Gongsun Hong took a deep breath and said, "You must promise me that if I tell you the news, you will let me go."
"Agreed. You should understand that my goal is the Weakening Water Pearl. Otherwise, our Divine Sun Holy Sect wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to kill you, the Southern Heaven Four Demons," Xu Zimei calmly replied.
"As long as what you say is correct, I will let you go," Luo Changfeng said evenly.
"I hid the Weakening Water Pearl in a cave outside Sun-Chasing City. I can take you there," Gongsun Hong said after some thought.
"One of the Five Spirit Beads, and you just hid it outside? Aren’t you afraid of someone else taking it?" Luo Changfeng asked with a hint of suspicion.
"Each of the Five Spirit Beads requires a companion," Gongsun Hong replied.
"Without its companion, even a Great Emperor couldn’t take the Spiritual Pearl away."
"What is the companion of the Weakening Water Pearl?" Luo Changfeng asked.
The information obtained by the Sect Gate mentioned only that one of the Five Spirit Beads, the Weakening Water Pearl, had appeared.
As for understanding the Five Spirit Beads, they knew nothing. In this respect, there was a complete blank, so he wanted to understand clearly.
Gongsun Hong didn’t hesitate and directly took out an item shaped like a water ladle from his Storage Ring.
Or rather, it was a water ladle, entirely in azure blue, with many wave patterns carved on it.
The entire ladle looked very dreamy and transparent.
The moment the ladle appeared, Xu Zimei, who was not far away, discovered that something in his True Fate World had slightly quivered.
He felt carefully and found that it was actually the Wind Extinguishing Bead.
Although the quivering was not strong, Xu Zimei still felt it.
He looked at the two men talking in the courtyard. He couldn’t hear their conversation, but his gaze narrowed slightly.
Xuanyuan Xuantian, seeing this scene, seemed to be in no better mood himself, and he went back to the City Lord Mansion with Xu Zimei.
"Brother Xu, what are your plans now?" he asked Xu Zimei, "Are you going back to the Sect Gate?"
"Before returning to the Sect Gate, I plan to do one thing," Xu Zimei said with a smile.
"Then I won’t keep you. Brother Xu, when you have the time in the future, you’re welcome to visit Sun-Chasing City often," Xuanyuan Xuantian said with a smile.
"Sure," Xu Zimei nodded slightly.
Not long after, Luo Changfeng returned to the mansion with Gongsun Hong in tow. He didn’t inform anyone else and personally watched over him for the night.
The next morning, Luo Changfeng and his party planned to take Gongsun Hong back to the Sect Gate. After saying a few simple words to Xuanyuan Xuantian, they left.
Xu Zimei also said goodbye to Xuanyuan Xuantian and departed.
On an early autumn morning, it was an unusually clear day.
The golden sunlight shone in the sky; the cloudless vista made the distant green waters and hills stand out vividly.
The air was fresh and also crisp.
Luo Changfeng and his companions walked slowly to the south.
The five of them traveled swiftly, and by dusk, they arrived in front of a gorge.
"Is this the place?" Luo Changfeng asked Gongsun Hong.
"Yes," Gongsun Hong nodded, adding, "This gorge is known as the Mountain Gorge.
"Back when the elders of the Divine Sun Holy Sect were hunting us down, the five of us split up and went our separate ways. I took the Weakening Water Pearl and hid here."
"Let’s go," Luo Changfeng nodded and said.
"Remember what you promised me," Gongsun Hong reminded him before walking into the gorge.
The gorge wasn’t very large; the mountains on both sides were only a few dozen meters high, but they were quite steep.
The sides of the mountains were covered with various flowers, plants, and trees. Now that it was late autumn, all sorts of vegetation had turned to yellow leaves.
Underfoot was a thick layer of fallen leaves.
The group walked within the gorge, while sporadic bird calls came from the barren branches above.
Ultimately, the group’s footsteps halted in front of a large tree.
The tree looked very sturdy, roughly tall enough that several people could wrap their arms around it.
Gongsun Hong approached, his hands plunging directly into the trunk of the tree, and with a strong yank, he uprooted the tree entirely.
However, it was only after the tree was uprooted that everyone discovered there was a hole beneath it.
The mouth of the hole was pitch black, and it was unknown where it extended to.
It was only after everyone entered the hole that Xu Zimei’s figure slowly came to a stop in front of it.
He didn’t go in but leisurely waited outside.
After a long time, the sky gradually turned to dusk, and the sun set behind the Western Mountains.
Twilight spread its last rays at the end of the horizon, and a lone bird spread its wings, flying toward the skyline.
At the location of the hole, Luo Changfeng and four others came out one after another.
Faintly, the sound of roaring could still be heard.
"Luo Changfeng, you deceived me, you said if I told you the location of the Weakening Water Pearl, you would let me go."
"I did say I’d let you go, but my junior brothers and sisters didn’t say they would let you go!"
When the five people walked out of the hole, they saw Gongsun Hong with all his limbs dismembered, all the bones in his body shattered, and he was tied up like that.
"You’re too naive, do you know what the Weakening Water Pearl is? If we let you go and you spread the news..."
Luo Changfeng said indifferently, "Do you think our sect would leave such a risk for ourselves?"
Gongsun Hong snorted coldly and turned his head away without speaking further.
Luo Changfeng was ready to leave with the others when he suddenly turned his head and saw someone leaning against the big tree that previously had been uprooted.
He was slightly startled, as he had not sensed any presence just a moment ago.
The fact that the other person could hide their presence without a trace made his eyes narrow slightly.
"Young Master Xu, we meet again," Luo Changfeng’s expression relaxed a bit upon recognizing Xu Zimei.
At least it wasn’t some old monster, given that he was well aware of the Weakening Water Pearl’s value.
"Indeed, what might Brother Luo be doing here?" Xu Zimei asked with a smile.
"Just a sect mission, I’m afraid I cannot divulge more," Luo Changfeng replied.
"He..." Gongsun Hong was about to shout something when his mouth was instantly smashed with a palm strike.
"If Young Master Xu has no further business, I shall take my leave. The sect is waiting for me," Luo Changfeng said.
"Alright, let’s not play coy," Xu Zimei said.
"To avoid tearing each other apart, just hand it over nicely."
"I don’t understand what you mean, Young Master Xu," Luo Changfeng said, his eyes slightly narrowed.
"Weakening Water Pearl," Xu Zimei replied with three words.
Luo Changfeng’s face changed for a moment before regaining his composure.
Looking at Xu Zimei, he said, "They say that you secured the first place in the Great Six Sects Tournament, that you are the number one figure in the Extreme West Region on the surface.
It seems I must witness your strength for myself."
"You are very confident," Xu Zimei shook his head with a smile.
Luo Changfeng did not hold back, immediately employing his Undying Battle Body.
He turned to Luo Qingsnow and the others, saying, "Back off. If I can defeat him, there will be no trouble.
If I cannot, I will hold him off while you escape with the Weakening Water Pearl and hurry back to the sect for help."
"Xu, if you dare to injure my brother, the Undying Race will never let you off," Luo Qingliu shouted angrily from the side.