Chapter 82: Unable to Let You Stay

Before counting her spoils, Jiang Min walked to a certain stone wall, found a hidden jade talisman, and infused it with spiritual power.

A thunderous rumble erupted!

The stone chamber shook heavily, the ground trembling, countless fragments raining from above. Jiang Min remained unperturbed. This was one of the mechanisms left behind by Feng Qiu'er; once activated, all paths leading to the chamber would be completely sealed off, preventing anyone from entering. She could now rest assured, staying here to slowly inventory her gains.

Then, she began to search the bodies of Liu Miaomiao and her two companions.

"Hmm? This gauzy garment seems to be a magical treasure."

As Jiang Min searched Liu Miaomiao's headless corpse, her fingers discovered a layer of gauze beneath the robes, supple and resilient, unlike any mundane item. She promptly stripped it off. After a brief examination, she injected spiritual energy.

Under her gaze, the gauze slowly faded from sight...

"This must be Liu Miaomiao's invisibility treasure."

Jiang Min's face brightened with delight. When the gauze concealed itself, unless one used spiritual sense to investigate, its presence was utterly imperceptible. Even with her current cultivation, she could only vaguely detect a trace of anomaly. She wondered how Liu Miaomiao had obtained such a rare artifact—now, it was hers for the taking.

Jiang Min immediately cast Purification, cleansing the garment inside and out several times. Without any hesitation about its previous owner, she donned it beneath her own robes.

Once dressed, she willed her thoughts.

Her entire figure gradually faded, vanishing within the stone chamber, only to reappear moments later.

"What a marvelous item! With this invisibility gauze and some interference techniques, I can conceal my movements even further, ready to strike or retreat as needed."

After pocketing the gauze, Jiang Min searched the others' spatial bags. With a wave of her hand, three tongues of flame descended upon the corpses, reducing them to ash. She proceeded to inventory their possessions.

"A Foundation-stage puppet? Though much damaged, perhaps it can be repaired and put to use..."

"A second-tier array disk? Useless—Yan Sixteen refined it with special methods, only he could utilize it. Best destroy it..."

"The Emerald Scaled Viper? It's recognized Liu Miaomiao as master; even in death, I can't command it. I'll have to destroy it along with its beast pouch..."

Jiang Min quickly sorted through their belongings, keeping what was useful, destroying what wasn't. She moved to the center of the chamber, located the mechanism for the underground compartment, and after some fiddling, unlocked the hidden chamber forged from Nine Yin Illusion Stone, impervious to spiritual detection.

The compartment was small.

Inside, several chests and spatial bags—Feng Qiu'er's possessions.

Jiang Min uncovered many spirit stones, puppets, array materials... and numerous jade slips and ancient tomes detailing arrays and puppet techniques. She put these away in her spatial bag, planning to study them after reaching the Foundation stage.

There were also miscellaneous items; useless ones were destroyed, useful ones set aside in a large chest to be sold through shady channels for more spirit stones when opportunity arose.

Flipping through the items, Jiang Min suddenly paused.

From among the clutter, she picked up a small, palm-sized black token, smooth and warm to the touch, neither jade nor stone, of unknown material.

"Is this the Five Elements technique Feng Qiu'er chanced upon, the 'Seven Luminaries Arcane Chapter'?"

She turned the token over and over, finding it utterly plain, without adornment. Had Feng Qiu'er not investigated, it might have been dismissed as a trinket, left unused.

Yet within it lay a profound cultivation art.

Jiang Min released a strand of spiritual sense, probing the token.

Instantly, her consciousness was swallowed by the token, as if a drop lost in the sea. Within, she beheld a world of darkness, punctuated by starlight forming lines of text:

"The Seven Luminaries are the seven celestial bodies: the Moon, the Sun, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Venus, and Mercury.

As the seven stars shine, their merit must not be forgotten.

Now, let me speak for you, and once more praise the celestial phenomena..."

The passage, numbering about a thousand characters, discussed the Seven Luminaries and the yin-yang Five Elements—seemingly merely an ode to the celestial bodies.

But Feng Qiu'er, with her keen insight, discerned hidden within the text a cultivation method, obscure and profound, requiring careful study to grasp its true meaning.

She determined it was suited for practitioners with Five Element roots, a powerful technique that could greatly accelerate cultivation. Yet, not being of such constitution herself, she only partly understood its mysteries and lost interest after a few days, relegating it to the bottom of the chest.

"The Moon and Sun represent yin and yang."

"The other five correspond to the Five Elements."

"This passage indeed conceals a Five Elements technique, though much of it remains beyond me at my current stage. I'll save it to study after Foundation establishment."

Jiang Min gleefully stored the token bearing the 'Seven Luminaries Arcane Chapter.' Finally, she finished taking stock; all of Feng Qiu'er and her three disciples' possessions were now hers.

"At last, I needn't worry about money! Now, all I must do is strengthen myself."

"Once I return from the trial, I'll seclude myself to cultivate to the twelfth layer of Qi Refining, lay a solid foundation, and prepare for Foundation establishment. With the Scarlet Flame Body and Thunderfire Refining, my physique already surpasses others of my stage—facing the Five Element Tribulation shouldn't pose a problem."

"Of course, if I could master the Wind and Thunder Body, my odds of surviving the tribulation would be even greater. I've nearly gathered all the necessary herbs, only lacking a bit of Thunder Jade Marrow... but that's rare and not worth risking for. I certainly don't want another encounter with that Master Yanming."

Jiang Min resolved to begin her journey home. She carefully checked the stone chamber, reviewed Feng Qiu'er's memories, ensuring nothing was overlooked, then reopened a hidden passage and left the chamber through it.

After some time, she finally emerged from the labyrinthine mountain paths, parted dense thickets, and crawled out through a narrow cave entrance.

"Phew! The air outside is so much fresher."

Jiang Min glanced at the sky, confirmed the direction of the northern ridge, and stepped into her Cloud-Chasing Boots, speeding toward the camp.

However—

Barely a quarter-hour had passed when Jiang Min abruptly halted, her pupils narrowing.

Ahead of her stood a tall figure clad in purple robes, poised atop a shining white ribbon of treasure light, as aloof and cold as she had been years ago. From her lofty perch, her gaze was as indifferent as if observing ants.

Jiang Ziyi.

On her shoulder perched an unremarkable gray bird, with a pair of eerily golden vertical pupils; even a glance induced dizziness.

Jiang Min did not recognize the bird, but its unwavering stare sent chills through her, a feeling of intense aversion.

"Jiang Ziyi?!"

"How did she find me? Is it because of that bird?"

In a world so vast, there existed countless ways to track a person—methods Jiang Min had never heard of—that could locate someone through various means.

She clenched her palm; the Star Frost Sword appeared in her hand. She stared into Jiang Ziyi's eyes, narrowing her own, her mind racing for a response.

"If Jiang Ziyi is still at the early Foundation stage, perhaps I could lure her into Feng Qiu'er's cave, use the binding array within to kill her."

Jiang Min was certain Jiang Ziyi wasn't here for conversation or nostalgia. As an inner disciple overseeing the trial, abandoning her post to seek Jiang Min out, her intent was clear...

"Senior Jiang, I don't understand. We have neither grievance nor enmity. Why do you persist in pursuing me?"

Jiang Min gripped her sword, squinting as she questioned.

Jiang Ziyi stood on her white ribbon, looking down at Jiang Min with an icy gaze, and slowly spoke: "Indeed, we have no grievances. Whether you killed Li Mao's cousin or not, I no longer care."

"But your cultivation speed is too fast, and you once harbored resentment toward me. If I let you grow unchecked, you would become a threat to me."

"I, Jiang Ziyi, never allow threats to flourish."

"Therefore, I can't let you live."

With these words, Jiang Ziyi raised her slender fingers, forming several seals.

Shoo, shoo, shoo!

The treasure beneath her feet, the Heavenly Net Ribbon, unfurled, transforming into countless ribbons that spread like a vast web, closing in on Jiang Min from all directions.

Heavenly Net Ribbon—an inescapable trap!