Lin Wu was traveling underground and moving towards the direction where the Dao Shell realm cultivator was currently. From what he could see on the map, the Dao shell realm cultivator was also moving towards a certain direction.

At first, Lin Wu thought that he was heading towards the capital of the Ivory Heron dynasty, but the cultivator changed his direction just before reaching there. Instead of the city, he went to the north and stopped near a mountain.

"Hmm… why did he stop here?" Lin Wu couldn't help but wonder.

He looked at the map, but didn't find anything peculiar there. Lin Wu furrowed his brows and thought of something.

"System, update the map." Lin Wu ordered.

~DING~

——

SCANNER: Activated

MAP UPDATED: Please check the relevant window.

——

Lin Wu opened the full map and saw the new markers that had appeared on it.

"Oh? There's actually a hidden area here." Lin Wu said as he let his spirit sense touch the formation array that was hiding it.

With little help from the system, Lin Wu managed to bypass the formation array, and the map showed what was hidden inside it. There were two markers for Dao Shell realm cultivators on the map and three markers for Nascent soul realm cultivators.

One of the markers belonged to none other than the Dao Shell realm cultivator who had just appeared while the other one had been inside the area since the start.

"So this is a hidden cultivator abode, huh…" Lin Wu muttered to himself as he easily entered its limits.

In there, Lin Wu could finally see the simple yet elegant courtyard that had been built at the side of the mountain. There were trees that came out below it and supported the bottom of the residence.

Overall it looked like it merged with nature and did not seem out of place as if it had been like this since the start. Of course, Lin Wu could also sense several other formations set up around the courtyard including defense and offensive formations.

"Hmm… system get to work on these formations while I see what they are talking about." Lin Wu said before letting his spirit sense enter through the gaps in the formation nodes.

In the residence, Lin Wu saw the two Dao Shell realm cultivators talking while the three Nascent soul realm cultivators sat on the sides. All of the men were old and had white hair and beard, showing that they truly were quite old when they reached the Adult Soul Stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

As for the Nascent Soul realm cultivators, Lin Wu could tell that they weren't even at the Adolescent Soul stage of the Nascent Soul realm right now.

"What brings you here, Minister Qi You?" The Dao Shell realm cultivator that seemed to be the owner of the Abode questioned.

"Is that really a question that you need to ask, senior Kong? I'm sure with your connections you probably know of all that is happening to the west." The man named Qi You spoke.

Senior Kong stayed silent and stared at Minister Qi You for a minute before speaking.

"You know that I've withdrawn from the politics and workings of the kingdom for a long time now. My only obligation now is to train other strong court members that can let the Ivory Heron kingdom function well." Senior Kong spoke.

"I am well aware of that Senior Kong. But the current matter is of grave importance." Minister Qi You spoke in a serious tone.

The three Nascent Soul realm cultivators also sat a bit more attentively and listened to what the man had to say.

"Such importance that the Minister of Bing Kingdom rushed all the way to the Ivory Heron dynasty?" Senior Kong questioned.

Hearing that this man was the minister of the Bing Kingdom, Lin Wu raised his brows.

'Did the Bing Kingdom finally find out about Jiao Dian city?' Lin Wu wondered.

Lin Wu didn't have to wait for a long time either as he got his answer in the next minute.

"Indeed, senior. There is not just the matter about the Dread Coil Marsh, but something else has also happened in my kingdom." Minister Qi You answered.

"What happened?" Senior Kong asked.

"The same way how the Dread Coil Marsh is burning… Jiao Dian city was burned as well." Minister Qi You said in a grave tone.

Senior Kong and the three Nascent soul realm cultivators all had stunned expressions on their faces as they had not expected this at all.

'So they really did find out… and even the Ivory Heron Kingdom knows about the fire in the Dread Coil marsh… well that was expected, after all, they do have several guard outposts that keep an eye on the dangerous marsh.' Lin Wu thought to himself.

"Explain more." Senior Kong stated.

"A few days ago we sensed strong spirit Qi fluctuations coming from the direction of Jiao Dian city. They were strong… very strong…" Minister Qi You spoke.

"How strong?" Senior Kong asked again.

"Strong enough that the ancestor awakened… Dao Treading realm!" Qi You answered.

Hearing this, the eyes of everyone in the room went wide.

"Master! Can this really be true?" One of the Nascent soul realm cultivators asked.

"Yes, perhaps what first brother told us might have been correct." The second Nascent soul realm cultivator said while looking at the one next to him.

"I… didn't think that it would be a Dao Treading realm spirit Qi fluctuation as well." The third Nascent Soul realm cultivator spoke.

Hearing this, Qi You furrowed his brows and wondered what was this new information.

"What do you mean? Please tell me Senior Kong, all of this is very sensitive to our kingdoms. The entire Jiao Dian city's population has been wiped out and not even a trace of the city is left.

The entire city is merely a patch of black with several areas with what looked melted pools of stone and metal." Minister Qi You requested.