Back in the Long mountain range, Yu Jin and his team were strolling through the woods. He casually looked around, spotting a few places where there were still traces that somebody had been there a while ago but he didn’t do anything.

It was quite astonishing that they had picked the direction where the demonic practitioners had fled of all places. It didn’t mean that they would be able to find them though. With the time the message had needed to travel to the Yun Zou Sect, as well as the time he had taken to prepare for this mission, the demonic practitioners were long gone.

If the Long mountain range wasn’t a place where seldom somebody passed by, there would be no way to make sure that these traces were actually from the demonic practitioners. But as it stood, there shouldn’t have been anybody else coming by.

While Yu Jin didn’t bother to look for any other clues, Cen Fu was conscientiously searching the area, taking note of every little thing. He had on an expression that said he wasn’t too sure what to make of his findings though. Well, it was difficult after all. Every now and then, he turned to glance at Yu Jin, maybe hoping that he would be able to get some kind of hint from him but Yu Jin’s expression didn’t change even once.

On the other hand, Qiguan Cheng Da was looking at different directions every now and then as if he was also looking for clues but inwardly, all his thoughts were on how to accomplish what he had originally come here to do: Finally taking the Amethyst Lightning pill and changing his own aptitude to pave the way for his future accomplishments.

Even though he had managed to bag a few pills before and he would be able to pick three things that he wanted to keep, it wouldn’t be good if they returned to the sect to do so. After all, the Amethyst Lightning pill was precious. Would it really be given to an outer sect disciple like him?

Even though he found it, the sect might still try to do something just based on the fact that it was so precious. After all, there were still Elders in the outer sect that had their eyes on some disciples with better spirit veins and wanted to nurture them. Acquiring this kind of pill and giving it to them was basically a guarantee to make them their loyal follower that felt indebted to them and could later bring them benefits.

And even the Elders in the inner sect might want to take possession of this to change the aptitude of one of their disciples to something even better. After all, as long as the disciple didn’t have heavenly spirit veins already, that Amethyst Lightning pill could be used. Naturally, they would want to give it a try. Who wouldn’t want a disciple with heavenly spirit veins? It would make things so much easier.

Qiguan Cheng Da glanced at Yu Jin and wondered if he should bring the matter up with him. They were … 'friends', after all. He should want to help him, shouldn’t he?

But then again, what if he didn’t? He would still need to rely on Yu Jin later on. If he somehow realized where this Amethyst Lightning pill came from, it wouldn’t be good. And there was a slight chance that he would. After all, they had talked about Jing Yi and the Grandmaster’s disciple before. Yu Jin had been the one to suggest that the Grandmaster’s disciple might have an Amethyst Lightning pill forged for Jing Yi. So if one appeared right now, he might feel that it was more than just a curious coincidence.

Naturally, he couldn’t let that happen. So maybe it was better not to bring it up after all. But then what should he do? He couldn’t just hope for the best. No, this was too important to leave it to chance. He had to find a way to secure what was best for him.

He had to keep a close eye on Yu Jin and then try to see if there would be an opportunity to maybe take the pill before they had to return to the Yun Zou Sect. That would probably be for the best. If it was already taken, nobody could ask him to hand it over. They might gnash their teeth in anger but it couldn’t be changed. Yes, that would be the best scenario.

Yu Jin stopped walking and motioned to a place not far in front of them. "It looks like somebody set up camp here."

Cen Fu went over and knelt down next to the fire pit, taking a closer look at the stones and ashes. "It seems like it’s been here for quite some time since then. Most likely more than two weeks."

Yu Jin nodded. "I think so too. Well, at the very least, we know in which direction they went now. That is already very good. I guess we can count ourselves lucky that we chose this direction." He took out the jade slip with the information about the mission and added what they had found out. "I guess we should stop here then. Even if we go further, the traces will be old. In fact, I’m pretty sure that we would lose them. So it might be better to turn back and reconvene with the others. After that, we can return to the Yun Zou Sect and I’ll report to my Master."

Cen Fu looked at him with a worried expression. "Is that really alright with you, senior martial brother Yu? If …" He glanced at Qiguan Cheng Da, thinking of what he had heard before. He really didn’t want to pry into Yu Jin’s private matters but if there was really an old story between him and these demonic practitioners, then he probably didn’t want to give up.

Yu Jin looked back at the fireplace, his expression unreadable. "It’s alright. The past is the past. I’m a disciple of the Yun Zou Sect now." With that, he turned around and went back the way they had come from. It was as if this really didn’t concern him anymore.