Old Father Luo screamed miserably. The pain from his hands being broken was quite large. His body quivered, fear and pain evident in his eyes.
Old Father Luo clearly understood his own level. He had already reached the so-called Arcana stage which leads to the Demigod stage. It was a stage most people were unaware of, and even Supreme stage Grandmaster's were nothing but kids in front of him. Yet he was so defeated in a blink by the youth before him.
He wondered what level the youth had reached. The peak of the Arcana stage or the legendary Demigod stage?
His eyes grew wide open when he came to this conclusion.
Jiang Xiu's apathetic voice fell into his years, "This Deity asks you whether you'll enter or not?"
He shook his head in a rush, "No, I won't enter this division ever."
Jiang Xiu let him go.
"Thank you, Mr. Jiang, for your instruction…"
Old Father Luo left the place while being supported by his children.
"Senior Official, what will you do now?" Jiang Xiu asked.
"You…"
Gu Dekang's face changed colors again. He absolutely wasn't expecting Jiang Xiu to be so strong. Even an extraordinary expert like Old Father Luo couldn't match him.
He felt that his younger brother was indeed telling the truth. Jiang Xiu's cultivation level was enough for the army to give importance to him. Plus, he was still young, and his accomplishments in the future would be limitless, with only the sky as his limit. This could have been the honor of the Gu family, but his stubbornness had thrown it all away into the ditch and even provoked such an enemy.
It was too late for Gu Dekang to feel regret for offending him now.
"This Deity already said you aren't worthy."
All the guards hung their heads down.
"You're indeed too audacious!"
"Do you plan to cripple each expert my army division recruits?"
"This Deity always keeps my word."
"Good! Very good!"
"I'm going to leave for Xiping Mountain now to discuss some matters with the people from Bodhi Gene. If everything goes well, Li Bodhi's descendants will enter my division. I'll see what you'll do then."
He revealed a look of ridicule in his eyes.
Though Gu Dekang felt regretful that Jiang Xiu had forced these talents to leave, resulting in him losing a lot of face, his true trump card and hope was the Bodhi Gene.
"So what if they are from Bodhi Gene?"
Gu Dekang's face became gloomier, "Yan Zhen, pass down the order. We'll be setting off early."
"Yes, Senior Official."
The party set off quite quickly, and to avoid the embarrassment of interacting with Jiang Xiu, they arranged a separate vehicle for him.
Bodhi Gene was located deep in the Xiping Mountains.
It consisted of numerous mountains as well as a forest. No one lived there, and rumors were that a few people went in during wartime to avoid the fires of war.
They journeyed to the west of Ninghai City, then entered the mountain range. After going a few kilometers in, they reached a county town. After passing the county, the place ahead consisted of only mountain villages.
They couldn't travel on a vehicle here, so they had to go on foot in the mountains. This was undoubtedly a difficulty for them. The guards didn't find it troublesome, but Gu Dekang had aged, so it was challenging for him to trek.
As for Jiang Xiu… The Immortal Martial Continent was filled with mountain ranges so he had a lot of experience in trekking mountains. He was more familiar with the hills than the cities. He had conquered a mountain range spanning thousands of miles when he had first joined the Heaven Treading Sect. That was the Heaven Treading Mountain Range, the place where his sect was located. He had turned the place upside down to gather spirit herbs.
Yan Zhen took out a map and laid it down on the table to study the mountain paths, "Senior Official, it's best to find a dependable local guide or else it'll be quite hard for us."
Gu Dekang nodded, "Mhm."
"Before when I had gone to Inner Mongolia, and I would've lost my way in the prairie if not for the locals leading the way as it's almost impossible to find the way out. Locals are much more competent at this as they are familiar with the place. It's best to invite a guide who is experienced in trekking in the mountains. It would be great if he could lead us to Bodhi Gene's location."
Yan Zhen nodded and went to look for a guide among the people in the mountain village. "Villager…" They called out to a local girl wearing an exotic dress, "Little girl, please excuse my rudeness but have you heard of a place called Bodhi Gene inside the mountains?"
The girl shook her head, "I don't know. I'll try asking Grandpa, okay?"
"Grandpa…"
It was an old man sitting on a stone step smoking tobacco. A stone house was located right past the stone step.
"These visitors are saying that they are trying to find a place called Bodhi Gene."
The old man shook his head, "Bodhi Gene? Are they trying to Buddha?"
"I have never heard about this Bodhi whatever but I know there's a place called the Immortal's Residence in the mountain. They say Immortals live there and many people often go into the mountains to find them to seek medicine and fortune…"
Yan Zhen and his comrades looked at each other. They had also heard about this before coming here. According to the rumors, people seeking to cure incurable diseases, or those seeking to make headway in martial arts, as well as those seeking immortality have tried to enter the mountain to look for Bodhi Gene. That's why they speculated that this Immortal's Residence might be the place where Bodhi Gene was located.
"This Immortal's Residence, how far is it?"
"It's quite far. You'll have to make an arduous trip."
Yan Zhen looked at the sun then said, "Village man, can you lead us there? We will pay you. Are 1000 bucks enough?"
The old man took a puff from the tobacco pipe out then stood up and slapped his butt to dust it off, "I can, but there's no need to give money."
The mountain villagers were really cordial.
"Please accept the money, we can't trouble you this like this."
At a distant place, Jiang Xiu sipped tea calmly at a snack store.
Gu Dekang became more furious due to his leisurely manners. Just wait till we reach Bodhi Gene. You'll be scared dumb then.
Bodhi Gene and Li Bodhi were already being deified by the populace and were almost akin to Gods.
Ordinary people naturally couldn't fight against the Gods.
"Senior Official, we've found a guide. We shall set out after resting for a moment…"
At this side, they were about to enter deep into the mountains to seek Bodhi Gene, while at Ninghai City, a police officer rushed into the police department excitedly, "Chief, Jiang Xiu has appeared. He was spotted nearby to Mr. Xu Zhirong's former residence."
Jiang Yi and Lin Yueling's expressions changed immediately. They had spent the night yesterday the police department's guest house and were came to the police department in the morning again. They were anxious about their son and waiting here for news. They hoped that their son could escape successfully.
Ling Dongcheng stood up, "Is the news reliable?"
"A resident nearby to Mr. Xu Zhirong's place offered the information. According to that person's description, there's a 90% chance it's Jiang Xiu."
Ling Dongcheng picked up the cap from the table, "Dispatch units over there immediately…"
The entire police department went into a frenzy.
Jiang Yi and Lin Yueling became anxious, "Officer, can you take us along with you?"
"Don't make trouble. You'll only hinder our work."
Jiang Yi said, "Officer, can't you take us along? If something happens, that child would surely listen to our words."
Lin Dongcheng pondered over it for a moment, "Bring them along."
Police cars left the police department one after one. They had never set out with such an arsenal to catch just a single person. After Tang Zhengping received the news, he ordered his driver to leave for the place as well. He wished to see his son's murderer brought to justice.
In the end, they were a step late. By the time the police arrived at Mr. Xu Rongzhi's place, Jiang Xiu had already left, but the police hadn't given up. They queried about the direction Jiang Xiu fled to and were on hot pursuit.
"He escaped to Xiping Mountain."
"Looks like he's planning to take the long route through the mountains and escape past the country borders."
"Chase after him! Don't let him cross the borders." Tang Zhengping commanded.
A dozen police cars rushed towards Xiping Mountain.
But they never caught tracks of Jiang Xiu along the route. Tang Zhengping could only stare blankly. He bellowed Jiang Yi, "Spill it! Where did your son escape to?"
Jiang Yi pushed him away, "How will I know?!"
"This is a conspiracy! You're his accomplices!"
Tang Zhengping pointed towards the couple in anger, "Arrest both of them for me!"
"Secretary Tang, this doesn't conform with the rules." Lin Dongcheng reminded him.
"Bullshit rules. This Daddy's words are the rules. Just do what I say, and we shall see whether that bastard appears or not."