Between the mountains, the jungle was densely covered with green trees.
Several people rode on horseback on the rugged mountain road.
The group consisted of Xu Ning, Wei Changqing and others who were now on the way to Yunying City.
“In five or six days, we will be able to arrive at Yunying City!”
Wei Changqing said to Xu Ning and the other two. “In half a day, we will arrive at the county city, so let’s rest for the night. We’ll set off in the morning.”
“The speed of our journey is much faster than I expected.”
Below Xu Ning was a high-quality horse, a horse with the blood of a demon beast.
One of the guards brought by Wei Binglin and Wei Zicheng was killed in the battle, so his horse was temporarily assigned to Xu Ning.
“Brother Xu, even though you are older than me, when we are in the Source Faction, I will be your senior.”
Wei Binglin joked, “I am an inner sect disciple of the Source Faction, while you will be an outer sect disciple once you join.”
“Then, Senior Brother Wei, please take care of me.”
Xu Ning smiled and cupped his hands.
Although it was a long journey, since he had company, he wasn’t overly bored.
“Source Faction is the sacred place of martial arts in State Feiyun. Only there will we truly see what the right path of martial arts is.”
Wei Binglin said, “Sects like the Source Faction that can focus on cultivating internal disciples are rare. The nearby large states are all separate and in dispute. Most of the energy of those sects are spent on fighting against their enemies. To join a sect there, you have to basically sell your soul, unlike when joining the Source Faction.”
“Source Faction…”
After hearing what Wei Binglin said, Xu Ning couldn’t wait to experience what the top sect in State Feiyun would be like.
Ta! Ta! Ta!
Suddenly, Xu Ning felt the horses around him slow down.
After a while, the horses under them all stopped and looked uneasy.
“Uncle, what’s going on?”
Wei Zicheng asked Wei Changqing.
Wei Changqing’s face was filled with solemness. He seemed to sense something as he turned to look towards the distant horizon.
At that moment, there was a sharp, ear-piercing cry.
A gray-white raptor suddenly appeared over the hills, flapping its wings.
The raptor was huge, especially with its wings spread out.
“There are people on the raptor’s back!”
Wei Zicheng suddenly said.
Xu Ning took a closer look and could see two figures.
“They seem to be coming after us!’
Wei Changqing realized that something was wrong.
He saw the gray-white raptor hovering over their heads.
“Sure enough, you’re from the Wei family clan!”
The raptor lowered its altitude.
A burly man came forward with a look of surprise in his eyes.
On him was a shiny cyan plate.
“Seems like I won’t have to go all the way to Yunying City to kidnap you all!”
The burly man laughed.
His words made Xu Ning and Wei Changqing feel nervous.
‘Enemy!’
“Stop talking nonsense, just do it!”
The other person on the back of the gray raptor was an old woman wearing floral clothes. She was holding a wooden cane and looked very old.
“Okay, Mother-in-law!”
The burly man jumped down from a height of several dozen meters.
“Who are you?”
Wei Changqing knew that they came with bad intentions. “My father is the Head of the Wei clan.”
“The Head of the Wei clan?”
When the burly man heard this, he was overjoyed. “So you have the blood of the Wei clan in you!”
He stepped forward and was about to pull Wei Changqing’s reins.
The five guards led by Wei Binglin set off at the same time and surrounded the burly man.
A few people drew out their knives and slowly moved in.
“Pathetic!”
The burly man raised his arm, instantly killing the five guards.
This scene made Xu Ning break out in cold sweat.
He knew well that among the five guards, even the weakest one was in the mortal realm seventh stage, but the enemy just raised his hand and several guards were instantly killed.
‘What is this…’
Wei Changqing’s pupils shrank. “It’s true qi… this person is a void realm warrior!”
Above the mortal realm was the void realm!
“You idiot, why did you kill them so quickly!”
The old woman on the gray raptor suddenly said angrily, “There is a shortage of manpower in the Fire Crystal Mine. They could have been valuable laborers!”
“My mistake, Mother-in-law.”
The burly man scratched his head, looking embarrassed.
“Quick, take down the three Wei family descendants and the mortal realm martial artist, and bring them back together.”
The old woman urged.
The burly man received the order.
He activated his true qi.
“It’s over…”
Xu Ning felt a sudden pain in his chest, then he lost consciousness.
The four fell off their horses at the same time, falling unconscious.
Then, the gray-white raptor landed, exposing its spacious back.
The burly man threw them onto the back of the raptor.
“Let’s go!”
After the burly man got on the back of the raptor, the raptor flew up, rushed to the clouds, and flew all the way south.
“There were originally six high-level laborers, but only one is left because of you!”
As they traveled between the clouds on the back of the raptor, the old woman said, “You are not in charge, so you don’t understand our troubles!”
“Mother-in-law, aren’t they just a few mortal realm martial artists?”
The burly man seemed disappointed. “When we return to State Jifeng, I will grab fifty of them for you!”
“Without my company, you dare to walk out of the family clan?”
The old woman sneered. “You don’t know how many people outside the family clan want to kill you for those things you did!”
The burly man went silent.
“But this trip is going much smoother than I expected.”
The old woman took the jade plate from the hands of the burly man and wiped it lightly, before putting it away. “I didn’t expect to run into the blood of the Wei family. We didn’t even have to go all the way to Yunying City in order to abduct them.”
“With the Wei family’s blood in hand, the Dao Seal can be slowly opened, and by then, the entire clan will be able to comprehend it.”
The old woman finally showed a satisfied smile.
“Mother-in-law is really working hard for the family clan.”
The burly man sighed.
The old woman smiled and stopped talking.
The gray-white raptor, like a sharp arrow between the clouds, kept flying towards State Jifeng.
State Jifeng.
Near the Fire Crystal Mine.
Xu Ning woke up.
Just after waking up, Xu Ning found himself in a cage with shackles on his hands and feet.
On the other side of the cage, there was a person with messy hair and puffy eyes.
After seeing Xu Ning wake up, he just glanced at him for a moment, before minding his own matters again.
‘Where am I…’
Xu Ning looked out of the cage.
In the distance, he saw a big hole under a huge mountain.
Some people kept coming in and out, holding iron pickaxes, pushing a cart full of crystal clear fire stones. They looked exhausted.
Next to them, there were people wearing leather armor and holding barbed whips in their hands.
Those people looked arrogant, and they had a word on their clothing that Xu Ning did not recognize.
The word was similar to the word “supervisor” in State Feiyun. Xu Ning guessed that those people were probably the supervisors around here.
‘It seems that I have been taken to the mine…’
Before Xu Ning was hit unconscious by the burly man, he had heard them mention that there was a shortage of laborers at the Fire Crystal Mine.
‘Who are those two people?’
Xu Ning still had lingering fears at the thought of that burly man slaying several high-level mortal realm martial artists with one swipe of his hand.
‘I wanted to go to the Source Faction, but I didn’t expect to be involved in this mess…’
Xu Ning understood that those people were coming after the Wei clan.
But he was caught as an afterthought and was sent to the Fire Crystal Mine.
As for Wei Changqing, Wei Binglin and Wei Zicheng, they were probably still being held captive. Xu Ning did not know where they were.
Xu Ning was fully aware of his dilemma.
‘I have to find a way to escape.’
Xu Ning didn’t know what he would face next.
But he knew very well that he was likely going to suffer.
Xu Ning looked around and noticed that there were no guards around him. The other person who was in the cage with him had his eyes closed.
At that moment, his skin color darkened. He then activated his internal energy to try and break himself free.
“Ah…”
Xu Ning only felt a sting in his palm, but the shackles were still intact.
He tried a few more times, but to no avail.
“Don’t even try, it’s useless. It’s better to save some energy.”
The other person in the cage said to Xu Ning, “These shackles are specially made for us. They can’t be broken open.”
Xu Ning was silent for a moment upon hearing this.
He looked at the man. “Where is this?”
Xu Ning felt that this man was stronger than him.
“What?”
The man was obviously surprised.