Meng Fan chuckled self-deprecatingly.
To flatten the Shu Mountain Sword Sect single-handedly? That kind of person probably hasn't been born yet.
And likely never will be!
The Shu Mountain Sword Sect is too powerful. Whether in terms of heritage or sheer strength, it's not something one or two people can shake.
If multiple top sects joined forces, there might be some hope of flattening the Shu Mountain Sword Sect.
But to think one person could do it? That's pure nonsense!
Even if a True Immortal descended, it wouldn't be possible.
"Sword Immortal of Alchemy, Ye Lingyun. Adding 'Alchemy' before 'Sword Immortal' gives a gentle impression, but that's an illusion!"
Meng Fan muttered to himself. A person who would annihilate a sect at the slightest disagreement, slaughtering indiscriminately regardless of age or infirmity…
How could such a person be kind-hearted?
Meng Fan sheathed the Water Cold Sword and continued to polish another long sword. This was only the eighth sword; out of the ten swords he had taken out, two still hadn't absorbed the Essence of the Sword.
After absorbing the Essence of the Sword from all ten spiritual swords, he resumed his cultivation.
He didn't absorb the Essence of the Sword from all the hundred-plus spiritual swords in one go, instead saving some for future use.
***
Time flies during cultivation; it doesn't feel long at all.
As the sun set and the sky darkened, Meng Fan noticed that Liu Yanping and Yang Shishi hadn't returned yet, causing him to frown slightly.
Normally, these two young ladies would know to come back by nightfall after going out to gather information.
"Either they've found a lead and can't leave, or they've run into trouble!" Meng Fan muttered, a hint of helplessness on his face.
Even though he didn't go with the two young ladies, it didn't mean he didn't care about their safety.
If he didn't care, he wouldn't have come to Kongyue Town with them.
"If they've found a lead, that's good. Solving the matter on the first day here would save me a lot of trouble." Meng Fan got up from the bed and left the room.
He needed to check on the two young ladies and, hopefully, find the Ghost Shadow Sect disciple and eliminate him once and for all.
Kongyue Town wasn't large; finding someone here wouldn't be too difficult for Meng Fan.
With his Divine Sense fully extended, he could cover a radius of about a hundred meters.
A hundred meters might not seem like much, but moving five times would cover a Km.
After a stick of incense's time, Meng Fan had scanned the entire Kongyue Town with his Divine Sense but found no trace of Liu Yanping or Yang Shishi.
"Did they leave town?" Meng Fan's brow furrowed slightly.
It's getting dark; why would those two young ladies leave town?
He smiled wryly, feeling like he was being overly concerned.
If it were him, he would go wherever he wanted to gather information. Who says you can only investigate within the town?
"Unfortunately, my Divine Sense is still too weak. If I had cultivated my Divine Soul, I could scan the entire town in an instant."
Even if they were outside the town, his Divine Sense would cover a vast area, making it easy to find them!
But with his current Divine Sense strength, searching outside the town was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
"Logically, my Divine Sense should be far superior to others in the same realm due to cultivating Fu Xi's visualization techniques. How did that abandoned disciple of the Buddhist sect, Wu Tian, cultivate his Divine Sense to be so strong?"
Thinking about Divine Sense, Meng Fan recalled Wu Tian. This guy was also in the Heavenly Origin Realm, so why was his Divine Sense so much stronger?
He'd have to pry some information out of that guy when he got back.
Meng Fan left Kongyue Town, continuing his search for Liu Yanping and Yang Shishi.
Fortunately, as a cultivator with Divine Sense, finding people was much easier for him than for ordinary people.
His Divine Sense continuously covered a radius of a hundred meters as he moved quickly, making the search somewhat efficient.
After another stick of incense's time, he had circled around Kongyue Town, scanning an area within a ten-li radius with his Divine Sense but still found no trace of Liu Yanping and Yang Shishi.
Where did those two young ladies go?
Meng Fan felt a bit helpless. Why did they go so far?
"Red Qi!" Meng Fan called out.
In the next second, Red Qi's phantom appeared before Meng Fan.
The Hong Qi Sword and Meng Fan had almost reached a state of mental synchronization.
"Help me find out where those two young ladies went!" Meng Fan said to Red Qi.
"Yes, Master." Without another word, Red Qi re-entered the Hong Qi Sword.
The Hong Qi Sword then transformed into a streak of light, shooting into the sky and heading into the distance.
To be honest, the Hong Qi Sword was much faster than Meng Fan.
Although Red Qi was a spiritual entity, her Divine Sense was actually stronger than Meng Fan's.
Much stronger!
So Meng Fan didn't bother searching for Yang Shishi and Liu Yanping himself, leaving the task to Red Qi.
Although Meng Fan could also perform Sword Flight, it was an extreme operation that consumed too much energy and wasn't worth it!
In just half a stick of incense's time, a streak of light came speeding back towards Meng Fan from the horizon.
The Hong Qi Sword had returned!
"Master, I've found them." Red Qi's phantom appeared on the Hong Qi Sword, giving off a sense of Sword Flight.
"How are they?" Meng Fan asked.
"They've been captured but are unharmed for now. It seems the ones who captured them are from the Ghost Shadow Sect. But the information was wrong; there are not just one but six people from the Ghost Shadow Sect!" Red Qi reported to Meng Fan.
"Lead the way." Meng Fan said calmly.
Indeed, he was very calm, showing no signs of anger or frustration.
Although the two young ladies had been captured, as long as they were unharmed, it was fine.
Moreover, Meng Fan was quite surprised that they had managed to find the Ghost Shadow Sect members so quickly. It showed they had some capability.
At least they saved Meng Fan some time; he could resolve the matter today!
Originally, he thought he would have to spend several days in Kongyue Town, but now it seemed he could wrap things up tonight.
***
After half a stick of incense's time, Meng Fan followed the Hong Qi Sword to a valley.
In the valley, six tents were set up.
"Master, Liu Yanping and Yang Shishi are in the second tent on the left.
Apart from the three people outside the tents, there are two in the first tent on the right and one in the third tent on the right.
The one in the third tent has the highest cultivation level, at the True Martial Realm…"
"I got it!" Meng Fan interrupted Red Qi.
Just six True Martial Realm cultivators; no need to waste so many words.
Meanwhile, inside the tent, Yang Shishi and Liu Yanping were tied up, sitting in a corner with dejected expressions.
"I'm sorry, Shishi. It's all my fault. After finding the Ghost Shadow Sect disciple's trail, I should have gone back to seek Senior Brother Meng's help."
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan