I forge immortality with a pagoda.

He calmed down a bit, then glanced at Xiao Er and Xiao Wu beside him, his expression somewhat complicated.

Since they started following him, these two have almost never spoken a word, and their faces have never shown any change in expression.

Shen Yu hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Two seniors?"

The two men turned their heads and stared coldly at Shen Yu without saying a word.

Shen Yuqiang composed himself, coughed twice, and said, "Seniors, we have been searching here for some time, but we have not found any trace of Fairy Yueling. The ruins of this Daoist temple are vast, and searching blindly is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Do you two have any methods for finding her? If you can find Fairy Yueling as soon as possible, you can report back to Fellow Daoist Xiao."

Upon hearing this, the two black-clad cultivators remained silent for a moment before shaking their heads.

Upon seeing this, Shen Yu felt utterly overwhelmed with anxiety.

Just as he was racking his brains for a solution, a rustling sound suddenly came from the woods behind the side hall.

"Hmm?" Shen Yu immediately became alert and turned her gaze toward the source of the sound.

In the dim shadows of the forest, a short, blurry shadow seemed to flash by, moving swiftly and leaving only a slight sway of branches and leaves.

After a moment's thought, Shen Yu gave Xiao Er and Xiao Wu a wink, then leaped into the tall grass and carefully gave chase.

The figure seemed to sense something, darting left and right through the forest, its form appearing and disappearing intermittently, always maintaining a distance of about twenty or thirty feet from Shen Yu, neither letting him catch up easily nor completely shaking him off.

Seeing that his pursuit had yielded no results, Shen Yu stopped and ceased his advance, wary of falling into a trap.

The shadow in front also paused, sticking to the back of an ancient tree, peeking out half its head, and looking in Shen Yu's direction.

The light was dim, and the shadows of the trees were looming. Shen Yu strained to see, but could only make out a blurry outline.

Although it resembled a human, it was unusually short, no more than three or four feet tall, with short limbs, and its body seemed to be covered with thick, grayish-brown hair.

Seeing Shen Yu stop, it seemed a little anxious, its short arms stretched out from behind the tree, waving wildly in the air and making some incomprehensible gestures.

"This thing is very strange, neither human nor beast, nor like an ordinary spirit."

Shen Yu was filled with suspicion and uncertainty. "Judging from their actions, it seems like they're deliberately leading me somewhere. Is it a trap? Or do they have some other motive?"

He tried, and cautiously took a step forward. Sure enough, the shadow behind the tree immediately moved a little distance.

Shen Yu's heart skipped a beat: "It really is guiding the way... Could it be related to Senior Sister's disappearance?"

Yue Ling might be in danger at this moment, so no clue should be overlooked. Moreover, with Xiao Er and Xiao Wu, two Foundation Establishment cultivators, by her side, as long as she doesn't fall into a deadly formation or encounter someone above the Golden Core stage, her life should be safe.

"Fine, I'll go with you and see where you're trying to lead me."

Shen Yu composed herself, took a step, and slowly followed.

......

A solitary peak in a secluded valley, shrouded in mist amidst deep forests.

Yue Ling leaned against the rock wall, her chest heaving violently, each breath causing excruciating pain in her internal organs.

She clearly sensed that her dantian was completely empty, and she had forcibly forced out the last wisp of true qi.

"cough..."

She gritted her teeth, trembling as she raised her right hand, and in her palm, a ball of cool, bright moonlight condensed.

Without the slightest hesitation, she poured this last bit of true qi into the Sky-Wandering Talisman.

This talisman is a secret treasure for concealment, which I obtained together with Haoyue Youzhen back then, both belonging to that senior's legacy.

When fully activated, it can not only transform its master into a roc, allowing them to travel thousands of miles in an instant, but if the master's cultivation level is high enough, it can even briefly tear through the void to achieve teleportation within a small area.

However, at this moment, Yue Ling, who was exhausted, found it extremely difficult to even activate her ability to fly.

"There! Don't let her activate the secret treasure again!"

Deng Xiyang's shout was almost within reach, and several powerful auras were converging from all directions.

"Buzz—!"

The jade talisman suddenly emitted a brilliant light, and a roc's cry resounded through the sky. In an instant, Yue Ling's figure became blurred, and a magnificent roc phantom materialized on the spot.

The phantom raised its head and let out a long cry. With a flap of its wings, it stirred up a fierce gust of air, carrying it into the sky, where it was about to disappear into the heavens.

"Don't let her get away! Otherwise, none of you will live!"

Deng Xiyang roared in exasperation.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Below, Muqinhu and the others had already drawn their bows and nocked their arrows. The arrows formed from their true qi transformed into countless streams of light, striking first despite being behind, and fiercely biting at the illusory image of Tianpeng.

Despite the protective aura of the Sky-Wandering Talisman, the two powerful arrows still pierced through her defenses. One grazed her ribs, leaving a trail of blood, while the other pierced deep into Yue Ling's left shoulder.

In mid-air, Yue Ling let out a painful cry. The illusory image of the Heavenly Roc dimmed rapidly, its flight came to an abrupt halt, and it plummeted from a height of tens of feet, crashing heavily to the ground.

"Cough cough..."

She struggled to get up, but failed due to the severity of her injuries. Now, she even has great difficulty raising her arm.

Several cultivators immediately leaped around Yue Ling and surrounded her.

"Run! You bitch, you think you're so fast? Let's see where you can run this time!"

Deng Xiyang strode forward, extremely pleased with himself.

He leaned down, reached out and lifted Yue Ling's chin with his fingers, forcing her to look him in the eye.

Bathed in the dim light, the woman's pale face and stubborn eyes only fueled Deng Xiyang's even stronger desire to conquer her.

He remembered being ignored by Yue Ling before, and in a fit of rage, he raised his hand and slapped her hard across the face.

A clear, blood-red handprint instantly appeared on Yue Ling's fair cheek.

Muqinhu watched from the side, his old face twitching slightly. He lowered his eyelids and dared not say a word.

"Pah!"

Yue Ling abruptly turned her head, spitting the bloody saliva from her mouth fiercely at Deng Xiyang, "Shameless scoundrel, worse than a pig or a dog, truly disgusting!"

Deng Xiyang was spat in the face, but instead of getting angry, he stuck out his tongue and licked the blood off his lips, becoming even more excited.

"Okay, okay, okay!"

"I love your haughty attitude. I hope you can maintain this tough stance later. Don't come crying and begging for mercy, that would be so boring, hahaha!"

Amidst his maniacal laughter, he grabbed Yue Ling's slender neck and lifted her off the ground.

With his other hand, he grabbed the front of her moon-white Taoist robe and, with a sinister grin, tore it open with all his might.

With a "rip," her outer garment tore open, revealing a plain inner garment and a patch of delicate skin.

Despair instantly overwhelmed Yue Ling.

Humiliation and resentment surged into her heart. Her eyes hardened, and she resolved to detonate her dantian and perish together with Deng Xiyang.

However, she was shocked to discover that no matter how she tried to activate her divine sense, she could not mobilize even a trace of true qi.

"How could this be?!"

Yue Ling's pupils suddenly contracted, her heart filled with extreme horror.

The corners of Muqinhu's mouth turned up slightly, and a dark, shimmering light flickered in his palm.

He had already pushed the power of the Void Annihilation Lock to its limit, which could not only block void communication, but also affect the operation of spiritual energy and lock the dantian and sea of ​​qi.

"Don't waste your energy, fairy. With my Spirit-Extinguishing Lock here, even if you grow wings, you will never escape my grasp."

Hearing this, Deng Xiyang became even more arrogant, leaning close to Yue Ling's ear, "Be a good girl and obey, and I promise you, in a moment I'll let you taste what true bliss is, an experience of ecstasy that will make you feel like you're dying of pleasure~~"

......

......