In Search of Chen Xia's Presence

In the midst of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Xu Zhen swiftly entered the outer perimeter, first surveying the area. Seeing nothing unusual, she proceeded further, heading towards the boundary between the inner and outer regions as mentioned by the cultivators.

Currently, there were very few low-level cultivators in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Having received the news, most had fled early to avoid being attacked by powerful demonic beasts.

Xu Zhen landed, her brows lifting as she caught sight of the figures of three Great Emperors. However, the three Great Emperors were not taking any action at the moment. Instead, they stood with their heads bowed at the outer perimeter, as if respectfully waiting.

Xu Zhen was puzzled. Seeing Wu Xi Great Emperor, who had shown her kindness, she quickly approached and asked,

"Is Little Guang inside too?"

Wu Xi Great Emperor turned his head, his expression filled with worry. Upon seeing that it was Xu Zhen, he nodded and said,

"Not just Little Guang, half of Wuxi Sect's prodigies have entered. The origins of the Hundred Thousand Mountains are too profound. We dare not enter and can only wait here, hoping that the master of the Hundred Thousand Mountains will be merciful."

"Is there no way to resolve this?" Xu Zhen frowned and asked again.

The fact that even three Great Emperors could only wait respectfully showed just how formidable the master of the Hundred Thousand Mountains was.

Moreover, Wu Xi Great Emperor was a Second Path Great Emperor, yet even he could only act so humbly, further emphasizing the terrifying power of the master of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Wu Xi Great Emperor shook his head with a bitter smile, "There is a way to resolve this, but it would require summoning a legendary figure. With just the few of us, it would likely be a suicide mission."

"That powerful?" Xu Zhen's brows furrowed even deeper. It seemed the situation was even more difficult than she had imagined.

"Ah..." Wu Xi Great Emperor sighed and explained to her,

"You are not a cultivator from East Jia State, so it's normal for you not to know these things. The Hundred Thousand Mountains are not considered part of East Jia State, nor are they even part of the Immortal Realm. Yet, they stand firmly within the Immortal Realm. If you think about it carefully, you'll realize just how astonishing the Hundred Thousand Mountains truly are."

"Even opening the outer region was a decision made after long deliberation by our major sects and the Eighth Mountain. It has indeed been of great benefit to the younger generation of East Jia State, but..."

Wu Xi Great Emperor trailed off here, leaving only a sigh of helplessness.

No more words were needed. Those who understood, understood.

Xu Zhen also felt troubled. Wu Xi Great Emperor had shown her kindness, and Wuxi Sect was an ally of Fuyao Immortal Sect. If Wuxi Sect was in trouble, Fuyao Immortal Sect should naturally lend a hand.

"How about..." Xu Zhen hesitated for a moment before suggesting to Wu Xi Great Emperor, "Fuyao Immortal Sect could share half of its prodigies with Wuxi Sect?"

Wu Xi Great Emperor was stunned, feeling that Xu Zhen truly understood the meaning of sharing. Did she already consider Wuxi Sect's prodigies as good as dead?

"That won't do," Wu Xi Great Emperor shook his head. "I think there's still a chance to save them. Little Guang might come out any moment now."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was movement from within the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Prodigies began to emerge one after another, their faces filled with joy as they chatted about something.

The three Great Emperors immediately stood up, their eyes fixed on the prodigies as they hurriedly asked,

"What happened inside? Why have you come out?"

Facing the Great Emperors, the prodigies naturally dared not lie. They quickly recounted the events inside, summarizing,

"After we entered the inner region, we were chased by a Heaven-Mending Realm demonic beast. It drove us deep into the Hundred Thousand Mountains, to the edge of a lake."

"A figure emerged from the lake, saying it would extract a strand of our fortune, and then let us go, allowing us to take one treasure from the depths."

Upon hearing this, the three Great Emperors immediately frowned. At their level, they naturally understood the severity of losing a strand of fortune, especially when so many prodigies were involved.

This meant they had formed a karmic bond with the Hundred Thousand Mountains, and the consequences of becoming great cultivators in the future were unimaginable.

Moreover, the three Great Emperors were puzzled as to why the Hundred Thousand Mountains would do such a thing. Regardless, it was not a good sign.

As they pondered and discussed, more prodigies continued to emerge from the Hundred Thousand Mountains, quickly leaving the area.

Then, the first of the top six prodigies emerged—the female sword immortal Lan Xie, who carried three flying swords at her waist.

Her injuries had not fully healed, and she stumbled out. When she saw Xu Zhen, her eyes lit up, and it seemed as if her injuries had lessened. She hurried over, facing Xu Zhen, and stammered nervously,

"H-Hello."

Xu Zhen glanced at her and frowned, "How did you get injured?"

"I-I said the wrong thing," Lan Xie whispered.

"Said the wrong thing?" Xu Zhen was even more puzzled. Just as she was about to ask Lan Xie for details, hurried footsteps approached, followed by an emotional cry,

"Master!"

The chubby Little Guang came running, clearly excited.

"Guang!" Wu Xi Great Emperor's face immediately lit up with a smile as he hurried forward to ask, "Are you alright, Little Guang? Are you hurt?"

"No," Little Guang shook her head, then straightened her back and smiled at Wu Xi Great Emperor, "I even got a lot of treasures. Look!"

With that, Little Guang began pulling treasures out of her storage artifact. There were indeed many—so many that they couldn't be counted individually, but rather as a pile.

Wu Xi Great Emperor was stunned, then immediately became anxious. He grabbed Little Guang's hand and urged,

"Everyone else only took one thing. How did you take so many? Quickly return them to the senior, or the senior in the Hundred Thousand Mountains might get upset."

After saying this, Wu Xi Great Emperor quickly turned towards the Hundred Thousand Mountains, bowing and clasping his hands in respect,

"The child didn't know any better and took them to play with. Please forgive her, senior. Please forgive her."

"That's not it," Little Guang shook her head, pointing at the pile of treasures on the ground, "The senior told me to take them. He was really nice."

"You saw the senior?" Wu Xi Great Emperor frowned and asked.

"Yes, he was quite good-looking and not scary at all. He wore a green robe that seemed a bit too big. At first, when Senior Sister Lan said the wrong thing, he looked like he wanted to kill her. But when the portrait of Sect Master Xu fell out of Senior Sister Lan's sleeve, he stopped."

"At that moment, I wondered if he knew Sect Master Xu."

Xu Zhen was momentarily stunned, her eyes flickering with a strange light. She quickly asked Little Guang,

"What did he look like? What was his name?"

Little Guang shook her head, "I don't know his name, but as for his appearance..."

She used her spiritual energy to recreate the figure's appearance from her memory, forming a blurry spiritual energy portrait.

Xu Zhen's expression instantly froze.

Then, without heeding anyone's advice, she transformed into a streak of light and charged alone into the deepest part of the Hundred Thousand Mountains!