Xu Daoqing and Qing Ziqin

Li Weiyi and Qing Ziqin were enveloped in spiritual light, their figures flickering as they immediately fled.

He fled to a rocky hill several miles away, then turned around and looked back.

Then, the phantom of an ancient city gate appeared amidst the green will-o'-the-wisps, magnificent and awe-inspiring.

A dense mass of soldiers surged out of the city gate, their bodies radiating deathly aura and their killing intent soaring to the heavens. The faint sounds of war drums and horns could be heard.

Li Weiyi glanced at Qing Ziqin and noticed that she was also deathly pale and extremely terrified.

"Captain, with your experience, what's going on here?" he asked.

"In that war that destroyed the entire Ancient Kingdom of the Years Ruin, countless the Departed were lost. The dead soldiers harbored deep resentment and may have become vengeful spirits, slumbering underground, awakened by your previous clash," Qing Ziqin speculated.

"I believe that this ancient city ruin might truly hold some great secret. These vengeful spirit soldiers might have been awakened by someone, guarding something."

Li Weiyi said this deliberately.

I want to see if Qing Ziqin will do anything unusual next.

For example, secretly passing messages.

After hearing Nangong's words, Li Weiyi noticed something unusual about Qing Ziqin when they interacted again; she could no longer be as sincere as before.

But he sensed no hostility from Qing Ziqin, which caused him pain and inner conflict.

I really want to confront her directly and get to the bottom of this.

Li Weiyi sympathized with the plight of the Immortal Mist Sect.

If she's not too deeply involved, Li Weiyi wouldn't mind doing everything in her power to pull her back.

However, if the other party really was Luo Yinji, it would be far too dangerous for him to rashly reveal his true colors with his current cultivation level.

Qing Ziqin said, "Given the current situation, we have no way to investigate further. Our only option is to find Nangong as soon as possible and see if she will be honest with us."

Ignoring the risk of revealing his whereabouts and expending his magical energy, Li Weiyi directly piloted the jade boat, flying at low altitude and heading towards the huge bright moon on the horizon at top speed.

After four days of travel, we have already traversed tens of thousands of miles of territory.

Each time half of his internal energy was depleted, Li Weiyi would immediately stop to recover, preventing himself from falling into a weakened state.

On the distant horizon, the radiant moonlight appears even larger than the majestic mountains nearby, inspiring awe at the wonders of nature—a sight that seems almost otherworldly.

The moonlight was soft and not at all glaring.

The sky, earth, mountains, and rivers were half in light and half in shadow, all casting long reflections.

At the top of a mountain where he could observe the enemy's movements in all directions, Li Weiyi, while recovering his magical energy, lit a fire and roasted a four-foot-long chicken wing over the fire, piercing it through with the Staff Spear of All Things.

The firewood crackled and popped as it burned.

Concealment Formation was set up around the bonfire.

Qing Ziqin stood not far away, blew her whistle, and tried to contact the Lesser Yang Guard, which was thousands of miles away.

"Where did everyone go without a response?"

She sighed softly, turned to look at the golden-brown chicken wings, and frowned. "What time is it? You're still thinking about eating?"

"Luo Pingdan's Longevity Chicken has been raised for two years. I've been reluctant to eat these chicken wings; I wanted to share them with the captain." Li Weiyi kept turning the chicken over, her expression serious.

Qing Ziqin sat down beside him, her beautiful eyes, forever tinged with melancholy, fixed on the leaping flames. "You know, I really hate smooth-talking people, but when you say that, I don't hate them at all. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Li Weiyi asked calmly.

Qing Ziqin said, "Because you do what you say, not say one thing and do another. Take these chicken wings, for example. If you had said this two years ago, I wouldn't have believed a word of it."

"But you've kept it for two years, and that really touches me. I don't think you just don't like it."

"Just like those two years you waited for me in the Tiandu River Nether Domain, I believed it completely."

"Keeping your word is very charming; if you can do both, you're incredibly honest and lovable, making it very easy to get along with."

Li Weiyi knew perfectly well that she wasn't as honest and cute as she seemed, and immediately blushed with shame, thankfully the firelight concealed it.

"This five-thousand-year-old Thousand-Year Elixir was found in the underworld where I was recuperating."

With her slender, jade-like hands, Qing Ziqin took out a box containing a Thousand-Year Elixir from her bag.

"Are you trying to borrow the Staff Spear of All Things?" Li Weiyi asked.

Qing Ziqin said, "Didn't I already borrow money from you during those two months of cultivation at the summit of the Fanye Valley Nether Domain? This is a good opportunity to repay you."

Li Weiyi stared into her cold eyes for a long time before laughing, "This is a five-thousand-year-old herb. Captain, you're usually so stingy, this sudden generosity makes me quite uncomfortable."

"Take it or leave it."

Qing Ziqin hummed softly, threw the medicine box at his feet, turned her face away, and gazed at the distant moon. Her upper body was embedded in the huge full moon, like a tranquil painting.

Li Weiyi picked up the medicine box and put it into the pouch on his waist. "Only one day's journey remains to Chun City. It's the largest underworld region in the Ancient Kingdom of the Years Ruin, said to be shrouded in underworld energy for three thousand miles, boasting the richest cultivation resources. The strongest from all sides must be gathered there..."

Qing Ziqin interrupted his rambling and asked, "Did you hear that? The whistle. Someone is responding to me, asking who I am."

Li Weiyi listened carefully. "Those who understand our Lesser Yang Guard's secret language should not be members of the Taiyin Sect."

"It's Master Xu. He wants to see me." After Qing Ziqin revealed her identity, she received this whistle sound.

Li Weiyi was surprised and momentarily at a loss.

If Qing Ziqin really has a problem, and Xu Daoqing arrives again, he will face two formidable enemies at once.

However, the Hai Envoy Jingzhen within Xu Daoqing's body took the initiative to arrange a meeting with her. If Qing Ziqin truly has a problem, she will definitely slip up.

This is an excellent opportunity to find out Qing Ziqin's background!

"Master Xu must be a fortune teller, otherwise why would he have gotten my chicken wings by chance? I really don't want to share with him... Sigh, don't tell him I'm here too, give him a surprise," Li Weiyi said.

Shortly after Qing Ziqin responded with her whistle, Xu Daoqing, a young man with an air of otherworldly elegance, arrived on the mountain ridge, holding a whisk and searching around.

"It seems that Master Xu is alright. He came alone and had no one following him," Qing Ziqin said.

Li Weiyi said, "Go and pick him up."

Qing Ziqin obeyed his advice, stepped out of the Concealment Formation, and went to meet Xu Daoqing, who was still a hundred feet away.

Li Weiyi took out the letter Yu Yaozi had given him, hid it in his sleeve, narrowed his eyes, and stared intently at Xu Daoqing, not missing any subtle expression, while also sensing whether the two were communicating telepathically.

Unfortunately, we can only see Qing Ziqin's back; we can't see her expression at this moment.

"Thank God, that's wonderful! Miss Qing, you're actually still alive! You're all alone?" Xu Daoqing's clear eyes showed a surge of excitement.

"Um!"

Qing Ziqin nodded gently, after all, Li Weiyi had said she would give Master Xu a surprise.

Xu Daoqing immediately expressed his deepest feelings with an extremely sincere gaze. "Miss Qing, do you know that Daoqing has been searching for you in the south all these days? There is hardly another woman in the world who can make me so heartbroken."

"I don't quite understand what the Daoist priest is saying," Qing Ziqin said.

Xu Daoqing stepped forward. "Miss Qing, I know your background, and I know why you always keep people at arm's length. Give me a chance, and I can protect you, with my life. From the first time I saw you, I knew that you were the woman I had been waiting for."

Qing Ziqin strode towards the Concealment Formation and said coldly, "Master Xu, you're being too abrupt. You seem very unfamiliar to me, completely different from before."

Xu Daoqing chased after him. "Perhaps emotions themselves can cause a person to lose their rationality, becoming... Li Weiyi..."

Li Weiyi, holding a huge roasted chicken wing, stepped out of the Concealment Formation, looked at the young Daoist priest following behind Qing Ziqin, and smiled, "Master Xu, how have you been?"

The chicken wings were steaming hot, and the aroma of meat filled the air.

"I have a feeling that he's really unwell."

Qing Ziqin stood beside Li Weiyi, then turned to look at Xu Daoqing, her eyes cold and menacing.

Li Weiyi said, "Let me tell you why. It's because Master Xu is Tu Miangou. If Tu Miangou had said those words, wouldn't it make a lot more sense?"

"Moreover, I think Jingzhen doesn't want you, Captain, as a person; he has other motives."

Li Weiyi was thinking of the Taixu Worm.

The fact that the Taixu Race, who had been silent for thousands of years, would risk infiltrating the Dongxu Camp must mean they had a very compelling reason.

Qing Ziqin was utterly bewildered. "Tu Miangou? Jingzhen? Why are you just like him, spouting things I can't understand?"

Across from him, Xu Daoqing's expression had completely changed, his eyes now deep and cold with a strange undercurrent.

"Whoosh!"

The magical energy transformed into a purple glow, surging forth from his body.

With a flick of his whisk, his white beard transformed into countless fine, blade-like strands, enveloping the two people opposite him.

"Swish!"

Li Weiyi was prepared. The Heaven Sword Talisman between his eyebrows flew out like a waterfall, knocking all the whisk threads back.

"What a powerful Heaven Sword Talisman! But at such close range, martial arts practitioners are still more effective."

Enveloped in purple light, Xu Daoqing shot out, reaching Li Weiyi before he could fully unleash the Heaven Sword Talisman, and pointed a finger strike with his right hand.

The spiritual light gathered around Li Weiyi, condensing into a four-colored, shimmering flame armor.

Unity of Intent and Martial Arts; the palms open.

He unleashed a powerful palm strike.

Li Weiyi had consulted the ancient texts he brought from the Lingxiao Palace and found records about the Taixu Race. According to the texts, using spiritual light to protect the body could, to some extent, resist the Taixu Race.

"Boom!"

The palm print and finger strength collide.

Xu Daoqing's eyes widened in surprise as he was forced to stagger back three steps by Li Weiyi's overwhelming palm force.

He remained calm and composed, and after regaining his footing, a humanoid ethereal light flew out from his body. The ethereal light moved like a ghost, bypassing Li Weiyi and heading straight for Qing Ziqin.

"Oh no!"

Li Weiyi realized he had made a huge mistake. He only wanted to take this opportunity to test Qing Ziqin's identity, but he didn't consider that it would be very dangerous if she wasn't Luo Yinji.

The reason for this is that, subconsciously, he had already decided that Qing Ziqin was Luo Yinji, and he was searching for answers to the questions.

"Bang!"

Xu Daoqing was torn to pieces by the dense Heaven Sword Talisman.

"Team leader..."

Li Weiyi turned and chased after it, shouting in great concern, "Watch out!"