Escort

Inside an alchemy chamber of the Immortal Alliance. After assigning a few tasks to his assistant, Sheikh returned to his quarters, somewhat absentminded. The reason for this shift in his mood... Was a dossier a mysterious figure had delivered to him a week ago. He did not know how this dossier had slipped past the perception of Dharma Idol Feng Ao—who monitored every vital post in the entire Immortal Alliance—to enter his Virtual Spirit Realm account, but its contents... Had utterly overturned everything he thought he knew. Especially given that he had harbored suspicions long before, and over the past month had confirmed them one by one. "No wonder the Alchemy Hall never let me touch newly developed pill formulas. No wonder I was never allowed to use the hall's spirit treasure furnace. No wonder my residence... was perpetually blanketed by a Star God's Life Force Field. And to think I once believed their claim that it was 'protection of the highest order'..." A glint of anguish flickered in Sheikh's eyes. Yet he quickly and forcibly suppressed the pain. Even though he had used a snag in his alchemy research as an excuse for his poor state over the past few days, any unnecessary display of emotion was best avoided entirely. Because... He suspected that everything about him might still be under the Immortal Alliance's surveillance. Thus, it was no longer a question of whether he knew the truth. Rather... what difference did knowing make? Against a colossus like the Immortal Alliance, even as a level-nine Alchemy Grandmaster standing at the pinnacle of the craft and an Origin Spirit cultivator tempered by Zixiao Divine Lightning, he stood no chance of making any waves. Unless... He could escape! Escape to the Myriad Beasts Sect, the Wuji Astral Palace... With the weight of a level-nine Alchemy Grandmaster, he would be warmly welcomed by any faction. No! Not the Wuji Astral Palace! Their ties with the Immortal Alliance were far closer than outsiders imagined. If the Alliance were willing to pay the price, they might well bring him right back. Only reaching the Myriad Beasts Sect could be considered true safety. But... How could he flee all the way to the Myriad Beasts Sect? Why would the Myriad Beasts Sect take such an immense risk to extract him from Dengxian Tower right under the noses of a Dharma Idol and a Star God? And which faction did that mysterious force capable of slipping past the Alliance's Dharma Idol represent? Did they have some method? Last night, they had told him to take the day off today under the pretext of closed-door research, and he had complied. What was their ultimate goal? If they wanted to take him away to craft pills... As long as they could fulfill his vengeance, he was willing to give his all. A thousand tangled thoughts were buried in his heart, yet he dared not reveal the slightest trace. For someone like Sheikh, who had never undergone any training in subterfuge, the strain only deepened his torment. "Grandmaster Sheikh, have you finished packing your belongings?" Just then, a thread of divine mind suddenly appeared within his awareness. Sensing this familiar divine mind, Sheikh snapped his head up, anxious to know what reaction Star God Barton—whose Life Force Field shrouded this area—would have. "Rest assured, you are safe right now. You may express your emotions freely and project your divine mind, provided it does not extend beyond a ten-meter radius around you." The divine mind spoke again. "Which side do you represent? Did you seek me out for my alchemy skills? I can craft pills for you, but..." "I will personally lead you to your revenge, and can even hand Lewis over to your disposal. How does that sound?" "You... can do that?" "Naturally." The divine mind replied with absolute certainty: "He is merely a deputy minister under the Hall of Penalties." Sheikh panted softly, his emotions visibly churning. Only after a long while did he ask, "You still have to answer my first question. Who are you? The Myriad Beasts Sect?" "The Myriad Beasts Sect and the Wuji Astral Palace are not the only ones capable of easily suppressing the Immortal Alliance's Dharma Idol cultivator Feng Ao and infiltrating Star God Barton's power." The owner of this divine mind... namely Yaoguang, seeing that this alchemist had thought things through and attained sufficient resolve, gave his answer: "I come from the Nine Cauldrons Sect." "The Nine Cauldrons Sect?" Sheikh was stunned, then his eyes went wide. "That's impossible... In my memory, the Nine Cauldrons Sect isn't some powerhouse sect. How could..." "The news you see may not reflect reality. The hidden strength of the Nine Cauldrons Sect is far greater than anyone imagines—just as you certainly never imagined I could effortlessly bypass the awareness of both Feng Ao and Barton to converse with you." Confidence resonated within Yaoguang's divine mind—confidence in the Nine Cauldrons Sect, or rather, in himself. "Perhaps right now we fall a bit short compared to the Wuji Astral Palace, the Myriad Beasts Sect, and the Immortal Alliance. But... give us twenty more years, and I believe the comprehensive strength of the Nine Cauldrons Sect will be inferior to none of them!" "This..." Sheikh was naturally full of doubt. Moreover, that the rescuer was not from the Myriad Beasts Sect, nor even from the Taiyin Sect or Fatian Pavilion, left him somewhat disappointed. Still... Going to any sect was better than staying in the Immortal Alliance. At the thought of having served the very faction that wiped out his family for so many years, he trembled from head to toe, wishing he could chop off his own hands. With that in mind, he took a deep breath and calmed himself. "Very well, I believe you. My belongings are ready, and I have handed off my duties. Under the excuse of a research bottleneck, I won't need to show my face for three days. Now... what should I do?" "Take your belongings and simply follow my directions outward." Yaoguang's divine mind replied. As an Alchemy Grandmaster, buying a dharma artifact storage bag was naturally effortless for Sheikh. He stepped out of his room essentially empty-handed. As he stepped outside, a series of guiding instructions came through: "Turn left, wait three seconds." "Go straight, walk briskly for thirty meters." "Tired? You may rest beneath this small tree for twenty-six seconds." Following these divine mind directions, Sheikh walked on, stormy waves gradually surging in his heart. Every single instruction from this Nine Cauldrons Sect figure unerringly avoided the pedestrians coming and going through his residential district. The headquarters-level security of Dengxian Tower was practically nonexistent before him. With such methods, had he perhaps already breached every single detection and surveillance system the Immortal Alliance possessed?! "Relying on a spirit treasure could never achieve this! You're a Dharma Idol, aren't you?! The Nine Cauldrons Sect actually has a Dharma Idol now?! You hid this far too deeply!" Sheikh couldn't resist asking via divine mind. "As I said, the potential of the Nine Cauldrons Sect is more astounding than you imagine. And with the welcoming atmosphere of our sect, you will not be disappointed once you arrive. You can begin your life anew in the Nine Cauldrons Sect." Yaoguang responded with a smile. Sheikh didn't reply to this. However, he was beginning to believe what Yaoguang had said earlier about the Nine Cauldrons Sect's strength being far greater than anyone imagined. Under Yaoguang's guidance, Sheikh twisted and turned through the corridors, easily walking right out of the core area of Dengxian Tower's headquarters. Once outside the core area, things became even simpler. He barely even needed to mind the entrances guarded by sentries. Yaoguang manifested illusions from his divine mind, throwing the guards into momentary dazes, during which Sheikh slipped effortlessly past the checkpoints. The guards merely thought they felt a bit fatigued, suspecting nothing amiss. Half an hour later, Sheikh finally reached the public area on the outer perimeter of Dengxian Tower. It was at this moment that Yaoguang formally showed himself before the alchemist, greeting him with a smile: "Hello." Seeing Yaoguang, Sheikh started slightly. "You..." Sensing the ripples of divine mind emanating from Yaoguang, he found it incredible: "It's you?!" "It's me." "You... a Dharma Idol... A country-protecting Dharma Idol actually..." Sheikh was both moved that the Nine Cauldrons Sect would go so far as to send a Dharma Idol in person to escort him—deeply feeling how much they valued him—and alarmed, thinking the sect was being overly reckless. After all... A Dharma Idol carried far more weight than an Alchemy Grandmaster. "Do not worry. As I said, the Nine Cauldrons Sect possesses far more power than you imagine. Now then, I'll first arrange for you to leave Seven Hills City and head for Bolin City, where that intelligence deputy minister is located. In addition... I will conceal your departure as much as possible—every extra day of cover counts." Yaoguang said with a smile. Having seen that the Nine Cauldrons Sect had actually sent a Dharma Idol cultivator in person to receive him, Sheikh no longer harbored the slightest resistance toward joining them. Now hearing Yaoguang mention going to Bolin City... He hesitated a moment before saying, "There's no need to rush this matter... as long as the Nine Cauldrons Sect remembers the promise." "If we don't avenge you, you likely won't be able to settle your mind for alchemy anyway. So we'll help you accomplish this goal first; that is our promise to you." Yaoguang said. Sheikh said nothing more. Yet the Nine Cauldrons Sect's attitude caused his goodwill toward them to surge tremendously. "There is a Dharma Idol imprint on you. I will remove it." Yaoguang stated. "A Dharma Idol imprint?!" Sheikh's expression darkened. Over the past few days, he had already come to understand that the Immortal Alliance had never truly trusted him, but having this bloody reality laid bare by Yaoguang still left him feeling as though decades of blood and sweat had been thrown to the dogs. While his heart weighed heavy, a strand of divine mind had already swept across him, flawlessly enveloping another faint, imperceptible divine mind trace without erasing it outright. Though Sheikh was not a Dharma Idol, he was nonetheless a top-tier Origin Spirit True Person who had survived the Zixiao Lightning Tribulation. He could naturally tell that Yaoguang's exquisite technique... Was visibly a cut above that of the Immortal Alliance's Dharma Idol. It was precisely why he could extract the mark from his body without wiping it out. "Done." Having contained the imprint, Yaoguang had already led Sheikh outside Dengxian Tower. A middle-aged man was already waiting there behind the wheel of a hovercar. He was none other than an undercover operative planted by the Nine Cauldrons Sect in the Seven Hills City area of the Immortal Alliance. "Follow him out of Seven Hills City first. I will catch up with you shortly." Yaoguang told him. Sheikh gave a solemn nod. "Please be careful!" Yaoguang smiled and gave him a reassuring look. He soon watched the level-nine alchemist depart. Once he was gone, Yaoguang swiftly turned back, and before long returned to the depths of Dengxian Tower. Unlike when he slipped in earlier to extract someone, this time... His target was none other than those top-tier pills slated for the super auction half a month later—worth over a hundred million and capable of rapidly bolstering his cultivation.