Chapter 949: River State Has Changed
Ji Zhiyuan knew escape from the Five Colored Soul Devouring Flag was impossible, regardless of his techniques. Just as he prepared to plead for mercy, the flag descended. After the five colors faded, Ji Zhiyuan showed no signs of life; his soul was gone.
Ye Mo admired the flag's power, yet disliked its grim nature. Still, it was the most effective means for dealing with someone like Ji Zhiyuan. He hadn't lingered because his situation was perilous; he needed to return to River State and evacuate everyone.
After taking Ji Zhiyuan's ring, he discovered one of the injured Golden Core cultivators was missing—the one he'd heavily wounded. Desperate, Ye Mo burned the bodies and fled on Zi Xu.
En route, he forcefully suppressed his injuries using cultivation essence, allowing no time for recovery. He had to reach River State before the Ghost Immortal Sect issued a wanted order. While he could have retreated to the Golden Page World to recover, the risk of his base being discovered was too high.
About half an hour later, two cultivators arrived at the scene. Their faces were grim. One was short, the other tall. Had Ye Mo known these were Nascent Soul cultivators—one even at the tertiary stage—he would have rejoiced at his timely escape.
"Zhiyuan was killed here, his soul taken," the tall cultivator stated calmly, though fury burned in his eyes.
The short cultivator crowed, "Such wickedness! He used an artifact to steal souls—from the Ghost Immortal Sect!"
"He can't be far. Let me find his chi," the short cultivator said, producing a disk-like artifact. His frown deepened.
"What's wrong?" the tall cultivator asked.
The short cultivator shook his head. "There are formation marks. He used a formation to kill Ji Zhiyuan and the others. Clearly not a Nascent Soul cultivator, yet his stealth is astonishing for a mere Golden Core cultivator. I can find nothing useful."
After erasing all evidence, Ye Mo focused solely on escape, tossing Ji Zhiyuan's storage ring into the Golden Page World without a second glance. He initially planned to use the teleportation formation in Broken Leaf City, but opted for a safer route, flying several days to Luo Shan City before teleporting to Sharp City.
Despite his increased speed, he only reached River State City seven days later. Had he not been delayed escaping Herb Valley, the journey would have taken less than two days. He knew returning to Broken Leaf City might have trapped him.
Disguising himself, Ye Mo entered the city, blending with the crowd. The city was less populated. He used his spirit sense to scan China Pharmaceuticals, and his blood ran cold. His body trembled; the bleak chi from his wounds broke through his cultivation essence.
His worst fear had come true: China Pharmaceuticals was in ruins. What of Ye Ling, Song Yangzhu, and the others? Who had done this? The Ghost Immortal Sect? The All Pill Tower? River State's high-level cultivators were Nascent Soul stage; how could they have overcome China Pharmaceuticals with Li Yuqian present?
The scene showed evidence of a large battle, surrounded by a triggered formation.
"Friend, are you alright?" someone asked, seeing Ye Mo wiping sweat.
Surprised by the kindness, Ye Mo shook his head. "I'm fine. Just old wounds." He knew his pale face betrayed him despite the Nine Transformations disguise.
The chi-gathering cultivator was about to leave, but Ye Mo stopped him. "Dao friend, I heard China Pharmaceuticals' pills are excellent. How come I don't see it?"
The cultivator looked around nervously, pulling Ye Mo aside. "Friend, you're not from here. Don't mention China Pharmaceuticals."
"Why?" Ye Mo asked, his clenched hands bleeding.
"China Pharmaceuticals offended the All Pill Sect. They relied on the Immortal Treasure Tower for support, but two months ago, the All Pill Tower's branch owner, Lu Jiucheng, reached Nascent Soul stage and joined forces with the Immortal Treasure Tower to annihilate them."
"What happened?" Ye Mo's voice was shaky.
"China Pharmaceuticals had a Nascent Soul cultivator and a Golden Core cultivator who'd somehow reached peak stage. There was a large battle; many from the Immortal Treasure Tower and All Pill Tower died."
"Did anyone from China Pharmaceuticals escape?" Ye Mo asked desperately.
The cultivator shook his head. "I don't know, but China Pharmaceuticals suffered losses too." He suddenly noticed Ye Mo was gone, speculating he must have been associated with China Pharmaceuticals, and hurried away.
Ye Mo immediately sought the teleportation formation he'd set up. His stealth and teleportation formations were both intact. Had they not been disabled?
He activated the teleportation formation, relieved it was functional and they had used it. The distance was over 100,000 kilometers, beyond even a Hollow Spirit cultivator's spirit sense.
A jade slip lay on the formation—Song Yangzhu's handwriting.
Husband, I'm fine. Ye Ling and Sister Zhen were injured, as was Master, but don't worry. Su Yue and Sheng Yizhong are fine. Sun Zhicai and some others couldn't make it. Without your teleportation formation, none of us would have escaped. We took your pills. Master says we can't stay. We're in Pei Hai City. Come quickly. Yangzhu.
Relief washed over Ye Mo. They were injured, but alive. His foresight in leaving the teleportation formation had been crucial.
Pei Hai City, a large city near the Heartless Sea, was rich in cultivation resources, attracting many cultivators, but also rife with danger.