Chapter 318: An Unexpected Accident [Subscribe Please]_2
Although anyone with a discerning eye could see that the Corpse Demon Sect had become the foremost power in Fengguo, whether Fengguo was in chaos or not depended on the decisions of the Corpse Demon Sect.
However, sects like the Jingyang Sect only acknowledged the Corpse Demon Sect's status as the number one power in Fengguo, but they definitely did not consider themselves vassals of the Corpse Demon Sect, obliged to follow its every command.
In such a situation, even though major sects like the Jingyang Sect had internally notified their disciples not to breed the "Corpse Moth," they had not enforced the Corpse Demon Sect's order to ban the trade of "Corpse Moth" eggs.
Or perhaps they had only issued the ban in name, but there had been no action taken to enforce it.
The Corpse Demon Sect, on the other hand, had a very straightforward approach, directly deploying their disciples to marketplace strongholds to keep watch. If they detected the presence of a "Corpse Moth," they would immediately apprehend and kill the person involved, completely disregarding the rule of non-violence within the marketplace.
This domineering behavior amounted to trampling the faces of the other powers in the dirt, directly provoking widespread anger.
Zhou Chun, who was in Jinchang Marketplace, was stunned speechless when he heard these reports.
Then his face turned pale.
Zhou Chun was well aware that if the situation continued to evolve in this manner, Fengguo would likely see a repeat of the chaos from decades ago.
Powers like the Jingyang Sect might be forced to wage a full-scale war against the Corpse Demon Sect once again.
By then, who knew how many cultivators would die in the conflict.
Looking back on the history of the Human Clan Cultivation Realm, the number of cultivators who died in invasions by Alien Races or natural disasters had never surpassed the casualties from internal strife among the Cultivation Forces.
Invasions by Alien Races or insect disasters like the "Thousand Calamity Grub Plague" were rarities that occurred only once in a millennium.
But conflicts between various Cultivation Forces occurred every year within the Cultivation World, only varying in scale.
And once a war of survival broke out between the Corpse Demon Sect and the collective forces of the rest of Fengguo, the number of cultivators who would die was sure to be tens of thousands at the very least!
Zhou Chun definitely did not want to be dragged into this war.
"Calculating the time, it should be about right!"
"Just wait a little longer, if after three full months there's still no sign of them, then I'll have to leave first."
In the marketplace, a look of anxiety flashed in Zhou Chun's eyes as the intention to retreat grew within him.
Capturing Zhou Yu was important, but it was not worth risking his own safety for.
Zhou Chun had a clear idea of what mattered more.
As the saying goes, persistence pays off; after about eighty days of surveillance in the Cultivation Area of the marketplace, Zhou Chun finally saw Zhou Yu emerge.
Along with Zhou Yu, there was a pale-faced middle-aged man in green clothes who still appeared to be in the Qi Refinement Realm.
Once the two had come out, Zhou Yu glanced back at the middle-aged man and couldn't help but wave her hand and say, "Alright, a single failure is nothing to get disheartened about. As long as I old hag am alive, I'll definitely find a way to make your Foundation Establishment a success!"
Hearing her words, the middle-aged man's face immediately showed a flush of excitement as he hurriedly bowed deeply and said, "Thank you for your favor, Grandmother. I will definitely not disappoint you next time."
"Let's hope so!"
Zhou Yu shook her head slightly and immediately stepped out of the Cultivation Area.
When she left the Cultivation Area, she also stealthily scanned the surroundings. After seeing nothing amiss, she quickly left the area with the middle-aged man.
But how could she know that Zhou Chun had observed every move she made?
To prevent Zhou Yu from noticing him, Zhou Chun didn't dare to follow too closely. Instead, he utilized the "Insect Puppet Technique" that he had mastered over the years, attaching a strand of his soul to a "Mystical Armor Golden Feather" Demon Insect and letting it fly high in the sky to follow the pair from a distance.
Compared to Demon Beasts, a single Demon Insect was not only small in size but also emitted very weak energy, which easily went unnoticed.
Even if other cultivators noticed the Demon Insect in the sky and found it suspicious, they would most likely report it to the cultivators stationed in the marketplace, rather than directly attack and bring it down.
As long as Zhou Chun could withdraw his strand of soul before the enemy killed the Demon Insect, it would be difficult for anyone to discover that he was the owner of the insect.
After trailing Zhou Yu and her companion for a while, Zhou Chun saw them enter a general store.
Not long after that, Zhou Yu came out of the store with a worried expression, accompanied by the middle-aged man, and headed straight for the outskirts of the marketplace.
Upon noticing this, Zhou Chun quickly rushed towards the outskirts as well.
"Mystical Armor Golden Feather" could be used for tracking inside the marketplace, but once outside, if Zhou Yu and her companion took flight and sped on their way, this kind of Demon Insect would have difficulty keeping up.
As soon as Zhou Chun left the marketplace, he saw Zhou Yu and the other person had already reached the distant horizon, leaving only a small black dot visible.
Hence, he hastily took out the green Flying Boat Instrument he had acquired in Lingzhou and flew high into the clouds, trailing far behind them.
To avoid any unexpected complications in the night, after following them for nearly a hundred miles, Zhou Chun activated the acceleration Divine Skill of the green flying boat.
In an instant, the two fin-like green lights beneath the flying boat burst into brilliance, moving like paddles and propelling the vessel forward.
Immediately Zhou Chun's flying speed increased by several times.
The sudden burst in speed caused the sounds of cleaving through the air to thunder across the sky.
Not long after, Zhou Yu in front noticed this change.
She turned her head and glanced back at the sky, her complexion changing drastically in an instant.
Although she still could not see Zhou Chun's face clearly at this point, she had a vague guess about the identity of the person coming behind her.
Right away, she urgently shouted to the middle-aged man by her side, "We are under attack by a strong enemy, Zhen'er, go ahead, we'll meet at Flying Fox Mountain!"
"Grandmother, you..."
The middle-aged man wanted to say something, but Zhou Yu had already flung him away.
Seeing this, he could only hurry to bring out his Flying Artifact to stabilize himself and, with a look of panic, flew off in another direction.
On the other hand, Zhou Yu, seeing that Zhou Chun's speed was incomparable to her own, simply changed direction and took the initiative to meet Zhou Chun, intending to buy the middle-aged man some time to escape.
However, Zhou Chun found her approach quite amusing.
Zhou Chun didn't say much, instead he slapped his Spirit Beast Pouch at his waist and released the Golden Winged Tiger.
Then he instructed the Spirit Pet, "Xiao Jin, chase that man, try to capture him alive if possible."
Roar!
Hearing its master's command, the Golden Winged Tiger let out a low roar and flapped its wings, chasing after the green-clothed middle-aged man.
At the same time, Zhou Chun had also released the Silver Lightning Python, Baibai, to accompany him in flight.
"Zhou Zhengchun, despite my being your elder, do you truly intend to be utterly ruthless?"
Zhou Yu shouted angrily, even trying to play the sympathy card.
Zhou Chun, hearing her words, countered with a cold shout, "Since you were once a predecessor of the Zhou Family, if you willingly surrender and follow me back to face the Supreme Elder's judgment, you may still have a chance of survival. Otherwise, do not blame me, Zhou Chun, for being merciless!"
As he spoke, he narrowed the distance between them even more.
Zhou Yu's face turned even uglier at his response and she fell silent.
Zhou Yu was naturally aware of the vile nature of her deeds.
She knew that once she followed Zhou Chun back, the fate awaiting her would be much worse than death.
Therefore, she made up her mind then and there to prefer death over submission.
"Very well, let this elder see what abilities you have that make you so bold!"
She uttered a series of angry shouts and quickly tapped her Spirit Beast Pouch at her waist, releasing her own Spirit Pet.
Back in the era of the Sanjue Sect, Zhou Yu had already been a Cultivator of the Foundation Establishment level of the Zhou Family; naturally, her Spirit Pet had been nurtured by her to second-order, and it was even a high-grade second-order Demon Beast.
It was an extremely beautiful Golden Civet, also known as "Jade Face Golden Civet" in the demon beast manuals, a very rare intermediate-level Demon Beast.
Though a high-grade second-order Demon Beast, the Golden Civet was not large in size, only the size of an ordinary leopard.
After emerging from the Spirit Beast Pouch, sensing its master's fury, it immediately glared at Zhou Chun with fierce eyes, emitting low growls.
"Then keep your eyes wide open to witness Zhou Chun's methods!"
Zhou Chun glanced at the Golden Civet with a sneer and then slapped his Spirit Beast Pouch at his waist again.
Suddenly, a buzzing noise arose, and a large number of pale golden insects flew out from his Spirit Beast Pouch, quickly gathering into a pale golden insect cloud above his head.