Jun'an Shi Disappears

Broken Trace Wasteland.

While Dugu Shiling's team was exploring this area, they also triggered a hidden stage: Time-Hunting Beast - Time Condensation Pearl.

The moment the stage was triggered, Dugu Shiling and the disciples were swept into an independent space. Within this space existed a bizarre creature known as the Time-Devouring Beast.

Time-Devouring Beasts would not actively attack cultivators, but as they shuttled back and forth, they would continuously gnaw on the surrounding time faults, causing the time in that area to fall into disorder.

Once successfully captured, a Time-Devouring Beast would transform into a Time Condensation Pearl, which contained the pure origin power of time.

The effects of the Time Condensation Pearl were incredibly potent, with two core functions:

First, it could be actively activated to release the power of time confinement, temporarily halting time in a designated area. The duration depended on the user's cultivation base, with a maximum limit of the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Whether used for escaping, launching sneak attacks, or assisting in combat, it possessed miraculous effects.

Second, it could be worn on the body to passively absorb the surrounding power of time, slowly enhancing a cultivator's comprehension of the Great Dao of Time.

If Jun Anshi were here, she could directly hunt these time beasts using her power of time.

Unfortunately, she was not. Dugu Shiling did not rashly allow her disciples to make a move to hunt them.

Instead, she observed their states as they moved. Watching the movement trajectories of those Time-Devouring Beasts, she discovered that although they could shuttle through time faults,

each shuttle consumed their own power.

The more frequently they shuttled, the dimmer the light on their bodies became, requiring them to pause for a moment to recover.

Wait,

Dugu Shiling said.

Wait until they have exhausted themselves to a certain extent, and their movement speed will drop.

When that happens, weave your spiritual energy into a net. Do not touch them directly; instead, use the net to scoop them out.

This wait lasted for nearly half an hour.

As the Time-Devouring Beasts shuttled between the time faults, some drifted further away, while others gradually approached the team's position.

Dugu Shiling locked her eyes on a silvery-white Time-Devouring Beast shaped like a jellyfish.

After a few shuttles, the light on its body had noticeably dimmed by more than half, and its movement speed had gone from lightning-fast to a leisurely stroll.

Now.

Dugu Shiling was the first to strike. A streak of ice-blue spiritual energy gathered in her palm, transforming into a dense spiritual net that swept down over the Time-Devouring Beast.

As the net fell, the Time-Devouring Beast's body trembled slightly and it began to struggle.

It thrashed wildly within the net, attempting to squeeze through the gaps in the mesh, but Dugu Shiling's spiritual net was woven extremely tightly.

As Dugu Shiling continuously shrank the net, its struggles gradually weakened. Its body began to contract, condense, and solidify, ultimately turning into a thumb-sized pearl.

Seeing that the method was effective, the other disciples followed suit, and they ended up staying in this area for quite a long time.

......

The Cangwu Mystic Realm also had alternating days and nights.

Night fell quickly. The grayish-white hue of the sky gradually turned into a deep ink-blue. There were no stars and no moon, only endless darkness shrouding everything.

The various teams from the Heavenly Human Sacred Land set up camp and lit bonfires.

The disciples took turns standing guard, changing shifts every four hours to ensure that someone in the camp was always awake, ready to deal with any unforeseen events.

The night passed without incident.

Time quickly arrived at the morning of the third day. The sky brightened once again as hazy light spilled from above, dispelling the chill of the night.

The disciples emerged from their stone houses. After a brief rest, they packed up the camp and followed Jun Anshi to continue exploring deeper into the Boundless Forest Sea.

The Boundless Forest Sea was much larger than imagined. After two days, they realized they had still not left this region.

Time reached noon.

The sunlight of the Boundless Forest Sea filtered through the overlapping canopies, casting mottled shadows on the ground.

Jun Anshi walked at the very front of the group, her perception fully unleashed.

As she walked, she swept her divine sense over the surrounding area, refusing to miss any clues that might point to spiritual herbs or fortuitous encounters.

Suddenly, her footsteps paused.

On the left side of the team's path of advance, under an ancient tree about thirty zhang away, there was a rabbit.

The rabbit was entirely emerald green, its fur as glossy as silk. Its two long ears stood straight up, and its ruby-like eyes were looking in their direction.

None of this was the main point.

The main point was that, in Jun Anshi's temporal perception, this rabbit was circulating with a rich power of time.

This rabbit was absolutely not simple.

Jun Anshi's gaze met the rabbit's gaze in the air for a brief moment.

Then, the rabbit moved. It turned and ran toward the depths of the forest. Its speed was neither fast nor slow, its posture unhurried; it did not look like it was fleeing, but rather like it was leading the way.

After running a few steps, it even looked back at Jun Anshi. Its ruby-like eyes flickered with an indescribable light amidst the dappled shadows.

Jun Anshi did not hesitate.

Continue along the original path. I will be right back.

Leaving these words behind, her figure dashed out, vanishing into the depths of the forest in the blink of an eye.

The disciples looked in the direction Jun Anshi had disappeared. There was no panic on their faces, and they did not even stop their footsteps.

Since entering the mystic realm, they had seen the Twelfth Ancestor suddenly run off to chase demonic beasts many times.

Basically, she would always return very quickly and had never affected the team's normal progress.

So this time, it should be the same.

Let's go, speed up a bit to keep up with the Twelfth Ancestor.

The most senior disciple in the team spoke up. The others nodded and quickened their pace, hurrying toward the direction where Jun Anshi had vanished.

However, this time was different.

Not long after Jun Anshi ran off, the expressions of the disciples in the team suddenly changed drastically.

The Twelfth Ancestor's communication... is disconnected!

This sudden turn of events instantly brought looks of horror to the disciples' faces. Their smiles froze, and an inexplicable sense of unease rose in their hearts.

The communication artifacts were personally forged by the Holy Ancestor. Their maximum range far exceeded the boundaries of this mystic realm. The signal disconnecting could only mean one thing.

Jun Anshi was no longer within a range where they could contact her.

It was not just the disciples in Jun Anshi's team; the other six captains also immediately sensed the disconnection with Jun Anshi, their hearts sinking.

Naturally, the most panicked among them was Jun Mukong.

He immediately shouted Jun Anshi's name into the communication artifact:

Jun Anshi! Xiao Shi! Can you hear me?

But no matter how he called out, the other end of the artifact remained dead silent, yielding not the slightest response.

Seeing this, the unease in Jun Mukong's heart grew even stronger.

He immediately transferred the communication connection. Following Gu Changyuan's prior arrangements, he successfully connected to a disciple in Jun Anshi's team.

This was a double insurance set up by Gu Changyuan, specifically to prevent situations where a captain encountered an accident and their disciples could not contact the other captains. It ensured that the teams could exchange information at any time to handle emergencies.

The connection was successful.

This is Jun Mukong. Where is your captain?

His voice rang out from the communication artifact, falling into the ears of every disciple in Jun Anshi's team.

The disciple responsible for communications in that team immediately responded, their voice carrying obvious anxiety and unease:

"Eleventh Ancestor, the Twelfth Ancestor... she suddenly went chasing after something, and then we suddenly lost contact with her.

We are rushing toward the direction where she last appeared, but we haven't found her yet."

"Send me your current coordinates, I will head there immediately.

Continue searching in the direction she was last seen. Keep your communication lines open and report immediately if you find anything."

"Yes!"

Jun Mukong cut the communication and turned to look at the team behind him, his voice decisive and urgent:

"There is an emergency. We need to rush to the depths of the Boundless Forest Sea immediately.

Everyone, advance at full speed. There will be no stops along the way."

The disciples did not hesitate. They immediately adjusted their formation and followed Jun Mukong, speeding toward the Boundless Forest Sea.

Moreover, after Gu Xing'er, Gongsun Qingling, Dugu Shiling, and the other captains learned the news of Jun Anshi losing contact,

they all stopped what they were doing and led their respective teams, converging toward the Boundless Forest Sea from different directions.