"That's for sure. Otherwise, my master wouldn't have let me come out for trials alone."
Cultivators who dared to venture out alone must possess their own skills.
"What do we do now?" An Tao hurried to Chu Lingwei's side, looking at the people lying on the ground. "Once they die, someone will definitely find out."
"Their base should be over there," Chu Lingwei said, looking at a mountain not far away, shrouded in darkness.
"Are you going there?" An Tao couldn't help but frown. It wasn't that she didn't believe in Chu Lingwei's strength, but that she didn't believe they could storm the place.
"No need to go in. We just need to destroy it."
Chu Lingwei wanted to see what kind of place it was, having learned about how many female cultivators they had taken away like this.
An Tao's eyes lit up. That was a good idea.
"Alright, let's go destroy it then."
"Let's go. We should find a place to hide first. Those people must already know we killed their men and escaped." Chu Lingwei sensed several unfamiliar presences heading their way. She took An Tao onto their flying artifact, concealing their aura.
Soon, two figures appeared where they had just been standing.
"They're actually dead." Both men were dressed in luxurious robes, with spiritual energy flashing on them. They were mid-grade magical robes and possessed strong cultivation.
"Big brother, who would kill them?" A sharp-featured, sallow-skinned man squatted on the ground. Seeing that the people on the ground had been killed with a single sword strike, he became somewhat worried. "Could someone know about our..."
"No," the cultivator called 'big brother' interrupted him, snorting coldly. "No matter who it is, they wouldn't dare to oppose the Master. We should go report this to the Master now and let him decide."
After saying that, the two men quickly left with the corpses.
Chu Lingwei and An Tao remained motionless. A quarter of an hour later, the two men returned. After searching around, they said with grim faces, "Go, have people search the entire city for those two Spirit Wheel Realm female cultivators."
"Yes."
Half an hour later, Chu Lingwei piloted their flying artifact towards the direction the men had left.
As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is often the safest.
"These people must have a very powerful person behind them, or they have a backer," An Tao said with a cold expression. She would not let the matter of persecuting Spirit Wheel Realm female cultivators go unpunished. "No, I must tell my master about this and have him help us."
"Do you have a way to contact your master through a secret technique?" Chu Lingwei asked.
An Tao was taken aback by Chu Lingwei's question. "There is one, but it can only be activated when I am in mortal danger."
Her master had given her some life-saving items or means to call for help to protect her.
"We can't use ordinary communication talismans casually now. I don't think we can send any messages out." If it was just an ordinary communication talisman, Chu Lingwei couldn't guarantee they could get the message out.
"You mean they can intercept our communication talismans?" An Tao's grip on her sword tightened.
Chu Lingwei wasn't entirely sure. "They've captured so many Spirit Wheel Realm female cultivators. Many of them must be disciples of various sects."
Some sect disciples would have life-saving items from their sects or their masters. However, no news had come out from here, which meant that the abduction of these female cultivators had not been discovered.
The security measures here were very thorough. They had to be careful and couldn't make any mistakes.
"They are truly detestable," An Tao said resentfully, feeling a sense of lingering fear. If she had come here alone for trials, even if she had discovered something was wrong early on, she might not have been able to escape. "Weiwei, we must find a way to destroy this place, or at least send a message out."
As long as her master knew she was in danger, he would come to save her immediately.
"Let's try." If she were alone, Chu Lingwei would have been confident in destroying the place without being discovered. Now, with An Tao added, she couldn't reveal all her secrets, which made facing powerful entities somewhat difficult.
"I believe you can do it."
An Tao had an inexplicable confidence in Chu Lingwei and felt no burden.
Chu Lingwei: "..." Honestly, she had no confidence at all.
Soon, their path was blocked by a mountain.
"Be careful, there's a barrier ahead." An Tao pulled Chu Lingwei's arm, staring at the seemingly normal mountain. "There's a barrier ahead. As soon as we touch it, we'll be discovered by the people inside."
"Weiwei, I can break through the barrier." The Illusion Cat within her spatial artifact heard Chu Lingwei encountering trouble and quickly transmitted its voice.
Such a small barrier was no difficulty for it.
"Is there a way for us to enter safely without breaking the barrier, and without being discovered?" Chu Lingwei could break the barrier herself if needed. All barriers, with enough power, were not an issue.
A muffled voice came from the spatial artifact, "This, I can't do."
"Let's wait here and observe the situation first." Chu Lingwei found a place to stop, and the two of them began to observe their surroundings.
This was the enemy's base, so there would surely be people coming and going.
An entire night passed without anyone passing by.
"What do we do now?" An Tao stood still, feeling anxious. A mere barrier had blocked their way.
"Wait."
Chu Lingwei was very patient. This was the only place they could get any information, so there was only one word: "Wait."
In the afternoon, the barrier in front of them rippled. The two women immediately looked and saw the man from last night, his face grim.
Two ordinary cultivators rode their swords to the man and knelt to greet him.
"Still haven't found them?" the man asked coldly. Jinyang City wasn't that big. How could they not find two Spirit Wheel Realm female cultivators?
"Reporting to you, sir, we haven't."
"Hmph, have they just vanished?" The man unleashed a powerful spiritual energy, sending the two people in front of him flying. " Hurry up and find them! If anything happens to this year's courtesan, we'll all face the same fate."
The two cultivators got up from the ground and fled.
Chu Lingwei and An Tao exchanged glances. It seemed the problem lay with this year's courtesan.
"Weiwei, you can follow this person in." The Illusion Cat's voice came, making Chu Lingwei's heart leap with joy.
"An Tao, wait for me here for a moment. I'll go in and take a look." It would definitely be dangerous inside the barrier. Bringing An Tao would mean an extra risk.
"Do you have a way to get in?" An Tao asked anxiously. "I'm worried about you."
Chu Lingwei patted An Tao's hand. "I have my own ways of protecting myself. If I bring you along, I can't guarantee that both of us will come out alive."