Martial Saint with Passives

But at least he now had a sliver of initiative in this perilous situation!

...

In a quiet room within the Vice Sect Leader’s courtyard.

Xie Songnian was sitting cross-legged on a cushion, meditating with his eyes closed.

But his mind had been unable to find peace for a long time.

Feeling agitated, he stood up and walked into the courtyard.

Occasionally, a message would arrive from Shadow Demon Mo Wuhen.

He mentioned having found traces of You Honglang and his servant, but unfortunately, they had escaped every time using that strange Rebirth Bell.

Furthermore, according to Mo Wuhen, he had not seen any sign of Xie Xingwen or Liu Cang with You Honglang and his servant.

"It’s been three months..." Xie Songnian muttered to himself.

A strange anxiety spread through his heart.

He had a nagging feeling that some crucial clue had been overlooked.

’Xingwen was last seen with Jiang Che and Tang Qiaoqiao in that same dense forest...’

’That boy, Jiang Che, seemed terrified when I questioned him, but his answers were smooth and fluent.’

’Thinking back on it now, wasn’t he a little too calm?’

’And then there’s the mysterious death of Mr. Wu in the Mining Area. The culprit still hasn’t been found.’

’Could it be...’

Xie Songnian felt he had vaguely grasped something, but the idea wasn’t fully formed.

"Someone, come!" he called out.

A trusted disciple who had been waiting nearby immediately stepped forward.

"Go, bring Jiang Che from Yunhai Courtyard to me! Immediately!"

"Yes, sir!" After receiving the order, the trusted disciple hurried away.

...

「In the B-level Cultivation Room.」

Jiang Che sat cross-legged, his Qi Blood surging as the Strength of a Late-stage Bone Forging Realm cultivator circulated endlessly within him.

Suddenly, his mind stirred.

The crow he had sent to monitor Xie Songnian was sending him a warning!

Jiang Che immediately took control of the crow’s body.

Through the crow’s eyes, he saw Xie Songnian summon his trusted disciple, seemingly to give an order.

Jiang Che immediately controlled the crow to fly closer.

"...Jiang Che... immediately!"

Although he didn’t hear everything, Jiang Che vaguely made out his own name!

Coupled with the direction the trusted disciple headed after leaving the courtyard...

It was straight toward the Inner Courtyard Disciple Dormitory Area!

Jiang Che’s heart leaped in alarm.

’That old dog Xie Songnian suspects me again!’

’And this time, he surely means trouble!’

Without a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Che ceased his cultivation, rose, and quickly left the Cultivation Room, heading straight for his dormitory.

"Brother? Why are you back?" Jiang Ling, who was practicing in the courtyard, was surprised to see Jiang Che’s sudden return.

Thanks to an abundance of Cultivation Resources, she had already reached the Mid-stage of the Stone Skin Realm and was working toward a breakthrough to the Late-stage.

Jiang Che suppressed his urgency and forced a relaxed smile. "Ling’er, you must be bored on the mountain, right? I’ll take you down for a few days. We can go wander the city market. I hear it’s really lively!"

"Really?" Jiang Ling’s eyes lit up, a smile instantly blooming on her face.

Staying in the Sect for so long was indeed a bit dull, so the chance to go down the mountain and have some fun made her incredibly happy.

"Mhm, just pack a few things. If we leave quickly, we can still make it to the market!"

Excited at the thought of going to the market, Jiang Ling moved swiftly and soon had her personal belongings packed.

Jiang Che had even less to pack, and the two of them left right away.

When they encountered familiar disciples along the way who asked where they were going, Jiang Che would smile and say:

"I’m just taking my sister down the mountain to relax for a bit. We’ll be back in a few days."

...

By the time the trusted disciple sent by Xie Songnian arrived at Jiang Che’s dormitory, the place was already empty.

He asked the disciples living nearby and learned that Jiang Che had taken his sister down the mountain for fun, but his specific destination was unknown.

The trusted disciple had no choice but to steel himself and return to report.

"Went down the mountain for fun?" Xie Songnian frowned upon hearing the news.

’He could have gone any other time, but he chose to go out at this exact moment?’

’What a coincidence!’

’Could he have known something in advance?’

’But my decision was made on a whim. How could he have found out?’

A cold glint flashed in Xie Songnian’s eyes as his suspicion deepened.

He immediately scanned his surroundings but found no one suspicious.

Suddenly, he noticed a crow on a distant tree, staring right at him.

’Could it be...’

But he immediately shook his head.

He found the thought absurd himself.

’How could a feathered beast possibly deliver a message!’

’But no matter what, I just need to capture Jiang Che and question him!’

"Go, notify ’Shadow Fiend’ and have him immediately take his men to capture Jiang Che for me!" Xie Songnian said coldly.

This "Shadow Fiend" was the leader of the ten Refining Organ Realm masters from the Demon Sect that Shadow Demon Mo Wuhen had lent him.

Since Jiang Che had killed members of the Demon Sect, he bore their tracking mark, making them the most suitable people for the hunt!

"Yes, sir!" The trusted disciple didn’t dare to delay and immediately turned to leave and relay the order.

But he didn’t notice that shortly after he left the Vice Sect Leader’s courtyard,

a black-feathered crow had been silently circling high above, following him all the way. It witnessed him leave the Sect and meet with a dark figure in the dense forest.

The dark figure then led nine other ghost-like shadows as they dispersed into Cangzhou Prefecture City from different directions and began their search.

...

「Cangzhou Prefecture City, East Market Street.」

Jiang Ling held a bright red tanghulu, eating it while looking around curiously.

Suddenly, she saw a stall with a sugar figurine artist, whose blown-sugar monkeys looked incredibly lifelike.

"Brother, that sugar figurine is so cool!" Jiang Ling called out to Jiang Che.

Jiang Che stopped and paused in front of the sugar figurine stall, casually picking one up to look at.

However, his eyes didn’t seem to be focused on the figurine.

In reality, he was still controlling the crow, tracking the members of the Demon Sect.

Through the crow’s perspective, he saw a man in common clothes, yet exuding an exceptionally fierce aura, rapidly approaching East Market Street, guided by some kind of Sensing.

Jiang Che had recently read a large number of Jianghu annals.

He now had a general idea of how the Demon Sect’s tracking mark worked.

’It turns out this mark isn’t as powerful as I imagined.’

’After the mark is placed, the tracker can only sense a general direction within a ten-li radius.’

’Beyond that distance, it’s useless.’

’Furthermore, if there are two marks within a ten-li radius, they can’t distinguish which mark belongs to whom.’

’They can only vaguely sense that a mark is present in that direction.’

Jiang Che had breathed a sigh of relief ever since learning this.

’At least I’m not completely exposed right under the Demon Sect’s nose.’

The Demon Sect member pursuing him this time happened to be relatively close to East Market Street, which was why he had been sensed.

Jiang Che put down the sugar figurine and said to Jiang Ling, "Ling’er, I just remembered I have some urgent business to attend to. Why don’t you go to Yin’s Cloth Shop and hang out with Sister Yingying for a couple of days?"

Jiang Ling nodded. "Okay! It has been a while since I’ve seen Sister Yingying."

Yin’s Cloth Shop was on East Market Street, not far from their location, so Jiang Che didn’t escort her.

As he watched his sister walk away, Jiang Che’s gaze instantly turned sharp.

He quickly left East Market Street and found a deserted corner.

With a thought, he activated [Shadow Escape]!

His figure instantly blurred, quickly vanishing completely as if he had merged with the air itself!

The Demon Sect expert who had been tracking him arrived on East Market Street. After carefully Sensing the area, a look of confusion appeared on his face:

’Strange, the aura was clearly in this vicinity, but there’s no sign of anyone. Wait... did the aura just move?’

He immediately followed the faint trace of the aura’s new location.

Before he knew it, he had been led to a deserted patch of wilderness on the outskirts of the city!

All around him was nothing but waist-high wild grass and a few crooked old trees.

He looked around vigilantly, but still found nothing!

’What’s going on?!’

He faintly sensed that something was wrong.

Just as he was about to search elsewhere, something unexpected happened!

A ripple suddenly appeared in the air in front of him!

Immediately after, a fist clad in dark silver Gloves burst out from the center of the ripple without any warning!

The punch was so fast it surpassed the limits of the naked eye, carrying with it a destructive power that instantly filled his entire field of vision!

"What is th—" Before the Demon Sect expert could even react, his Body-Protecting Qi was instantly shattered by the dark silver fist!

In the next moment, the fist struck him squarely on the forehead!

BAM!

There was a sickening thud as his head exploded like a ripe watermelon, sending red and white matter splashing everywhere!

The headless corpse swayed and crumpled to the ground.

Then, Jiang Che’s figure slowly materialized out of thin air.