Chen Linlin was dead!
The mission of Zhou Mingde and his team had thus been completed.
But their true moment of danger had only just begun.
The Golden Core Stage cultivator from the Dragon Transformation Sect, who had just lost his beloved, would certainly not let these murderers escape easily.
So, as they watched Chen Linlin burn to ashes before their eyes, Zhou Daoyi, despite feeling extremely regretful for not being able to keep her storage pouch, dared not delay for even a moment. He quickly gathered the several magic artifacts left behind by the deceased with Zhou Mingde and hastily retreated towards Dragon Abyss Marsh at high speed.
Because the Green Flood Dragon was injured, to avoid revealing their whereabouts and being chased down by the enemy due to the injury's traces, they could only fly by themselves.
Almost immediately after the two left the scene, a crimson streak of light flew from a far distance to the site of the incident, revealing the figure of a tall and mighty middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man descended above the battlefield, glanced just once at the chaotic scene below, then reached out and grasped as if catching something in the air, bringing it to his nose for a slight sniff.
He then said in a deep voice, "The scent of a third-tier Flood Dragon, the trace of a third-tier fire-related Demon Beast, and the vibes of two Human Clan cultivators!"
"It seems this was a premeditated assassination!"
At this point, his eyes turned cold, and he let out a cold chuckle filled with a piercing glare, "Good, very good!"
"You dare to kill my, Xiao Zhengyang's, beloved—how audacious of you!"
Then, he reached to his waist to slap his storage pouch, retrieving a golden talismanic sword.
This was a Messenger Gold Sword used by Golden Core Stage cultivators for communication, allowing two Golden Core Stage cultivators to send messages to each other from thousands of miles apart.
At this moment, Xiao Zhengyang muttered a few words to the golden talismanic sword before flicking his sleeve, sending it flying away.
In an instant, the golden talismanic sword broke through the sky, flying at a speed several times faster than the flight escape speed of a Golden Core Stage cultivator, heading rapidly towards its target.
Having dispatched the Messenger Gold Sword, Xiao Zhengyang then began conducting spells, tracking down the assailants' remaining scents at the scene.
However, the Zhou Family, having been a Golden Core lineage for over a thousand years, was certainly familiar with the Divine Skills of Golden Core Stage cultivators.
Therefore, while retreating from the scene, the two laid a maze of false leads, leaving behind their own strong scents in many locations to mislead.
Because of this, Xiao Zhengyang ended up taking many wrong turns before finally confirming that they had fled towards Dragon Abyss Marsh.
"Fled toward Dragon Abyss Marsh?"
Xiao Zhengyang's eyebrows furrowed slightly; he had not expected the culprits to be so bold.
Although the Dragon Transformation Sect had obtained silent consent from the Flood Dragon Clan to occupy and exploit the resources of the wilderness near Dragon Abyss Marsh,
the waters of Dragon Abyss themselves were still off-limits.
If a cultivator from the Dragon Transformation Sect entered the waters of Dragon Abyss, they would not receive any special treatment and would likewise be attacked by higher-tier Demon Beasts in the water.
Therefore, the cultivators of the Dragon Transformation Sect normally dared not venture into Dragon Abyss Marsh.
"Even if they have entered Dragon Abyss Marsh, so what? I, Xiao, refuse to believe that you dare venture deep into the forbidden area!"
A fierce determination flashed in his eyes as he immediately stopped hesitating and flew directly towards Dragon Abyss Marsh.
However, by the time he arrived at the edge of Dragon Abyss Marsh, he found that the scent had already disappeared.
It was only then that he realized he had been tricked again.
"Cunning bastards! To play me !"
Anger finally showed in his eyes, no longer suppressing the fury within.
He glared at the tumultuous expanse of marsh ahead, grinding his teeth and growling in a low voice, "Don't let me catch you, or I will make sure you understand the heavy price of playing me for a fool!"
Having said that, he left the scene in a huff.
He was well aware that since the culprits could command a third-tier Flood Dragon, in Dragon Abyss Marsh, he could not find them at all.
It was better to return home first. Based on this characteristic, he would investigate the origin of the culprits and then extract his revenge.
With the power of the Dragon Transformation Sect at his disposal, he refused to believe he could not figure out this matter!
Let's leave the vexed Xiao Zhengyang, who had sworn to ferret out the culprits to avenge his dead lover, and talk about Zhou Mingde and his companion, who successfully entered an underground river in Dragon Abyss Marsh with the Green Flood Dragon's cover and soon returned to Lanzhou against the current.
But when the two returned to their family, they found a large number of clan members gathered in front of the ancestral temple on Pagoda Peak.
A Zhou Family cultivator, who had been stripped of his upper clothing, was bound and kneeling in front of the ancestral temple.
Zhou Chun, the Vice Clan Leader of the Zhou Family, stood beside the man with several Family Elders, his back to the temple, facing the crowd.
Zhou Chun, with his hands clasped in a salute to the Zhou Family members who had come up, then said gravely, "Everyone, respected uncles, and brothers, today we have gathered you all because someone has severely violated clan rules and disobeyed family prohibitions. I, Zhengchun, must now publicly administer punishment as a warning!"
As he spoke, his gaze shifted to the kneeling Zhou Family cultivator on the ground and he demanded, "Zhou Zhenghuan, will you confess your own crimes, or should I speak for you?"
Upon hearing this, the man trembled and quickly turned his head, repeatedly kowtowing and pleading to Zhou Chun, "Please spare my life! I beg you, Brother Thirteen; I know I was wrong, truly I know!"
Seeing his state, Zhou Jia Kui among the crowd felt both anger and hatred surge within him.