Why do you always want to be my Taoist partner?

She stayed there, but Jiang Li did not move away. Instead, he said, "Junior Sister Bai Sheng's face is so soft... well, it's a little hot."

Bai Sheng finally came to her senses and hurriedly retreated to her original position. She no longer looked into Jiang Li's eyes, but lowered her head and looked at her own hands, feeling a little at a loss.

Jiang Li quickly changed the subject, "When we get to Meihua Town, we can go to the homes of those who have lost their children to see when and where the children were lost, and what characteristics they have."

"Those evil cultivators should be preparing a blood sacrifice using a specific formation. The missing children are in Meihua Town and those towns. The base of those evil cultivators may be hidden nearby."

Jiang Li was silent for a moment, "But those children may have been sacrificed."

Bai Sheng was stunned for a moment. She had never come into contact with evil cultivators before. Most of her assessment tasks were about hunting monsters. Of course, she had heard of the methods of evil cultivators, but had never come into contact with them personally.

"If we're lucky, maybe some evil cultivator wants to use a secret method to break through, so he captured so many children. Whether those children are still alive depends on luck."

Jiang Li's voice sounded a little melancholy.

In recent years, he would go down the mountain to travel. In fact, evil cultivators were very common among many wandering cultivators. They looked just like normal cultivators. When they were not using their skills or fighting with others, there was no difference between them.

Jiang Li had encountered evil cultivators before. Many of their methods were particularly strange and more difficult to deal with than ordinary cultivators.

After all, the infighting among evil practitioners is more serious, so their tactics are also more sinister.

Jiang Li told Bai Sheng about some common methods of evil cultivators and how to identify them. He also told Bai Sheng about some of his experiences when he went down the mountain in the past. Bai Sheng listened very carefully. Time passed by unknowingly, and the carriage finally stopped. Jiang Li and Bai Sheng also arrived at the entrance of Meihua Town.

Meihua Town is not a prosperous town. Evil cultivators like to attack places like this the most. Because the information is relatively closed, so many children are lost. It took a long time for the news to reach Xuantian Dao Ji Zong. Jiang Li is very familiar with the process. He first casually found a passerby in the corner, then pulled him to the corner and asked where the mayor is at the moment.

The reason why he didn't just grab someone on the street to ask was to avoid alerting the enemy. Jiang Li had already changed his clothes with Bai Sheng in the carriage. He gave Bai Sheng a light purple satin brocade dress that was very popular among the rich ladies living down the mountain, while he changed into a white suit, dressed like a handsome young man from a noble family.

After all, the two men's Xuantian Dao Ji Zong clothes were too obvious and would easily attract attention.

After explaining the reason to the old man selling candied haws, the old man hurriedly told Jiang Li and Bai Sheng where the mayor lived. Jiang Li told him to keep it a secret and then took Bai Sheng to the mayor's residence.

An incense stick of time later, Jiang Li and Bai Sheng met the mayor. The mayor was an old man over fifty years old, wearing green clothes. When Jiang Li showed the jade card representing the Xuantian Dao Jizong and displayed some of his immortal skills, the old man leaned over to worship, but was supported by Jiang Li. "The most urgent task is to find the place where those evil cultivators are as soon as possible. Those children may still be alive. Other tedious matters can be avoided. Mayor, please give me the list of those lost children. When were they lost? What were they doing when they were lost? What are the characteristics of those children... Tell me everything."

Bai Sheng followed Jiang Li obediently, watching him handle everything in an orderly manner. She had no chance to say anything, so she just followed him obediently. Soon, upon Jiang Li's inquiry, the mayor told Jiang Li the time and characteristics of the children who were lost.

The missing children were all around ten years old, with the oldest being no more than fourteen, and there were both boys and girls. Jiang Li compiled all this information. These children had been lost one after another over the past three months. A total of fourteen children had been lost in Meihua Town, and the mayor had informed the higher-level cities almost immediately. The higher-level cities then passed the information on through layers of communication, and by the time it finally reached Xuantian Dao Ji Zong, so much time had passed.

Most of the lost children are clearly still with their parents, but they disappear in the next moment once their parents lose focus. Some are lost in the middle of the night, and their parents are clearly holding their children tightly, but when they wake up the next morning, the children have disappeared for no apparent reason.

The most recent incident happened two days ago, when a child from a family on the edge of town went missing. The parents had clearly held the child tightly in their arms before going to bed, with the doors and windows closed tightly, but when they woke up, the child had disappeared. The child's mother was so sad that she fell seriously ill and was bedridden.

Jiang Li silently recorded all these clues. After all the clues were in his mind, he stood up and said, "Mayor, please take me to see Hu San's family."

The Hu San family is the one whose child was lost recently. They are an ordinary farmer with two children in total. The missing one is a ten-year-old boy, and the three-year-old girl was safe and sound that night.

The mayor hurriedly led the way. Although she was over fifty years old and had gray hair, she tried her best to walk fast. Jiang Li and Bai Sheng followed behind her. Bai Sheng listened to the information the mayor had said before and couldn't help asking, "Those children..."

Jiang Li was silent for a moment, "Don't have too many expectations."

"If the news could have reached the sect earlier..." Bai Sheng couldn't help but say softly.

Jiang Li was silent for a moment, "The sect doesn't care."

Bai Sheng raised his head and looked at Jiang Li. Jiang Li's eyes were very calm. He put away his usual cynical look and explained to Bai Sheng, "The sect just needs clues about the evil cultivators. It would be great if they can eliminate them. They don't care about the lives of those children. We are here just to find clues. If we really encounter evil cultivators, our cultivation level is not enough. All we can do is to contact the sect with the sound transmission jade after finding clues, and the sect will send cultivators with higher cultivation levels."

Bai Sheng was about to say something but stopped herself. This was the first time she had seen Jiang Li so serious. Jiang Li was still thinking seriously about all the clues he had gathered in his head. The mayor in front of him almost fell down because he ran too fast. Jiang Li held him back and quickly apologized. Jiang Li shook his head and said, "It's okay."

Soon, they arrived at the door of Hu San's family. The mayor reached out and knocked on the door. The door opened quickly and a middle-aged man with a dejected face came to open the door.

Chapter 44: Chapter Rules

The person who opened the door was Hu San, a farmer in the village. The mayor quickly explained the identities of Jiang Li and Bai Sheng to Hu San.

Jiang Li was very keen to notice that there was a pale woman lying on the bed behind him, hugging the little girl tightly in her arms. Not only was her face pale, but her eyes were a little dull and she was mumbling something incoherently. After Jiang Li and Bai Sheng arrived here, her eyes slowly moved and looked at Jiang Li.

Hearing that Jiang Li was an immortal above the Xuantian Dao Ji Zong, the worry on Hu San's face suddenly turned into excitement. Before Jiang Li could speak, he had already knelt down and kowtowed to Jiang Li several times. Bai Sheng was a little at a loss in the face of this scene, and gently grabbed Jiang Li's sleeve.

"Please, Master, save my child!"

He was obviously a strong middle-aged man, but his voice was trembling. His wife behind him seemed to have heard it. She dragged her shaky body up from the bed, came to Hu San's side, and knelt on the ground. Bai Sheng hurriedly walked forward and supported the peasant woman. Her face was pale and she looked particularly haggard and thin.

"Two days ago, on the morning your child was lost, did you smell any strange smell in the house?" Jiang Li asked seriously.

Hu San and his wife exchanged a glance, and then Jiang Li heard a sharp voice. The voice came from Hu San's wife. She said, "The fragrance of flowers! It's the fragrance of flowers!! The next morning, there was an inexplicable fragrance of flowers in the house!!"

Her voice was a little hoarse, as if she was afraid that Jiang Li couldn't hear clearly, so she repeated it several times. Jiang Li saw that her eyes were already filled with tears. Bai Sheng supported her and wanted her to stand up, but the peasant woman knelt for a long time and couldn't get up, looking at Jiang Li with pleading eyes.

Maybe because he was their only hope.

At this time, Jiang Li couldn't say something like "Your child is most likely in danger". He lowered his head and whispered softly, "The fragrance of flowers..."

He was silent for a moment and then said a name.

"Blood Soul Sect."

Bai Sheng came back to his senses and looked at Jiang Li, "Blood Soul Sect?"

"The Blood Soul Sect liked to use this method in the past. The scent of flowers is their favorite kind of incense. Ordinary people will fall asleep when they smell it. It can also be used to manipulate the minds of ordinary people."

Jiang Li looked at the hysterical peasant woman in front of him. He took out a nourishing pill from his storage ring and gave it to her. "Eat this, and you will feel better."

Then Jiang Li looked at Hu San and said, "Give me the thing your child touches the most."

Hu San stood up hurriedly, thought for a while, and soon found a small wooden horse from the cabinet. His eyes were red, "This is a wooden horse I made for my child. The child likes to play with it every day. Master, this wooden horse..."

"I don't have time to explain to you, Mayor. Take me to the next family where a child is missing."

Jiang Li put away the wooden horse and looked at the mayor. He and Bai Sheng had just moved their feet when Hu San and his wife knelt deeply on the ground and looked up at him, muttering, "Master, please save my child! Master..."

"I'll try."

Jiang Li didn't have time to calm them down, so the mayor hurriedly took him to the next family where a child was lost.

Bai Sheng followed Jiang Li and asked, "Brother Jiang Li, this Trojan horse..."

"Find more underwear for the missing children, and I may be able to find out where they are now." Jiang Li lowered his voice in the second half of the sentence so that the mayor who was walking hurriedly in front of him could not hear it.

"If they're still alive."

....................................

Jiang Li gave the mayor a pill to restore his strength. The mayor took them to walk around Meihua Town for most of the day. Jiang Li took many of the children's most personal things, which might be clothes and some toys. Then Jiang Li brought Bai Sheng to the mayor's courtyard. He placed those things on the ground one by one, then took out some blood ink and the remaining spirit stones from the storage ring, and began to draw a formation on this open space.

Seeing that Jiang Li was concentrating, Bai Sheng did not disturb him. Jiang Li's expression was very serious, and his face turned slightly pale while he was drawing the formation.

When the formation was finally completed, Jiang Li breathed a sigh of relief. Bai Sheng saw that Jiang Li's body was a little shaky, so she hurriedly supported Jiang Li and looked at the formation that had been lit up in front of her, "What is this?"

"A formation used to search for people."

Bai Sheng had never heard of this formation.

"The formation I created can be used to find the source of the aura within a ten-mile radius based on the aura remaining on these items."

Bai Sheng had only heard of formations used for attack, defense, or to weave illusions, but this was the first time she had heard of such a formation. Jiang Li explained to her in her ear, "On the one hand, it relies on aura, and on the other hand, it is cause and effect."

"cause and effect?"

"Knowing how and when those children were lost, and who took them away... the person who drew the formation will have the opportunity to deduce everything through the formation. Everything that happens in this world has a traceable path. As long as it has happened, there is a chance that it can be spied on. The Tianji Sect's deduction of the secrets of heaven also follows this principle."

This was the first time Bai Sheng heard this line of thought. Perhaps because it was difficult to explain, Jiang Li calmly said to Bai Sheng, "I am a top-grade formation master, and I am only one step away from the Saint level."

Bai Sheng could no longer remember how many times she had heard these horrifying things from Jiang Li.

You should know that a top-notch formation master is generally only qualified to reach that realm after his cultivation reaches the fusion stage, because drawing formations mainly consumes the soul. If the realm has not reached the fusion stage, the soul cannot support the drawing of the formation. A top-notch formation master is enough to be invited by a sect as a guest official and become a figure like an elder.

The two did not have time to continue chatting, as Jiang Li soon saw the formation light up. Jiang Li's eyes were fixed on the formation in front of him, and his head was actually buzzing at this moment.

The formation is actually a way of leveraging momentum, leveraging the momentum of heaven and earth. Leveraging momentum is the same as leveraging sword momentum, and it will especially consume the soul. His head was a little painful at the moment, but when he saw the almost transparent silk thread light up from the formation, he laughed.

"Come with me!"

Jiang Li hurriedly grabbed Bai Sheng's hand, and before he had time to explain anything to the mayor, he hurriedly grabbed Bai Sheng's wrist and ran towards the place where the silk thread was moving.

Those were threads that only he could see, which meant... those children were still alive.

All alive!

..........................................

Jiang Li ran with Bai Sheng for a long, long time until the silk thread disappeared from Jiang Li's sight.

The two of them had already run to a deserted mountain. Jiang Li finally had a moment to catch his breath. "Those children are still alive. They are now on that mountain... You wait for me now. I will go up by myself. It will be too late to inform the sect."

Bai Sheng grabbed his arm, bit her lip, and said stubbornly, "Together."

Jiang Li hesitated for a moment and looked into Bai Sheng's stubborn eyes. He nodded, and the two of them flew up on their swords and climbed up the barren mountain. Jiang Li walked towards the end of the thread, and soon he saw the existence of a formation.

This was a formation used to deceive the eyes. Jiang Li broke it easily with just a little spiritual energy. The dense forest in front of him quickly changed its appearance. After twisting for a moment, Jiang Li saw the altar in front of him.

This is a temporary altar. There are trees beside the altar, and many children are tied to the trees. Most of the children have dull and numb expressions, and they don't cry or make noises. Their wrists are wrapped with vines, and the thorns of the vines cut their wrists. The color of the vines is bright red, and the end of each vine is the center of the altar.

Jiang Li and Bai Sheng were standing there, and in front of them, there were five people standing.

Four middle-aged monks in black robes, and the young man in the middle, who was dressed in spotless white and looked to be about the same age as Jiang Li, were looking at them at this moment.

Bai Sheng subconsciously sensed the cultivation of these five people, but her detection of spiritual energy was like a stone sinking into the sea. Jiang Li's voice became a little solemn, "Four of them are in the late stage of the Minor Tribulation, and the middle-aged man is in the late stage of the Nascent Soul."

The late stage of the minor tribulation refers to those cultivators whose cultivation base is between the seventh and tenth stage of the minor tribulation. They are obviously the guardian of the young man in white in the middle. The middle-aged young man in white looked at Jiang Li for a moment, but he did not panic at all. Instead, he smiled and asked, "Which sect are you from?"

Jiang Li took a step forward and protected Bai Sheng behind him, "Xuantian Dao Ji Sect, inner sect disciple."

"You came at a good time... I only have one day left before my Blood Vine Soul Nurturing Formation is completed. One of you is in the early stage of foundation building, and the other is in the late stage of foundation building. I guess you have accepted the mission to find these missing children?"

"Yes."

"How many sect contribution points can you get from this mission?" the young man in white in front of him asked with a smile.

There was some confusion in Bai Sheng's eyes. She was already extremely nervous. According to the cultivation level of the other five people, if they wanted to kill the two of them, it might not even take an incense stick of time.

"If we find your trace and find this place, and inform the sect in time, it will be around thirty points, which is roughly equivalent to twenty-five spirit stones." Jiang Li replied calmly.

"It seems that this brother is also very smart."

The young man in white in front of him spoke in a slightly feminine voice, "I don't need you two to do anything. This young master's formation will be completed in one day. Please stay here for one day. This young master will not attack you. After one day, you can return to Xuantian Dao Ji Sect and report to your sect that you have found the traces of the evil cultivator, but when you arrive, we will have left."

"Of course, I will give each of you thirty spirit stones as compensation for your failed mission. Isn't this a good deal?"

Bai Sheng listened to the words of the young man in white in front of her, and she froze in place, unable to come back to her senses.

Jiang Li's voice was cold. He explained to Bai Sheng, "The Blood Soul Sect has been keeping its tail between its legs these years. If they kill the two of us, it might cause the Xuantian Dao Ji Sect to bear grudges and bring them much more trouble than giving out thirty spirit stones."

He was silent for a moment. "This is a rule that is strictly followed. It is not just Xuantian Daoji Sect. Many sects' cultivators do this... Even if the situation is not particularly serious and does not result in the death of many people, the sect will turn a blind eye even if it finds out."

Bai Sheng's pupils were trembling violently, and her head was a little dizzy at the moment.

Chapter 45: Chapter

Since ancient times, good and evil cannot coexist. In Bai Sheng's memory, the relationship between righteous cultivators and evil cultivators should be a fight to the death when they meet. But now these words coming out of Jiang Li's mouth made her a little breathless.

"This brother is so sensible, it saves me a lot of trouble. It just so happens that I am bored here alone. Brother, sit down with this fairy, and we can have a good chat. After one day, you two can leave and get thirty spirit stones. Why not?"

The young man in white in front of him said with a smile.

But Jiang Li didn't smile. He looked at the young man in white in front of him, "What's your name?"

"Qin Shu, the disciple of the second elder of the Blood Spirit Sect, Qin Shu."

"No." Jiang Li shook his head. After a moment, he said coldly, "How can a beast have a name?"

Qin Shu's expression froze slightly, but he quickly smiled again the next second, "My dear brother, how did I become a beast?"

"Cannibalism, what else can you do if not beastly? No, beasts wouldn't do such a thing. You're not even a beast. You should be a stinking maggot wriggling in the cesspool, emitting a rotten, disgusting smell all over your body."

Even though Jiang Li was saying this, Qin Shu on the opposite side still had a fake smile on his face. He raised his hand, signaling the four guardians behind him not to act rashly, and instead said calmly, "Brother, do you think I'm doing something wrong?"

Qin Shu in front of him couldn't help laughing, "I just captured these children to help me practice. They are neither your relatives nor your children. Why are you so indignant?"

Qin Shu in front of him was laughing mockingly. Seeing Jiang Li didn't say anything, he became even happier. "The purpose of practicing is only to achieve immortality. How many people would do anything to achieve immortality? People like you and me have powers that are completely different from these ants. Do you still regard them as human beings?"

"Aren't they?" Jiang Li asked word by word.

"There are many people like them. It doesn't matter if more of them die. They will continue to reproduce, just like the livestock on the table. They are inexhaustible."

"You upright monks, what you talk about most all day long is to act on behalf of heaven. You all appear to be righteous on a daily basis, but how are your methods of doing things different from ours?"

"You will also slaughter spirit beasts for the sake of cultivation, no matter if they are fierce beasts or spirit beasts. As long as the inner elixir you cut out is useful, you will do whatever it takes. Even so, do you still want to accuse me in a hypocritical manner?"