Chapter 101: Lost Contact

A divine consciousness instantly swept over Xu Zhe’s entire body, attempting to find some clue within him.

But soon, the other party withdrew their divine sense, a fleeting look of confusion flashing across their face. Their lips moved slightly as they transmitted a voice to Xu Zhe.

“Who are you?”

The voice was deep and low, faintly tinged with irritation, as if Xu Zhe’s shout had caused them to lose track of a certain woman.

Xu Zhe smiled. When Li Chungang was observing him, he was observing Li Chungang as well.

That man was still a projection, but using some transformation technique, he had altered both his appearance and cultivation level, even concealing his aura. Yet, he could not escape Xu Zhe’s powerful and sensitive divine perception.

“Jing University has Three Talents,” Xu Zhe mused, not revealing his identity outright but instead uttering a coded phrase.

“Girls love to come here,” Li Chungang instinctively matched the latter half, then paused, his expression suddenly changing, eyes wide in disbelief.

That phrase was a poem Li Chungang had composed during his university days after a failed confession, while drinking with Xu Zhe and Wang Jianguo, drunkenly venting his frustrations.

It had often been recited by Wang Jianguo in their dormitory as a joke, but only there—not in front of others.

In other words, apart from Li Chungang, only Xu Zhe and Wang Jianguo knew that poem.

But Wang Jianguo had vanished for over three centuries, now possessing another’s body and appearing in this entirely new form? Or was it Xu Zhe himself?

“What about the last two lines?” Li Chungang asked with a strange expression.

“Too filthy to say,” Xu Zhe chuckled, shaking his head.

“Damn it…”

Li Chungang immediately confirmed Xu Zhe’s identity.

Wang Jianguo had loved that poem dearly, while only Xu Zhe would find it too vulgar.

“Follow me.”

Li Chungang’s face grew serious. He pulled out several talismans and quickly slapped them onto his body. With a sudden movement, he dashed into a nearby alley.

Xu Zhe glanced at the direction where the woman had disappeared, then followed Li Chungang, darting after him.

They weaved through alleys, circling several times before Li Chungang led Xu Zhe out of the ancient city, then flew swiftly into the distance.

Xu Zhe had thought Li Chungang intended to find a nearby safe place to talk, but he didn’t expect them to travel nonstop for three full days and nights.

Only when they reached the border of Western Kun Continent, in a remote and desolate wilderness, did Li Chungang finally stop.

He took out a red circular jade, flicked it lightly, and it instantly transformed into a red beam that pierced an inconspicuous small rock on the ground, then ricocheted toward another nearby stone. The red beam changed direction repeatedly, bouncing dozens of times until forming a complex formation on the ground.

“Boom!”

With a muffled sound, a red barrier rapidly expanded, enveloping both Xu Zhe and Li Chungang.

“Damn, Zhe, when did you come out? Wait, listen to me first. This formation won’t hold for long—at most just a few words. If it starts to collapse, we have to separate and escape in different directions immediately,” Li Chungang said seriously.

“That’s fine,” Xu Zhe smiled. “But you don’t really need to be so cautious. If that person discovers us, it might even lure them out.”

“Lure them out to kill you? And then kill me too?” Li Chungang rolled his eyes.

“He can’t kill me,” Xu Zhe shook his head calmly. “But that divine sense that suddenly appeared in the Burial Immortal Valley—I’m pretty sure they’re at the great consummation stage. Escaping from them would cost me dearly, and it’s not worth it.”

“Zhe, when will your narcissism—never mind. Time’s short. I didn’t expect to meet you so soon, so I’ll be brief. You must believe that what I said earlier was true. I don’t know what plans Wang Jianguo and the others had back then; I only heard later that they entered the Burial Immortal Valley and then disappeared without a trace,” Li Chungang said solemnly.

“Have you entered the Burial Immortal Valley?” Xu Zhe asked.

“My projection has entered countless times but found nothing. Others probably explored it too, with the same fruitless result. You understand what I mean, right?” Li Chungang hinted.

“I hadn’t thought of that before, but now that you mention it… I see,” Xu Zhe nodded.

Li Chungang’s words made sense. Since his projection could enter the Burial Immortal Valley, other powerful individuals’ projections could as well. They must have explored repeatedly over the years but found nothing.

So the question arose: why was it that Xu Zhe, on his first entry, had easily found certain brass discs, then followed those discs and other traces of battle to find that inscribed rock, then the cave, and finally encountered Gu Jia’er?

Was it too coincidental?

Had someone deliberately laid out those clues to lead him to Gu Jia’er?

But that was puzzling—Xu Zhe had entered the Burial Immortal Valley on a whim. How could the other party have prepared those clues in advance?

Two possibilities.

Either the other party swiftly arranged those clues during the few days Xu Zhe spent training near the outskirts.

Or they had prepared the clues long ago, but not to lure Xu Zhe—rather, for someone else who would next enter the Burial Immortal Valley.

“Gu Jia’er is suspicious,” Li Chungang said with meaning.

“You’re no saint yourself,” Xu Zhe smirked. “Who was that woman selling books, that you had to send out your projection to chase after her?”

“She… she is Dong Fang,” Li Chungang stammered.

“What? That woman is Dong Fang?”

Xu Zhe’s eyes widened.

Dong Fang was the girl from the university days whom Li Chungang had long pursued unsuccessfully, having been rejected several times.

“No way, I didn’t recognize her,” Xu Zhe muttered.

He vaguely remembered Dong Fang as a rather pure-looking girl in college, wearing glasses, with a scholarly aura.

How had she changed so much?

Now wearing a shabby Taoist robe, looking grimy and disheveled—if she had a bad odor, she might as well be a beggar.

“Ahem, she’s a bit obsessed with alchemy,” Li Chungang said awkwardly.

“That doesn’t make sense. I heard you two even concocted that Eternal Life Cola together. How did she end up so badly off?” Xu Zhe recalled.

“I shared the profits with her. She refused to accept them and wanted to distance herself… well, she’s probably just shy. You know, girls can be bashful,” Li Chungang replied.

“But she wouldn’t end up like this, would she?” Xu Zhe was puzzled.

Back then, Zhang Chang even respectfully called her Alchemist Dong. With her skills, many factions should have welcomed her. How could she fall to the point of having no spiritual stones to buy ingredients and begging on the streets?

“Zhe, do you know how expensive the ingredients for her pills are? The problem is, she never wants to properly refine pills. She’s always trying new things. When she finally produces some decent pills, she abandons them and moves on to new recipes. Yet other alchemists can’t replicate her formulas…” Li Chungang said quietly.

Xu Zhe immediately understood—it was a case of a prodigal heir.

Developing new products but never mass-producing them meant no profit, just endless research—a bottomless pit.

“Then why are you still chasing her?” Xu Zhe asked.

“I’m not,” Li Chungang said proudly.

“A simp?”

“Damn it, what a joke! I’m not a simp,” Li Chungang said, shocked, pointing emphatically in some random direction.

“I try to find her, she ignores me. I turn around and leave. Back when I was in Guangdong, people called me ‘handsome’ a dozen times a day. Why would I be a simp? Zhe, you’re underestimating me.”

“Then you chase her and she runs away when she sees you?”

“I was just passing by; she’s shy.”

“Oh.”

“…”

They stood in silence, exchanging glances.

Xu Zhe smiled without a word.

Li Chungang’s face reddened. Pursuing a girl for so many years without success, and having her flee at his sight—if word got out, it wouldn’t be a tale of devoted love but a pure joke.

“Hey, wait! We’ve talked so long, why is the formation still holding?” Li Chungang suddenly noticed something wrong.

“No worries. I just reinforced a few formation lines. We can talk a little longer,” Xu Zhe said with a faint smile.

“You know formations?”

Li Chungang’s eyes widened again, genuinely startled.

He knew well how powerful this formation was, said to conceal any divine perception, making those inside vanish without a trace.

It was a fragmented formation plate he had paid a great price for. When complete, it was a top-tier treasure. Though damaged, its power was hardly diminished, only its durability.

He never expected Xu Zhe to silently reinforce it right under his nose, extending its endurance.

“I have some skill in formations,” Xu Zhe said calmly, waving his fingers again with a faint smile. “Now we have enough time to talk.”

“…”

Li Chungang fell silent.

Then suddenly, he produced the red circular jade and flicked it lightly.

Boom!

The formation trembled violently, on the verge of collapse.

“We can’t talk now,” he said with a strange smile, vanishing with a flicker. His entire body dissolved into twinkling stars, disappearing without a trace.

Swish!

Almost simultaneously, a vast divine consciousness swept over Xu Zhe’s body, then vanished abruptly.

That familiar sensation again.

But it unsettled Xu Zhe.

Twice now.

Each time he met Li Chungang, just as they began to talk, this divine sense appeared, then ignored him and left.

Was it really such a coincidence?

“Third time’s the charm. Let’s see if you show up again,” Xu Zhe murmured, narrowing his eyes.

Then he turned to the direction Li Chungang had vanished, deep in thought.

“Did you sense that divine consciousness coming early? Or… were you playing all this yourself?”

Xu Zhe whispered in his heart.

Seeing the same trick twice, he had to suspect.

After all, it was only a great consummation stage presence, hardly that clever. And it seemed obsessed with Li Chungang, even though he was merely a projection.

On reflection, both times Li Chungang appeared, regardless of how they circled the topics, the information always ended up linked to Gu Jia’er.

“Since you keep hinting that Gu Jia’er has problems, let me see what you’re really up to.”

Xu Zhe took out the All-Seeing Jade Token and pressed it gently, sending a communication request to Chu Xiaotong.

But the jade trembled slightly, its glow flickered and quickly died out.

The communication request was rejected!

This meant the other party was out of the spirit network’s coverage, or the All-Seeing Jade Token was destroyed or blocked.

Xu Zhe frowned, pressing again, this time sending a request to Qu Hongxiu.

The jade glimmered briefly again, then extinguished.

Another communication rejection!

“What’s going on?”

Xu Zhe felt something was amiss. Both Chu Xiaotong and Qu Hongxiu were suddenly out of contact?

…