Since the Foundation Establishment Elder had spoken, Jiang Xu didn’t feel it was his place to object any further.

Don’t be fooled by how amiable Qin Muxian seemed now; it was only for Zong Ziqi’s sake.

If he were to anger the Elder, Jiang Xu would be in grave danger.

At this point, Jiang Xu could only bite the bullet and accept it.

’Worst-case scenario, I’ll just slip away right before we reach the location.’

"Since you’ve put it that way, Senior, it would be ungracious of me to refuse."

After speaking, Jiang Xu began to cast the spell.

"With heaven and earth as the medium, and the stars as the guide, let the search begin for what lies a thousand miles away."

Starlight flowed into the Sub-Insect, which immediately levitated and began to float.

Jiang Xu silently sensed the various threads of connection faintly appearing around the Sub-Insect.

Once he finished filtering the search criteria, only the thickest, strongest thread remained connected to the Sub-Insect. It then followed that invisible line, drifting off into the distance.

Qin Muxian’s heart trembled.

He had no children or grandchildren of his own.

Zong Ziqi was his first disciple.

All along, Qin Muxian had treated Zong Ziqi like his own son or grandson.

But all of that ended after Zong Ziqi accepted that mission.

Although it was the General Affairs Hall’s mistake.

But the responsibility for allowing one of the Sect’s geniuses to become a cripple was still placed on Qin Muxian.

However, the punishment handed down by the Sect was nothing compared to the torment he inflicted upon himself.

Because he felt that it was all his own fault.

Qin Muxian believed he had failed in his duty as a master, so he hated himself first and foremost. The Mother-Child Spirit-Devouring Insect was a close second.

Now that he heard he could get revenge for Zong Ziqi, he was naturally overcome with excitement!

’Ziqi, once I kill that Mother Insect and your Qi Sea is repaired, only then will I be worthy of being your master again. Trust me, that day is not far off!’

...

Jiang Xu and the other two followed the path indicated by the Sub-Insect.

Along the way, they were frequently harassed by all sorts of things.

Demon Beasts, members of hostile sects, and even people from their own Sect.

Without a second thought, Qin Muxian drove them all away—he even attacked members of their own Sect.

He was afraid these encounters would affect the accuracy of Jiang Xu’s Seeking Technique.

The three of them ventured deeper into the Endless Forest, starting from its outer edge.

Jiang Xu was also quite surprised.

’It looks like the Mother Insect is right here in the Endless Forest.’

’How did that insect manage it?’

’How could it have passed directly through the Profound Origin Sect’s Sect Protection Array and escaped into the Endless Forest?’

Jiang Xu’s thoughts turned to the insect’s name.

’Mother-Child Spirit-Devouring Insect...’

’The reason it could escape must be because of the "Spirit-Devouring" part of its name.’

’To be able to burrow through even a Tier Three Grand Array... While the outermost layer of the Sect Protection Array is admittedly its weakest point, this is more a testament to the insect’s power.’

The more troublesome the insect proved to be, the more it strengthened Jiang Xu’s resolve to eliminate it.

’If I ignore it now, I’ll only gain a moment’s peace.’

’When the trouble truly erupts, if I can’t outrun it and can’t hide from it, all that’s left is to wait for death.’

’My Concealing Breath Spell should still be somewhat effective against a Tier Two insect.’

’But once it reaches Tier Three, it probably won’t be.’

’Taking a small risk now is far better than facing a Tier Three or Tier Four insect later on.’

"How much longer?"

Since they were inside the forest, they couldn’t fly on their magical artifacts and had to rely on their own two feet. The journey was taking a long time, and Qin Muxian was growing impatient.

"Almost there!"

Jiang Xu sensed they were only about a mile or two away.

However, they were now getting rather close to the Inner Area of the Endless Forest.

The Inner Area was home to Tier Three Great Demons, equivalent to Golden Core Cultivators, and Jiang Xu definitely didn’t dare get any closer.

’If the Mother Insect is in the Inner Area, I’m ignoring these two and leaving immediately.’

The deeper they went, the more ancient and massive the surrounding trees became, and the more ferocious the Demon Beasts that lurked there.

As for Tier One Demon Beasts, the sheer pressure emanating from Qin Muxian’s Foundation Establishment cultivation was enough to keep them from daring to approach.

As for the Tier Two Demon Beasts, Zong Ziqi somehow managed to sense them whenever they neared their territory, allowing him to predict their locations in advance.

Since their only target was the Mother Insect, the group simply went around any other Tier Two Demon Beasts they encountered.

"Wait!"

Zong Ziqi’s expression changed, and he halted the group’s advance.

"What is it? Another Tier Two Demon Beast?"

"No, the surrounding auras are a chaotic mix, which is interfering with my perception. We might have reached our destination."

Hearing this, Qin Muxian raised an eyebrow and looked ahead.

Jiang Xu gave a dry laugh.

"Right, well, I won’t get in the way of your battle. I’ll be taking my leave now, then."

Without waiting for the other two to react, he turned and left, even casting a Light Body Spell to make a swift getaway.

He left the other two staring at his retreating back in astonishment.

"Heh heh, this Jiang Xiaoyou is quite a character. His personality is... one of a kind. Interesting, really. But Ziqi, I have to ask, how did you become friends with someone like that? He doesn’t seem like the type you’d usually take a liking to," Qin Muxian teased as he watched Jiang Xu’s retreating figure.

"Not at all. In the past, I might have looked down on someone like Brother Jiang, but now, I feel nothing but admiration and... envy."

"We Sword Cultivators might think it’s dashing and carefree to live on the edge of life and death, but a single moment of carelessness can lead to utter annihilation."

"But someone like Brother Jiang, who plans before acting and considers everything carefully, has a far greater chance of attaining true longevity."

Qin Muxian looked at Zong Ziqi intently, realizing he was completely serious.

"Very good. I’m gratified to see you’ve had this realization."

"Though I never expected that I, your master, could fail to teach you such a thing for so many years, only for a mere Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivator to do so in a matter of months..."

"Hm? Doesn’t that just make me seem completely useless! It seems I really am unworthy of being a master."

Seeing Qin Muxian grow despondent as he spoke, Zong Ziqi quickly changed the subject.

"Master, let’s focus on finding that Mother Insect first!"

"Right, you’re correct." Qin Muxian’s fighting spirit reignited. "Ziqi, you said before that after performing the Visualization on that object, your six senses became incredibly sharp. Try to see where that Mother Insect is now."

Zong Ziqi closed his eyes and focused, calming his mind to achieve clarity. He began to visualize the Dharma Aspect, his entire body trembling slightly.

"The Visualization Method of the Ancient Strengthening Method has six realms: Engraving, Appearance, Soul Imprint, Divine Manifestation, Spiritual Movement, and Dharma Aspect."

"I am currently only at the Engraving stage, laying the foundation for the Dharma Aspect’s outline."

"At this stage, I can borrow very few of the Dharma Aspect’s abilities, and their effects aren’t very strong. However, it should be enough to find that insect."

A moment later, Zong Ziqi opened his eyes, his gaze fixed on a specific location.

Nearby, Qin Muxian nodded to himself.

As a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he naturally had plenty of methods of his own. Right now, however, he was testing Zong Ziqi to see how much he had grown.

And from the looks of it, the results were quite good.