"Who was it?"
Ian Song's expression was grim. If not for his powerful mental strength and danger sense, he would have been seriously injured by that palm strike—and Diana Toba would almost certainly have been annihilated, body and soul. So at this moment, he still felt a lingering fear, quickly replaced by endless fury.
Anyone capable of unleashing such a strike had already surpassed the Tribulation realm—it was definitely an Immortal who'd made the move.
And this place was none other than the Prime One Church's main headquarters. Could it be the Prime One Church's Immortal?
But what puzzled him was that the Prime One Church didn't know his true strength. So even if they knew where he was, at most they'd send a Tribulation expert to capture or kill him—there was no need for an Immortal to act, unless the Fire God Church had deliberately leaked his real cultivation, hoping to use another's blade to kill him?
But after a bit of thought, he realized the Fire God Church had no reason to do that.
Sure, he'd killed several Tribulation elders of the Fire God Church and extorted plenty of spirit crystals and treasures from them, but he hadn't formed a life‑and‑death feud. Plus, his relationship with Diana Toba was another factor—unless the Fire God Church was utterly foolish, they wouldn't act rashly, and even if they wanted to, they wouldn't be so hasty.
After all, if he died, the Phoenix Heaven Church would definitely investigate thoroughly, and the Fire God Church would be the prime suspect.
What's more, the Fire God Church knew perfectly well that Ian Song and the Prime One Church were at odds, and they themselves were mortal enemies of the Prime One Church. If Ian clashed with the Prime One Church, they'd be happy to see it happen.
So, taking all this into account, the Fire God Church was highly unlikely to be the culprit.
Since the Fire God Church didn’t leak his true cultivation, that makes it very unlikely for a Prime One Church Immortal to be the culprit. So, who was it that attacked this time?
For a moment, a shadow fell over Ian Song’s heart. He could sense the crisis, but had no way to locate the enemy.
An enemy out in the open isn’t scary—but if a hidden Immortal-level foe is secretly targeting you, anyone would lose their appetite and sleep.
"Ian, are you alright?"
Seeing Ian Song’s face rapidly shift, Diana Toba couldn’t help but ask with concern.
"I’m fine. Let’s get out of here first!"
This was the Tang Capital. Such a commotion would soon alert the imperial court and Prime One Church, and already large numbers of cultivators were flying over.
Whoosh!
With a flicker, Ian Song vanished together with Diana Toba.
In the next instant, the two appeared in a barren wilderness. Ian leaned close to Diana’s ear and whispered, "Don’t resist!"
Obviously, this obscure energy was something the attacker had planted on him. With it, no matter where he went, he would have a hard time escaping their pursuit.
Ian smiled. Back on Myriad Spirits Island, when they were trapped inside the primordial formation, he, Lila Li, and Diana were all affected by the Life Fiend Beast, so Ian brought both women into the Divine Temple.
Afterwards, while both women were asleep, he teleported out again. At that time, Diana's mind was unclear, so she always thought she was still inside the formation. But since she was a Nascent Soul expert, even in a muddled state, she would inevitably retain some impression.
"This place...!"
Ian gently explained it to Diana by her ear. Instantly, she was both shy and shocked—this was where she lost her virginity for the first time. Of course, what shocked her more was that Ian actually possessed a spatial immortal artifact.
"By the way, Ian, who attacked us just now?"
Diana asked worriedly. That terrifying power had made her heart tremble; if Ian hadn't been there, she would never have escaped.
"I don't have much of a clue either!"
Suddenly, Ian's expression turned cold. With a grasp of his hand, he forcibly peeled off a thread of extremely obscure power from his body. If not for his control over the Divine Temple, even his current cultivation would have struggled to detect its existence.
Obviously, this obscure energy was something the attacker had planted on him. With it, no matter where he went, he would have a hard time escaping their pursuit.
But after only a few steps, his expression grew surprised again—he sensed the mark’s location once more. Spreading his vast Immortal sense into the void, he quickly found Ian several hundred li outside the capital.
To be able to secretly plant something on him without him noticing—even an Immortal couldn't do it from a distance. That meant this hidden enemy must have had direct contact with him.
And among Immortals who had direct contact with him, aside from the Fire God Church’s guardian Immortal, there were only the six Immortals of the Male Phoenix Line.
He could rule out Gideon Skyreach—he was Ian’s master and had always treated him sincerely, so it was impossible for him to do such a thing. That narrowed the suspects down to the other five Male Phoenix elders.
So who was it, exactly?
Ian’s face was dark and gloomy. The faces of the five elders flashed through his mind, but he still couldn’t be sure.
However...
In a shabby tavern in the Tang Capital, a ragged, cloudy-eyed Daoist’s face suddenly changed. He sensed that the mark he’d left on Ian had been erased, making it impossible to track him.
"Damn it!"
He cursed under his breath, tossed down a low-grade spirit crystal, and hurried out of the tavern.
But after only a few steps, his expression grew surprised again—he sensed the mark’s location once more. Spreading his vast Immortal sense into the void, he quickly found Ian several hundred li outside the capital.
"Where’s that woman from the Fire God Church?"
The Daoist frowned slightly, feeling that something was off.
"Whoosh!"
Ian used the Art of Great Teleportation to leave swiftly, and soon arrived at the Fire God Church.
"Hmph, I underestimated this kid’s strength—I couldn’t take him down in one move. But do you think hiding in the Fire God Church will keep you safe? Can you really dodge here forever?"
The Daoist’s figure appeared a thousand li outside the Fire God Church headquarters, then sat cross-legged beneath a tree.
But what he didn’t notice was that after Ian left, another Ian appeared at that spot, then vanished in a flash.
Using the Art of Great Teleportation, Ian quickly returned to the capital.
As for the Ian who went to the Fire God Church, that was obviously his clone. Thanks to the time ratio inside the Divine Temple and the immortal stones Gideon Skyreach had given him, the clone’s cultivation had reached the Combined-Body realm and even condensed immortal yuan force. Otherwise, Ian wouldn’t have sent a weak avatar to draw the enemy’s attention.
Once back in the capital, Ian quietly approached the entrance to the Lesser Immortal Realm.
If his guess was right—if the attacker was really one of the five Male Phoenix elders—then at least one of them should be absent from the Lesser Immortal Realm.
"Master!"
Ian climbed the peak and went straight to see Gideon Skyreach!
"Finished your business?" Gideon asked with a smile.
"Not yet." Ian shook his head, then said solemnly, "Master, I have something major to report!"
Gideon was briefly startled, then immediately formed a hand seal. Instantly, a haze of obscure power appeared, forming a barrier to prevent eavesdropping.
"Go ahead!"
"Master, I was ambushed by an Immortal!" Ian said.
Gideon’s eyes instantly turned cold. He asked icily, "Do you know who it was?"
"The attacker left a mark on me!" Ian said. Immediately, he felt his whole body wrapped in a gentle power.
He knew Gideon was checking for the mark, so he quickly added, "Master, I’ve already transferred the mark onto my clone!"