I Am the True Lord of Running Away

Chapter 172: Chapter 172: There’s a Cenotaph for Me?

"What should we do? Are we still going to look for Senior Sister Yan?" a female cultivator asked.

Shan Lanlan looked at the four of them in their current miserable state and shook her head helplessly.

"How can we keep searching like this? In our condition, we should hurry back to the Sect to rest and resupply. If we keep fighting in this state, I’m afraid we won’t survive."

The four women looked at their own injuries, then at the few remaining Elixirs and Talismans in their Storage Bags, and nodded one after another.

First, they took some Elixirs to recover from their injuries. Then, they each held a Spirit Stone, absorbing the Spiritual Qi within to restore their Magical Power.

Afterward, they set off, heading in the direction of the Sect.

They were even unwilling to expend the Magical Power needed for Flying with a Magical Artifact, so they just ran frantically on the ground.

They hadn’t gone far when Shan Lanlan suddenly raised a hand. "Wait!"

The other female cultivators were startled. Not knowing what was happening, they stopped in their tracks.

"I think there’s someone ahead!"

Shan Lanlan’s voice was low. She squinted, cautiously observing the person in the distance.

Suddenly, she relaxed, her voice tinged with surprise.

"Huh? What’s he doing here?"

Saying this, Shan Lanlan sped up and rushed forward, pleasantly surprised.

The other female cultivators, not understanding the situation, also sped up and followed.

...

The person up ahead was none other than Jiang Xu, planning to feign a chance encounter.

After saving them, Jiang Xu naturally wanted to collect some interest.

And the interest he had in mind wasn’t just anything.

Jiang Xu wanted to go to the Profound Origin Sect.

So, of course, he needed to gather some intelligence before making a move.

Since such an opportunity had presented itself, Jiang Xu certainly had to take advantage of it.

’Exchanging a life-saving favor for a bit of information... they wouldn’t be getting the short end of the stick.’

"Jiang Xu! Is that you?"

Hearing the voice from behind, Jiang Xu frowned and turned around, a wary expression on his face. Then, as if in sudden realization, he feigned surprise. In truth, his Divine Sense had spotted the female cultivators long ago.

"Senior Sister Shan! What are you doing here?" Jiang Xu asked, equally "surprised."

After confirming it was really Jiang Xu, Shan Lanlan quickly came to his side and asked:

"You’re not dead!"

"Why don’t you check if I’m a ghost? That’ll tell you if I’m dead," Jiang Xu chuckled.

"No, that’s not what I meant... Anyway, it’s good that you’re okay. Back then, when we heard you’d been killed by Demon Cultivators, we were all very sad. We even set up a cenotaph for you. Looks like we won’t be needing it now."

Jiang Xu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Just then, the other three women arrived. Seeing Jiang Xu, whom they didn’t recognize, they remained on guard.

Seeing her companions’ reactions, Shan Lanlan began to make introductions.

"He’s also a disciple of the Profound Origin Sect. His name is Jiang Xu. We went on a mission together once. You can relax."

Hearing this, their expressions softened slightly, though a hint of caution remained.

"Senior Sister Shan, what did you mean just now when you said ’he’s not dead’?"

"Oh, three years ago, he was at the Demon Hunting—no, the former Purple Profound Celestial Marketplace, when it was attacked by a Golden Core Demon Cultivator. The Marketplace was destroyed, and we lost all contact with him after that. By the way, Junior Brother Jiang, you still haven’t told us how you escaped," Shan Lanlan explained.

"Sigh. I just secretly hid off to the side and barely managed to survive by staying hidden. After that, I was terrified by the Demon Cultivators’ brutality, so I found a random place to hide and went into seclusion for three years. I only just came out a few days ago," Jiang Xu said with a woeful expression.

"It sounds like you’ve really had it rough. Then again, during these years of the Demon Cultivator invasion, very few people have had an easy time," Shan Lanlan lamented.

"Sigh, it’s too chaotic out here. I want to go back to the Sect and lie low for a while. What’s the situation in the Sect right now?" Jiang Xu seized the opportunity to ask his main question.

Hearing this, Shan Lanlan took on a thoughtful expression. As she continued walking toward the Profound Origin Sect, she said to Jiang Xu:

"The Profound Origin Sect... Because of the hatred between our Sect Leader and Master Body Stabilization, our Profound Origin Sect, along with the Celestial Blade Sect and the Purple Flower Palace, are among those putting up the fiercest fight against the Demon Cultivators."

"Fighting fiercely means more of our Cultivators are involved in the war, we face a greater number of Demon Cultivators, and their counterattacks are stronger. To be honest, I feel like the past two years have been very difficult."

Jiang Xu’s expression tightened when he heard this. ’If that’s the case, what’s the point of me going back?’

However, Shan Lanlan looked Jiang Xu over and quickly broke into a smile.

"That being said, one more Cultivator at the Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation won’t be missed in battle. Don’t you know Talisman Making? You can just stay in the rear and focus on making Talismans."

Only then did Jiang Xu feel relieved.

’If going back meant being drafted into service immediately, then he’d rather not go back at all.’

In fact, it was for this very reason that Jiang Xu had suppressed his Cultivation to appear at the Qi Cultivation Middle Stage.

"By the way, where’s Zong Ziqi? I heard he’s not in the Sect and went off to chase some guy called Young Master Ghost."

At the mention of his name, all four female cultivators grew excited.

"You know Elder Zong? He’s the most powerful among the younger generation of Foundation Establishment Elders in the Profound Origin Sect!" one of the women interjected eagerly.

"Yeah! Before, Elder Zong cut down two of the Ten Great Evildoers of the Demon Sects like they were nothing! If he takes down one more now, it’ll be a triple kill!"

Shan Lanlan was also surprised, but then she recalled that Jiang Xu seemed to have joined the mission with Zong Ziqi back then, and that they were even quite familiar with each other, which surprised her even more.

"Zong Ziqi is incredible now. I don’t know how his promotion speed is still so fast after he specialized as a Body Cultivator. Not much time has passed, yet he broke through directly to the Foundation Establishment Realm."

"And after breaking through, his combat power wasn’t the least bit inferior to other Foundation Establishment Cultivators. In fact, because of his unique Thunder Attribute Combat Skill, one Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivator after another has fallen to him in regret. That’s why he has a spot among the Ten Great Prodigies of the Righteous Dao. Along with Senior Sister Yan, our Profound Origin Sect holds two of the ten spots."

"Oh? Senior Sister Yan has also advanced to Foundation Establishment?" Jiang Xu keenly picked up on the key point.

"Of course! She was even two years faster than Elder Zong. After returning from the Secret Realm, she began preparing for her Foundation Establishment and succeeded in one go!" Shan Lanlan’s voice was filled with pride.

Hearing this, Jiang Xu felt a slight sense of urgency.

’Two people he knew had already advanced to Foundation Establishment, while he himself was still just a hair’s breadth away.’

It made him feel quite uncomfortable.

"We’re here."

Since they were already close to the Profound Origin Sect, the five of them chatted as they walked, arriving smoothly beside the Array.

Arriving at the Array, the four women took out their Identity Tokens. Although the Guardian Sect Array had already recognized them, it still didn’t open to let them through.

"What’s wrong?" Jiang Xu asked, confused.

"It’s because these are special times, so you can’t just enter and exit freely. A fellow disciple from the Law Enforcement Hall will be here in a moment to open the Array for us."