"Where do these people belong to?"
Among the nine inner disciples, the one who looked the oldest, a young man, immediately asked with a confused look.
Seeing them return, Ji Yuan glanced at the youth who had spoken earlier. He was a disciple of Yunxia Peak, and if he remembered correctly, his name should be Xue Yang.
"If you want to know who they belong to, a little effort will suffice."
Elder Hong Tian's eyes flashed, and he directly placed his hand on the head of one of them.
In an instant, lightning appeared on his palm, and arcs of electricity drilled directly into the man's mind. However, due to the immobilizing spell still in effect, he was unable to cry out in agony.
Beside him, the other cultivators who were immobilized showed terror in their eyes.
However, no matter how they circulated their cultivation techniques or secret arts, they couldn't mobilize even half a shred of power within their bodies, let alone break free from the immobilizing spell.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan's eyes also flashed. Although the soul-searching technique was somewhat cruel, it was not the time to dwell on it.
At this critical juncture, since the other party had chosen to follow them in secret, they obviously did not have good intentions. Moreover, they did not have time to question them carefully and analyze whether their words were true.
Therefore, soul searching was the only option, as it could quickly reveal the other party's intentions.
After about twenty to thirty breaths, Elder Hong Tian withdrew his secret technique, lightly flicking off the residual lightning arcs from his palm.
"These three are cultivators from Wangsheng Lou, and they are also secretly working for the imperial court."
He organized his thoughts and then spoke.
The three who had followed them in secret held respectable positions in both Wangsheng Lou and the rebel army, and were also secretly serving the imperial court.
However, neither side knew of these three's dual identities.
No one was particularly surprised by this. In Feiyun County, Lingyang Prefecture, there were many such people.
They served both sides to gain more benefits, thinking they were flawless, when in reality, they were riddled with flaws.
"This is a bit troublesome. These people are just scouts; there is a capable group behind them."
Elder Hong Tian's expression was somewhat grim. By probing their memories through soul searching, he had learned that behind these three were two cultivators of the third realm.
One of them had a cultivation base in the late stage, and the other was in the middle stage.
These two were well-known rogue cultivators in Jinyang County. They usually gathered a group of cultivators in the first and second realms and specialized in ambushing and killing other sects and forces.
It could truly be said that they were a band of bandits.
These people occupied a stretch of barren mountains and wild lands to evade pursuit from their enemies. At the same time, they bribed high-ranking officials in the prefectural governor's office, continuously supplying them with various precious spiritual materials and large sums of money.
Not only did these bandits ambush cultivators from various factions, but they also occasionally slaughtered local civilians when they felt like it, which was considered commonplace for them.
"They deserve to die!"
Ji Yuan snorted coldly. With a flick of his fingers, several fine sword energies shot out.
Precisely three sword energies, they accurately pierced the brows of the three men, extinguishing their life force, souls, and everything else.
He was not someone who hated evil like it was a personal enemy, but when faced with such individuals who harmed the common people, he naturally would not show any mercy. He killed them all with a casual gesture.
"If they dare to pursue us, we will kill them all with our swords!"
Ji Yuan left a wisp of sword energy in each of the three corpses, containing the essence of his own understanding of the sword dao.
If those bandits dared to be foolish and pursue them, he would not mind sending them on another journey through reincarnation.
Elder Hong Tian had no objections to this, and neither did the nine inner disciples beside him; they all appeared to agree.
Disciples of the Nine Profound Sect should act this way!
It was not that they had to meddle in every injustice in the world, but since they had stumbled upon it, and it was within their capabilities, they would certainly intervene.
What if their abilities were insufficient?
Then they would turn around without hesitation and return to the sect to summon more capable senior disciples, or even elders!
After a minor interlude, the group resumed their journey. It was only after leaving the docking area behind for a considerable distance that they began to gallop their horses.
About a quarter of an hour later, seven or eight people suddenly appeared beside the three corpses.
One of them had a scar across his face, giving him a fierce aura. Threads of sin entwined him, and it was unclear how many lives and innocent souls his hands had stained.
"At least a third realm!"
The scarred face sank, and he immediately commanded, "Xiao Qi, your tracking and stealth skills are the best. Follow them from a distance."
As soon as his voice fell, a young man beside him nodded. Then, he quickly formed hand seals, and his figure instantly became ethereal.
This person was like a swift gust of wind, moving towards the distance at extreme speed.
Even if the people around opened their spiritual eyes, they could not detect the slightest trace of the young man, let alone the aura and fluctuations emanating from him.
Seeing this, the scarred face nodded, then ordered two more people to leave and inform the First Boss and Second Boss as quickly as possible.
As for himself, he led his men along the traces left by the others, maintaining a distance of at least one to two li.
Even a third realm cultivator could not extend their divine sense beyond a li, so at this distance, there was no need to worry about being detected.
In fact, Ji Yuan and the others did not detect anyone following them in secret.
However, even though they couldn't detect them, they had already anticipated it, so they did not relax their vigilance along the way, constantly paying attention to all movements around them.
Half a month passed like this. The group found that traveling along the Baiyuan River indeed helped them avoid many troubles.
Along the way, they no longer encountered fights between cultivators. Coupled with not having to detour around mountains, etc., by simply traveling in a straight line, they not only traveled much faster but also spent less time.
"In about another half a month, we should be near the pass."
One day, while resting and recovering their spiritual power, Elder Hong Tian pointed to the map and said.
Once they reached the imperial pass, they would not be far from Fengming Prefecture.
Then, they would just need to find a direction, bypass the checkpoints set up by the imperial court, and then quietly infiltrate and pass through the defense line.
After all, it was a border of ten thousand li. Even the powerful imperial court could not station heavy troops in every location, even with the assistance of various forces in Jinyang County.
And with their cultivation base, it would not be too difficult to silently pass through the defense lines of the imperial court and the rebels.
"I wonder what Zhao Yuansong and the others are up to now?"
Ji Yuan withdrew his gaze from the map and then looked into the distance, murmuring.
With their cultivation realm, if they were careful, passing through the defense lines of both sides would not be a difficult task.
However, sometimes, the "what if" that cultivators desired the most was also what they feared the most.