When he spoke, his words were filled with resentment. Anyone who is forcibly called out from seclusion and whose cultivation is affected would feel like this.
Therefore, Ancestor Lu and Elder Li were not angry with his attitude, but they were quite disappointed with his response.
"Try contacting Li Shiming, see if you can reach him!" Elder Li instructed solemnly.
Li Yuanba glanced at Elder Li, retrieved a communication token without refusal and started activating it, only for Elder Li to take it away.
"No need for you to contact him, I’ll handle it!" Elder Li waved his hand and said.
Li Yuanba understood his intention, it was to locate Li Shiming’s general position through the communication token.
As long as there was coordination with Beishu Trading Company before contacting, once the connection was made with Li Shiming, his position could be pinpointed using the communication token.
"So there’s nothing else left for me? If that’s the case, I need to return to my abode to heal!" Li Yuanba bowed and asked.
"Here’s a healing spirit pill, quicken your recovery!" Ancestor Lu took out a jade bottle and handed it over.
Li Yuanba accepted the jade bottle and returned to his abode.
As he walked back, his mood was extremely gloomy.
His poor mood was not entirely due to Elder Li’s attitude toward him; after all, Elder Li was not his master, and interests naturally took precedence over anything else.
He could accept Ancestor Lu’s attitude; forcibly interrupting his cultivation was somewhat excessive for someone of Ancestor Lu’s standing, but Ancestor Lu’s gestures showed care towards him.
The main reason for Li Yuanba’s gloomy mood was something else.
From the way the two Nascent Soul Ancestors addressed Li Shiming, he noticed their attitude toward Li Shiming had changed.
Perhaps the two Nascent Soul Ancestors hadn’t noticed this themselves; they referred to Li Shiming directly by his name.
For ordinary Golden Core cultivators, being addressed by name by Nascent Soul Ancestors was a sign of attention and care.
But after Li Shiming ascended to late-stage Golden Core, from Nascent Soul Ancestors to ordinary cultivators on the Beishu Continent, everyone referred to him as Master Li.
This subtle change indicated the attitude of the Nascent Soul Ancestors on the Beishu Continent.
It also made Li Yuanba speculate that the Nascent Soul Ancestors likely suspected Li Shiming had acquired the Cave Heaven Inheritance.
Li Yuanba sighed helplessly; since he was being investigated here, Yin Shilan was likely to be investigated as well. Fortunately, he hadn’t contacted Yin Shilan before leaving; at most, Yin Shilan’s standing in the sect might be affected, but it wouldn’t be anything major.
He had provided Yin Shilan with plenty of Golden Core resources, enough for Yin Shilan to consume for a while.
Elder Li returned to his mountain peak with the communication token, with Ancestor Lu following silently.
Elder Li first contacted the Beishu Trading Company, requesting help to trace the other end of the communication token.
In truth, the Beishu Trading Company was reluctant to track Li Shiming; if anyone were to say who had benefited Beishu Trading Company the most, it wasn’t the Shushan Sect but Beishu Trading Company.
Since Li Shiming became a Guest Elder for Beishu Trading Company, its commercial market share on the continent had grown tremendously, suppressing other trading companies beyond their ability to compete.
With their relationship, Beishu Trading Company prioritized receiving various spirit pills refined by Li Shiming, a benefit far exceeding the value of these pills.
Yet no matter what thoughts Beishu Trading Company had, it couldn’t resist the Six Great Sects. When the Six Great Sects coordinated to find Li Shiming at all costs, Beishu Trading Company had to cooperate.
Elder Li took out the communication token and began to contact Li Shiming.
He encountered an awkward situation; the communication token couldn’t reach the distant one. Either Li Shiming was outside the range of the continent’s communication array, or he had turned off the communication token.
"It seems the relationship between Yuanba and Li Shiming hasn’t reached the level of entrusting one’s life!" Ancestor Lu remarked blandly.
"No, look who else could receive so many benefits from Li Shiming as Li Yuanba did. The Thousand Illusion Sect hesitates to deal with that girl; what apprehensions do we have? We should capture Li Yuanba, then leak information and set a trap!" Elder Li said coldly.
Ancestor Lu frowned; it would surely chill Li Yuanba’s heart. Not only was Li Yuanba’s talent astonishing, but he was also Elder Sword’s disciple and his grand-disciple.
"Old Lu, the Cave Heaven Inheritance pertains to the sect’s prosperity; you must consider its significance. Just a Golden Core disciple; besides, we aren’t taking his life, merely using him as bait. Once we’ve captured Li Shiming, we’ll let him go, with compensation afterward!" Elder Li said solemnly.
Ancestor Lu hesitated for a moment, but then he nodded.
Not only for the sect but also for the Nascent Soul Ancestors; if they could find Li Shiming and uncover the Cave Heaven Inheritance, they might advance.
The lifespan of an early-stage Nascent Soul practitioner is a thousand years; advancing to the middle stage adds another five hundred years.
Even with a slight possibility, the Nascent Soul Ancestors were willing to take the gamble, not to mention merely using a Golden Core disciple as bait, a price they were willing to bear.
Li Yuanba didn’t consume the third-grade healing spirit pill, sensing a trace of oppressive aura, as if something was about to happen.
He didn’t know where this feeling of oppression was coming from, but he soon found out.
Two terrifying auras appeared again, more brutally and rudely than before; last time, they kept his abode’s formation intact, but this time it was forcibly broken.
Unlike the formations at Chongxiao Peak, which were set by the sect and required coordination with the sect’s formation, thus under sect control.
Of course, forcing the activation of an Nascent Soul-level mountain’s protection formation required cumbersome procedures.
But since Elder Sword had left, and Li Yuanba, a Golden Core cultivator, became the Chongxiao Peak’s master, its authority decreased significantly, allowing the two Nascent Soul Ancestors to activate it easily.
The formation at his abode, however, was a private formation, and forcibly breaking it invaded private space.
Yet still, Li Yuanba’s abode formation was broken forcibly, and he himself was suppressed by an irresistible aura.
"Yuanba, you must endure some hardship; the sect will compensate you later!" Ancestor Lu explained vocally.
Elder Li, meanwhile, lightly pointed at Li Yuanba, a rune entering his body, sealing his Golden Core.
With his Golden Core sealed, Li Yuanba could no longer summon spiritual power.
Elder Li grabbed Li Yuanba’s body and flew off Chongxiao Peak, arriving at a completely black mountain.
Li Yuanba recognized this place as the Black Mountain, where sect criminals were detained, not only guarded by multiple late-stage Golden Core cultivators but also densely packed with formations, interconnected with the sect formation. For Golden Core cultivators imprisoned here—even with their powers—escape was impossible.
Li Yuanba was thrown into a cell, and Elder Li turned to leave; Ancestor Lu seemed to have something to say, but he shook his head and left without speaking further.
Looking at the surroundings, Li Yuanba saw a cell entirely made of metal, second-grade artifact refining materials.
Although only second-grade, it was covered in magistral runes, making the cell incredibly sturdy, coupled with external formations and late-stage Golden Core guards, making it an impregnable detention place.
The cell contained no items, not even a table or chair; he could only rest on the cold floor.
Compared to the cold environment, Li Yuanba felt a deeper chill in his heart.
He truly regarded the Senluo Sect as his home, akin to the Shushan Sect’s place in his heart.
But looking at this environment, he couldn’t help but shake his head and reveal a bitter smile.
The only consolation left was his Mustard Seed Ring; perhaps Elder Li spared it due to Ancestor Lu’s face.