Chu Zhiyuan withdrew his gaze.

No wonder they wanted to take shortcuts; their determination wasn’t that firm.

He quickly shifted his attention, directing it towards the direction of the Qianye Sect, watching the battle over there.

The Evil Extermination Department had brought many elite experts this time, forming an overwhelming force as they charged into the Qianye Sect.

He did not make a move, merely observing the Venerable Statue, as the Golden Sword at his waist drew out smoothly.

It blended into the air, almost invisible, disappearing into the distant Void.

Huang Zhengyang watched as it turned from transparent to invisible, remarking, "Your sword is getting more formidable; actually, we don’t need the experts from the Evil Extermination Department, the sword alone could deal with the Qianye Sect."

"Brother Huang, you give it too much credit," Chu Zhiyuan replied with a smile. "After all, it’s just a sword; it can’t duplicate itself thousands of times, not matching the many experts of the Evil Extermination Department."

Huang Zhengyang said, "If it were nighttime, silently killing them while they sleep, how many could it eliminate?"

Chu Zhiyuan laughed, "That indeed is a clever method."

By now, the Golden Sword had already slipped into the valley, beginning to destroy the statues one by one.

It destroyed these Evil Venerable Statues as effortlessly as cutting tofu.

After it destroyed all the statues, it swiftly retreated, returning directly.

Huang Zhengyang watched it lightly slip into its sheath, marveling, "Is it over already?"

Chu Zhiyuan responded, "The Evil Venerable Statues inside are all destroyed; there’s no Undying Evil Venerable."

"That’s good." Huang Zhengyang relaxed, "Without the interference of the Evil Venerable’s power, they cannot stir up trouble."

Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

He turned to glance at Su Qi and the others heading away, "Brother Huang, I will go on ahead."

Huang Zhengyang curiously asked, "Brother Chu, do you have any business?"

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "Just some trivial matters, I’ll be off now."

He clasped his fist and disappeared.

Huang Zhengyang, growing more curious, looked around but could no longer see Chu Zhiyuan’s figure.

...

Zhu Lingyun and his group stopped beside a giant rock on a mountain peak, resting their hands on it and exhaling long breaths.

The rock had been weathered by the elements, becoming as smooth as an egg.

Zhu Lingyun sat cross-legged under the rock, calming his breath, and his expression returned to tranquility.

Su Qi and the other two also sat beside the rock.

They were now in the opposite direction from before.

The mountain peak shielded them from Chu Zhiyuan’s gaze.

A round-faced middle-aged man snorted, "Brother Su, this time we almost fell for your trick."

"It’s not just you," Su Qi shook his head, "I almost fell for my own trick too."

Zhu Lingyun said, "No one expected him to become so formidable, Brother Su can’t be blamed."

"Brother Zhuo certainly sees the bigger picture!" Su Qi praised, "Could any of you have foreseen this?"

The other two shook their heads helplessly.

Su Qi said, "Now we have to see if Hu Yaoyang will show up; with the Qianye Sect about to be destroyed, wouldn’t he intervene?"

"There’s no way he can hold back," the round-faced middle-aged man said.

The lean middle-aged man remarked, "The Qianye Sect’s experts will surely summon him for help, and with his arrogance, he will definitely show up. By then, he will inevitably die at Chu Zhiyuan’s hands, and the Third Elder will have to intervene."

"Haha..." The round-faced middle-aged man couldn’t help but laugh, "It’s truly a flawless strategy, this move is too powerful, impossible to counter!"

Zhu Lingyun sighed, "Indeed, it cannot be countered."

Su Qi smiled proudly, waving his hand, "It’s not necessarily impossible to counter."

"How can it be countered?" the round-faced middle-aged man skeptically asked, "Tell us."

Su Qi said, "If they can quickly destroy the Qianye Sect, not giving it the chance to summon Hu Yaoyang, Hu Yaoyang probably won’t die at Chu Zhiyuan’s hands."

"The Evil Extermination Department isn’t capable of that," the lean middle-aged man said, "Otherwise, the Qianye Sect would’ve been destroyed long ago."

The round-faced middle-aged man nodded repeatedly, "Exactly, they can’t achieve that level."

He then suggested, "Even if they actually manage to do it, we can lend a hand to the Qianye Sect’s experts... How about we go over and have a look?"

Su Qi said, "We need to see if Chu Zhiyuan has entered the Qianye Sect."

"How can we know if he’s there or not?" the round-faced middle-aged man asked, "I’m afraid to keep an eye on him."

He couldn’t help visualizing Chu Zhiyuan’s gaze, seemingly smiling yet dismissive, as if overlooking.

This gaze, close to his mind, faintly carried a teasing overtone, unnerving him.

Recalling Chu Zhiyuan’s secret techniques and cultivation made his heart tremble, wishing nothing more than to immediately return to You Meng Heaven.

Su Qi frowned, pondering.

He was thinking about how to determine if Chu Zhiyuan was within the sect or not.

He wouldn’t dare leap onto the rock to look into the distance; it would be suicidal.

"Let me take a look," Zhu Lingyun said, "to see if Hu Huixiang has descended."

"This..." Su Qi hesitated, "Brother Zhuo, that’s too dangerous."

Zhu Lingyun replied, "I’ll just sneak into the Qianye Sect to have a look, won’t make a move."

Su Qi said, "Even so, you might be discovered by Chu Zhiyuan; you know how acute Chu Zhiyuan is."

The round-faced middle-aged man added, "He’s so difficult to deal with, best not to get involved."

"But we can’t sit idle and do nothing," Zhu Lingyun said, "Are we just going to wait like this?"

"That’s not necessarily a bad tactic," Su Qi replied.

The two middle-aged men quickly nodded.

In the current situation, moving too much would attract Chu Zhiyuan’s attention; if they could stay still, they should.

Zhu Lingyun shook his head, "You’ve really been scared out of your wits by Chu Zhiyuan."

"Brother Zhuo, caution is advised."

"I’ll be back soon," Zhu Lingyun turned and left, not giving them a chance to stop him.

"Alas..." The round-faced middle-aged man shook his head, "Brother Zhuo is too reckless!"

"Truly unafraid of death," the lean middle-aged man said, "If he gets killed by Chu Zhiyuan, it would give him the chance to use his secret technique and come after us."

"Brother Su, you’re not stopping him?" the round-faced middle-aged man asked.

Su Qi shook his head, sighing, "Brother Zhuo’s heroic spirit is admirable, I can’t compare."

The two middle-aged men looked at him helplessly.

Su Qi said, "However, Brother Zhuo is very cautious in his actions and should have confidence in evading Chu Zhiyuan."

The round-faced middle-aged man said, "Hopefully so, should we leave here first to avoid any trouble, in case he draws Chu Zhiyuan over?"

The lean middle-aged man nodded quickly, "Better safe than sorry."

"Alright, let’s head over there," Su Qi pointed to the eastern mountain peak.

As soon as the three of them floated to that mountain peak, Zhu Lingyun returned and recounted his observations: the statues were completely destroyed, the Qianye Sect couldn’t summon Hu Huixiang, and there’s no more chance for a summoning.

"Destroyed?"

"Yes, they’re already destroyed, our plan this time was foiled."

"Who destroyed it?" the round-faced middle-aged man asked.

"The Evil Extermination Department, I’d guess," Zhu Lingyun said.

Su Qi said in a deep voice, "The Evil Extermination Department couldn’t destroy the statues... there’s only one possibility."

"And who is it?" the lean middle-aged man asked, "Could it be Chu Zhiyuan?"

Su Qi slowly nodded, "From the information I gathered, only Chu Zhiyuan could destroy the Divine Statues, but I didn’t expect him to act so quickly."

"He did act swiftly," Zhu Lingyun said, "What other options are there?"

"It’s okay," Su Qi said, "The Qianye Sect can’t only have this one place, other locations with Divine Statues will summon Hu Huixiang, and Hu Huixiang will certainly come and cause trouble for Chu Zhiyuan."

Zhu Lingyun said, "Does the Qianye Sect have another base? Where is it?"

"Follow me," Su Qi said, "They should have received the news as well."

He rose and drifted away.

The three of them followed, traveling for an hour, arriving at a small city.

After entering the city, they went directly to a mansion in the northern part of the city.

This mansion had high eaves with multiple layers, painted doors with copper nails, looking very grand, obviously belonging to someone either rich or noble.

Zhu Lingyun was surprised, "Here?"

Su Qi smiled smugly, "Didn’t expect it, did you? They put their stronghold in the city."

Zhu Lingyun asked, "Aren’t they afraid of being discovered?"

Su Qi replied, "The statue is placed underground, how would it be discovered?... I’ll go in by myself, you all wait outside for a bit."

"Alright." The three of them agreed without hesitation.