In reality, he was one of the elders tasked to inform the news to other sects, but in the middle of the way, he encountered something that resulted in the current situation.

“It’s hard to say, but basically, somehow, he is now inside the Sky Ember sect leader.”

“A possession? How? I remember the elder is not that strong. The sect leader should be at least in the golden core realm.”

“I just saw him for a moment and made a conclusion based on things I heard when I was here.”

“So you are not sure about it?” Xue Fang asked.

“No, I am sure. One of the sect elders mentioned the decision to look for those four scum came from him.

Otherwise, how do you think they met? By coincidence?

Last I heard those four were living as local tyrants in some village. There is no way they would dare to take such a risk. You know how depraved they were.”

“Hear that, MingHao? It’s not your fault,” Xue Fang said. She did not know the details, but based on his expression, she could already guess he blamed himself for the situation.

MingHao frowned. He was sure he never told her about that, so he did not know how to respond. Instead, he asked further, “Where is Elder Sakoi then? I have been trying to look for him around the city, but there are no traces of him at all.”

“Last I saw him, he was walking around this building, seemingly looking for something. Do you think there is treasure hidden here?”

‘Ancestor! Do you know any other hidden treasure in the city?’ MingHao asked through his mind.

‘No, when our family came here, this area was just another village with fertile land. I don’t think anything is hidden here.’

MingHao then asked YunYun back, “Are you sure? Do you have more information?”

YunYun then began explaining what happened. When she was tortured, her mind did not stay idle; she tried hard to focus on the voices around the area.

Even without qi, her hearing was quite sharp. Based on their talks, Elder Sakoi was looking for a specific area in the city. It was a normal plain rock, but one carved with a specific symbol.

‘A rock? With a specific symbol? But there are so many places like that in the city….’ MingHao thought.

“How about the ritual they do outside? Do you know what that is?” Xue Fang asked.

“I heard them say it’s a sacrifice prepared to unlock a seal.”

“Seal? What kind?”

Yun Yun shook her head, “I thought this was related to the treasure they were looking for. You know it’s normal for a strong cultivator to seal their wealth in a random area using a random thing as the key, just to make it hard for others to find.”

“Those stupid old bastards, that is just too greedy. Even in death, they don’t want to share their resources,” Xue Fang said with annoyance.

She had met a cultivator like this before, in the past, as she hunted down material to perfect her puppet technique.

Since the cultivator didn’t put any clues, it made her spend a lot of effort to find it. In total, she spent 50 years.

“A secret realm? Here?” MingHao mumbled in disbelief. Somehow, he felt if it was just a simple secret realm, his sister should have found it when coming to this city last time.

She just had too many methods to fail to find a place like this. And in no way would MingYue skip a place that is filled with treasure.

At the very least, she would have told him something about it.

“Ancient ritual, sacrifice, break seal…” Xue Fang mumbled as she started remembering something from the old tome of her clan.

“Do you have some idea, Xue Fang?”

MingHao asked.

“I forgot, but I have read something similar to this situation in the past. If I am right, whatever is sealed inside here is not treasure but something more sinister.”

“A demonic cultivator?” YanYu asked. She had heard many of them were sealed in the past, as it was too annoying trying to kill them.

Their bodies just kept regenerating non-stop, making the only option to extinguish their soul one that could only be achieved by special means or inner world battle.

“I am not sure, but probably something even more dangerous than that. Just see the scale of the ritual they are doing now.”

“I get it,” MingHao suddenly said. “To unlock the seal, they probably need to sacrifice a cultivator at a high realm. That is why they are doing this now, forcefully raising his cultivation, then planning to kill him afterward.”

Xue Fang tried to remember the scene she had seen, the formation array, and the people taking guard and fueling it. “Maybe that is true. So what is your goal now?

I don’t want to waste time, considering the situation, MingHao. If you want to rescue your family, you can stay here. I will go to attack their ritual ground.”

“That is too dangerous, Xue Fang. I know you are capable, but considering the situation, we don’t know how strong Elder Sakoi is now, or who knows if they have more strong people hidden.”

Feeling his concern, Xue Fang smiled, “Don’t worry; at the very least, I could escape. You should finish your mission quickly, then you can come to help me.” Find exclusive stories on empire

There are a few reasons Xue Fang decided to separate, but mostly because she didn’t want MingHao to fall into danger because he couldn’t concentrate when fighting, thinking about his cousin.

“Let’s just go together, Xue Fang. It’s not like it will take long to rescue them all. Or, at the very least, I will go with you,” YanYu suggested.

“No, you will just become a burden if you join me alone. Can you fight against a golden core cultivator?” Xue Fang asked.

YanYu froze and couldn’t answer. Xue Fang’s blunt remark made her clench her fist. Her determination to become stronger grew even further. ‘I swear I will focus on cultivation when I return.’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep