Seeing Qingyu so wary of him, Tianxingzi's expression grew even more surprised.
"Yu Rong? Didn't you kill her? Didn't you encounter her in the outer valley first, kill her, and then go to where Xinghe was?"
Tianxingzi's face was filled with doubt. Just now, in the core of the formation, he had swept his Divine Sense over the area again and found that Yu Rong's aura had disappeared, which was why he had come out feeling relieved.
'Could she have hidden herself, or escaped?'
For a moment, he had a bad feeling. If a Golden Core cultivator escaped, the plans he had just laid out for Qingyu would have a major flaw.
Qingyu looked at Tianxingzi's genuinely shocked expression, which didn't seem feigned at all, and he too felt that something was amiss.
"Yu Rong came too? Besides Xue Qianzong and Ning Ying, I only saw about a hundred low-level disciples from the four sects. Where was Yu Rong? Did she sense something was wrong and leave? That's impossible, how could her Divine Sense be stronger than mine? She couldn't have sensed my arrival in advance."
As he spoke, Qingyu spread his Divine Sense out without any restraint. Tianxingzi was still frowning in deep thought, muttering to himself.
"But about fifteen breaths before you arrived, I definitely saw him chasing one of my valley's disciples..."
He trailed off, then quickly swept his Divine Sense toward a certain area as well. Both of them began to search a wide area.
A moment later, Qingyu retracted his Divine Sense first.
"Old ghost, there are indeed traces of a Golden Core cultivator using techniques in the outer valley, and it leads all the way to the inner valley. But the aura disappears on the last stretch of the path..."
"Could it be him? That doesn't make sense..."
At this time, Tianxingzi also retracted his Divine Sense. He had first followed the restriction to find Zhang Ming's location, and then he also discovered Zhu Luomu's figure in the outer valley.
Neither of them had perished. The last thing he had seen was the scene of Zhang Ming launching a sneak attack on Yu Rong. For a moment, he seemed to have thought of something.
"It's... a Body Cultivator comparable to the Demon Clan!"
He thought with shock in his heart, and the words escaped his lips in surprise. He had seen Zhang Ming's attack on Yu Rong at that time.
But at that moment, the kid's attack shouldn't have been able to harm Yu Rong much. His judgment was that it could at most buy some time.
"Hey, old ghost, what are you talking about? Don't tell me you had a backup plan?"
Qingyu saw Tianxingzi's thoughtful expression and his self-muttering. It was clear he knew where Yu Rong had gone.
"Oh... it's nothing. I know the reason. I trapped her in a formation in a mountain at the time. I just detected some of her aura there. Hmph! She tried to force her way out, but she didn't have the strength of Xue Qianzong and the others and was torn apart by the great formation. I didn't expect that either. That woman has cultivation, but no brains. Look, right there. If you sense carefully, you can still feel a trace of Yu Rong's aura."
Tianxingzi quickly recovered and used his Divine Sense to mark a mountain peak in the outer valley, where a large patch of bloodstains remained. That was the last place he had seen Zhang Ming and Yu Rong fight.
"Oh? The concentration of Essence Blood left there is indeed something only a Golden Core cultivator could possess. But... how come I didn't detect any fluctuations from a formation?"
"Does my Sect-Protecting Grand Formation need to be completely open to you?"
Tianxingzi rolled his eyes. He didn't want to say more on the matter.
But in his heart, his thoughts were racing.
'I don't know the origin of that Zhang Ming. Even if he was forced by the restriction, to be able to strike such a deadly blow, it means he is at least not on the same side as these four sects. This is an existence comparable to a Golden Core cultivator, a good fighter. No, I must investigate his background thoroughly. I can't let him go. A human cultivator, hehehe...'
He believed that as long as he recovered a little, and as long as that Zhang Ming was still in Falling Star Valley, with him keeping a constant watch, the man's life and death would still be in his hands.
Qingyu knew that Tianxingzi was definitely hiding something from him, but if it truly involved the secrets of his sect, it was not appropriate for him to press the matter.
He immediately returned to the previous topic.
"Hehehe, as long as no one escaped in time, that's fine. By the way, old ghost, your heart is truly black. What do you mean fifty-fifty split? The one going to exterminate the four sects now is my Green Wind Sect. Do you think my disciples won't suffer any casualties? In your current state, can you even move? Giving you ten percent is already too much."
"Hehehe, I knew I couldn't get too close with Daoists and monks. If I hadn't crippled Lie Changfeng, injured Lie Changming, and almost wiped out the elite disciples of these four sects, could you have done it so easily? Fifty-fifty, not a single point less!"
"Immeasurable Heavenly Lord, but if I go and occupy the four sects now, what can you do to me?"
"You can't. The moment you leave, I'll send a voice transmission to the Six Plates Hall. I believe with their strength and proximity, you stuffy nose will probably end up with less than thirty percent..."
Qingyu's face immediately fell.
"You... you... you're ruthless. But to take down these four sects, my Green Wind Sect will indeed suffer many casualties. How about seventy-thirty?"
Qingyu said seriously.
Tianxingzi rolled his eyes, pausing for a few breaths before speaking.
"How about this? In any case, my Falling Star Valley is inseparable from the fact that these four sects have fallen to this state. I will definitely take my share of the split. What's more, I myself am so injured; I will not be willing to suffer a loss. Don't you think taking down the four sects will result in great casualties? You can go and take down the Cangyu Sect first. It's the weakest now. Even compared to the Snow Moon Wolf Clan, which also only has Foundation Establishment cultivators guarding the sect, it is much weaker. Also, Sang Dongxing and his wife have accumulated a lot of cultivation resources over the years. With you personally taking action, it's practically a guaranteed win. Then, after you take down the Cangyu Sect, I'll inform the Six Plates Hall that our three sects will cooperate, with your two sects jointly dealing with the remaining three. In the end, you'll get forty percent, and I and the Six Plates Hall will each get thirty percent, as a reward for your assistance. This way, you won't lose many of your sect's people. Otherwise, with the Night Fox Clan's ability to gather information, plus the great distance between these four sects, they'll likely be prepared before you can even arrive with your people. It's best to divide the troops and strike several places at once..."
Tianxingzi stopped there.
With Qingyu's old cunning, he naturally understood all this. After weighing the pros and cons, he agreed to Tianxingzi's proposal. Hoarding the spoils for yourself would only attract a siege.
...
When Li Yan saw the middle-aged Daoist leading a group of young Daoists into the battle in the outer valley with a roar, he knew this great battle was about to end.
This middle-aged Daoist was truly formidable. Li Yan saw him charge into the cave full of flames and leave with the unconscious Lin Xinghe after only a few dozen breaths. After that, no more sound came from the cave.
After coming out, the other party didn't even glance his way again.
After the middle-aged Daoist was far away, Li Yan waited for a full half an hour before daring to probe the cave with his Divine Sense. He had plenty of patience.
At this time, apart from the lingering high temperature, there was nothing left in the cave. Any remaining limbs or heads had likely been incinerated.
If he wasn't mistaken, the other two Golden Core experts who had invaded Falling Star Valley had been fighting Lin Xinghe in this cave before.
'So it wasn't Tianxingzi here just now. Who is this middle-aged Daoist? I can't even begin to fathom the depths of his cultivation!'
Li Yan thought to himself, speculating about the middle-aged Daoist's origins. He remembered Tianxingzi calling the other party "Qingyu."
Just then, he suddenly felt a Divine Sense sweep over him, and then Tianxingzi's somewhat weak voice appeared in his mind.
"Little fellow, I never would have thought. You turned out to be a formidable Body Cultivator. It seems the terms of our previous agreement were too low. Did you kill Yu Rong?"
Li Yan's expression paused for a moment before returning to a state of calm. He then replied with a voice transmission.
"Is Senior planning to go back on his word? That Golden Core cultivator was indeed killed by this junior in a fortunate sneak attack. Fellow Daoist Zhu Luomu's squad can testify to this. Moreover, this junior killed more than three Foundation Establishment cultivators. I have fulfilled all parts of our agreement. This junior truly has no ill intentions toward Falling Star Valley, so I ask Senior to fulfill his promise as well."
Although Li Yan didn't know who this "Yu Rong" Tianxingzi was talking about, he guessed it was the female Golden Core cultivator from the Cangyu Sect.
"Very good, very good, hehehe. You don't have to worry about my word. In half a month, someone will take you to the underground 'Shattered Star Chamber'. The great battle has just ended, and there are many things to handle in the valley."
Tianxingzi's somewhat eerie laughter echoed in Li Yan's mind. Then, Li Yan felt the Divine Sense quickly depart, leaving no trace.
His heart stirred. He quickly sent his Divine Sense to inspect his own body. The red dot in his Dantian's Purple Mansion had indeed disappeared.
"Half a month?" Li Yan muttered. Tianxingzi's final laughter made him feel faintly uneasy, but the other party had already removed his restriction.
He didn't know that Tianxingzi was currently severely injured. This was something Tianxingzi didn't want more people to know, so he wouldn't be seeing any outsiders.
Currently, only Qingyu knew about this. Although he was surprised and curious about Zhang Ming, it was not the time to summon him.
Thus, he removed Li Yan's restriction from afar to placate him for the time being.
With his shrewd mind, he could guess that this Zhang Ming, not knowing that both he and Xinghe were severely injured, wouldn't dare to act recklessly even if he had a hundred times the courage.
With the previous lesson, Zhang Ming knew that he was now under his watch. As long as he didn't have any ulterior motives, he would of course still go to the Shattered Star Chamber and would not try to find an opportunity to slip away.
He would arrange for someone to investigate Zhang Ming's background later. The most urgent matter now was to inform Xing Ming to return with his men before he went into seclusion.
Lin Xinghe had already woken up, but after using the secret technique, even a Qi Condensation stage cultivator could kill him with a single poke. Lin Xinghe immediately went into seclusion.
He himself was only barely managing affairs, waiting for Xing Ming's return. This time, Falling Star Valley had suffered heavy losses.
He was already considering whether to let Xing Ming start showing his face. After all, he was only pretending to be fine now, but he really couldn't show his face in public anymore. His injuries could not be concealed.
As for Xing Ming's dormant state, he hadn't even told a friend like Qingyu. Now, with the destruction of the four forces like the Cangyu Sect, Xing Ming could take the opportunity to re-emerge.
To outsiders, it would seem that their Falling Star Valley had been hiding its strength, suddenly producing three Golden Core experts, and then joining forces with the Green Wind Sect to wipe out four sects in one fell swoop.
This way, outsiders would become even more wary of Falling Star Valley. If they had such thoughts in the future, they would not dare to act rashly.
Thus, the original purpose of hiding Xing Ming would be achieved. After this crisis, the prestige of Falling Star Valley would not decrease but would rise instead.
It would deter the surrounding petty forces and make the forces that depended on them revere the strength of Falling Star Valley even more, making them serve with even greater devotion.
It was just that this time, Falling Star Valley would have to bleed profusely for these vassal sects and families. It was inevitable that they would have to grit their teeth and distribute benefits.
"But with a thirty percent share of the four sects' cultivation resources, I'll only need to take out a little bit!"
After all, those were four second-rate sects. Tianxingzi thought to himself that Falling Star Valley wouldn't have to spend too much.