. How would you know that this person stayed in the Taiyue Mountains? Could it be that this is a fellow disciple of your sect as well?" The brocade-robed scholar let his eyes roam brazenly over the two women's graceful figures several times before suddenly speaking with a grin.
"Senior Brother Que, you jest. We two are in the Yue Kingdom — how could we dare deceive several senior brothers so brazenly? If you don't believe me, I am willing to swear an oath to the heavens. All you need to do is go back and ask for yourself, and you will know whether this is true or not. We do not know this person, and as for how we learned of this matter — it is somewhat complicated to explain. I have urgent business that requires me to be on my way, so perhaps I can give you a proper explanation another time?" The woman surnamed Liu said, a slight blush on her cheeks, her eyes shimmering like autumn waters. Her entire bearing appeared exceptionally alluring and captivating, leaving the brocade-robed scholar staring as if his eyes had gone rigid.
Seeing the woman surnamed Liu's expression, the dark-robed cultivator furrowed his brow, half-believing and half-doubting.
After a moment's hesitation, his expression softened and he said: "If it were an ordinary matter, I would naturally have complete faith in Junior Sister Liu's words. However, this time, our Sixth Junior Brother and some of his sect members were killed in the Taiyue mountain range — not even a shred of bone was left behind. This has thrown my master into a towering rage. I have investigated high-level cultivators who have recently entered the Yue Kingdom, and it seems your party's movements are the only ones that have been overly suspicious. Since Junior Sister Liu has identified the person behind you as having once stayed at Mount Taiyue, why not come with us for a confrontation? I would very much like to see who that person really is. If they truly are the one who killed our Sixth Junior Brother, I will certainly reward both of you handsomely afterward." The dark-robed cultivator finished speaking without betraying any emotion, then fixed his gaze on the Spirit Beast Sect party.
"A confrontation?" The woman surnamed Liu was momentarily stunned, then showed a look of difficulty.
"What, are you two Junior Sisters unwilling to help with even this small favor?" The dark-robed cultivator asked in what seemed a casual, offhand manner, but the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators behind him closed in half-circle around them in unison, clearly ready to strike if refused.
When she saw this situation developing, the woman surnamed Liu's expression changed slightly. She was about to say something more when suddenly she looked back with a startled expression.
It was not just this woman — every cultivator present felt a powerful and ice-cold spiritual sense descend from the sky without any restraint, enveloping their entire group in an instant.
Though no person was visible, that bone-piercing hostility was something anyone could clearly sense.
"It's a Nascent Soul cultivator! The person you spoke of is actually a Nascent Soul old monster — were you trying to trick us into getting ourselves killed?!" The still-attractive woman, shaken by the terror of that spiritual sense, couldn't help but shout in alarm and fury.
"Enough talk! Split up and flee immediately — whoever can get away, gets away!" Though the cultivator surnamed Xun was equally furious, he was well aware this was no time to settle accounts. After speaking in a low, grave voice, he immediately transformed into a streak of dark light and fled first.
"That person may not necessarily be the one who killed Sixth Junior Brother. Perhaps we don't need to be this afraid." The brocade-robed scholar, though shaken, hesitated and spoke up.
"Hmph! If you wish to hand your life over to someone else, Senior Brother, then forgive me for not joining you!" The woman said coldly, then transformed into a streak of red light and broke through the sky in another direction.