Identity Exposed

Li Qing looked at Li Weiyi, who was strolling along the river, and a look of surprise appeared on her face.

The combat power he displayed beneath the Mind Power Stone Wall hadn't intimidated his opponent; instead, the opponent had come to him. More importantly, the opponent exuded an air of calmness and nonchalance.

Where does this confidence come from?

Li Qing was wary, but smiled and said, "Alright, let me finish my work first. The Eight Springs Pure Immortal Body is not to be underestimated."

Li Weiyi stopped two zhang away and said, "I suggest we talk first."

"So you really are here to play the hero and save the damsel in distress! Li Weiyi, the beauty of Pure Immortal Body woman, is indeed pitiful, but this is the Hidden Gate. If she survives, you and I will die."

A sly glint flashed in Li Qing's eyes, and he smiled deliberately, "Since you're so chivalrous, how about this? I'll let you into the cave for an hour. After an hour, she must die. Then, we can talk slowly."

He is adept at exploiting human weaknesses.

If Li Weiyi falls for the trap, he will go in and seize the opportunity to take care of the two of them together.

Li Weiyi shook her head. "You underestimate me too much. Besides, you'd better keep your cleverness to yourself. A month has passed, have you found a way out yet?"

Li Qing said, "It's not that easy. We've been traveling for several days from entering the underground river to arriving here, passing countless forks in the road. There's only one way to return to the surface, and that's to become a hermit. To become a hermit, one must..."

"Whoosh!"

The longsword in his hand, a magical artifact, instantly erupted with blinding light, striking Li Weiyi's heart like a bolt of lightning.

The magical energy was highly concentrated, and the tip of the sword emitted a bright, sharp ray that was a foot long.

"Kill all competitors."

Li Qing did not underestimate Li Weiyi and mobilized all of her Nine Springs magic power.

He and Li Weiyi both knew each other's secrets, so they had to silence each other forever before the Hidden Gate Sect arrived. As for the rule that higher realm cultivators couldn't kill lower realm cultivators, he had already figured out how to explain it to the Hidden Gate.

That is the Six Desires Talisman.

All they had to do was tell the Hidden Gate that he had discovered the Six Desires Talisman had been planted on Li Weiyi, making him a spy sent by another force. Since there was no way to prove it since he was dead, they could easily cover it up.

Li Weiyi stood still, one hand behind his back, without even drawing his sword.

He raised his right arm, and all eight springs within his body surged forth, his magical power flowing through the Silver Meridian Lines and converging towards his palm.

The Overturning Sky Palm Seal was formed, and the air around the palm was distorted.

He struck out with his palm.

In front of his palm, his magical energy condensed into a three-foot square phantom of a divine seal. As it clashed with the sword thrust by Li Qing, he showed no concern about suffering the same fate as Yao Yin.

"Boom!"

The illusory image of the divine seal flashed by, and a powerful palm strike rippled outwards.

Li Weiyi remained standing in the same spot, without moving an inch.

In contrast, Li Qing retreated repeatedly, leaving deep footprints on the ground before finally dissipating the powerful and domineering palm strike.

His sword-wielding hand trembled with unbearable pain, his eyes filled with astonishment. The palm strike his opponent had just unleashed was too extraordinary. How could this be the work of a martial artist at the Spring Realm?

Hearing the noise and realizing the two outside were already fighting, Yao Yin immediately rushed out of the tributary's cave with her magical dagger. Stepping on magical energy, she skimmed across the water like a dragonfly, her slender figure soaring into the air like a celestial maiden. "I've come to lend you a hand. If we join forces to fight him, there might still be a chance."

Li Qing was too strong; she might already be a full-fledged Silver Vein cultivator. She knew that the guy who came to show off was definitely no match for her.

However, to Yao Yin's surprise, Li Qing, who clearly possessed powerful magic and was fully capable of fighting two opponents at once, suddenly fled.

"Trying to leave?"

The Clear Void Cicada Evasion Step was unleashed.

Li Weiyi's body seemed weightless; his feet didn't touch the ground as he stepped on the grass, transforming into a series of afterimages and instantly intercepting Li Qing's path.

The Yellow Dragon Sword had already been drawn, and with an unparalleled display of power, it cleaved through the sea.

"Sizzle!"

The bright yellow Sword Qi sliced through the air, leaving a trail of light ten feet long.

Knowing the power of this sword strike, Li Qing's expression changed drastically. He dared not hold back in the slightest and activated the magical energy within his Feng Mansion to unleash a supreme sword technique of the Heavenly Dao Mana Fusion level to defend against it.

"Bang!"

The attack crumbled instantly; Li Qing was thrown backward, his robes exploding in the process.

Li Weiyi pursued and leaped several meters into the air, thrusting out his sword. The sword shadows burst forth like a celestial maiden scattering flowers.

One sword transforms into a hundred swords!

Li Qing roared, displaying a desperate, life-or-death spirit, with his ancestral energy surging and flowing within his body. He gripped his sword with both hands and swung it out with all his might.

"Puff!"

"Puff!"

Unable to completely defend against it, Li Weiyi's Ruyi Qiankun Sword left two bloody holes in his body, and the sound of bones breaking could be heard.

"You can't be at the Spring Realm... you're at the Five Seas Realm..."

Knowing he was no match for Li Weiyi, Li Qing used all his strength to escape while shouting out a sentence in an attempt to attract the Hidden Gate members.

If we're going to die, we'll all die together.

Li Weiyi was faster than Li Qing, catching up in just three breaths and unleashing his third sword strike.

The fourth sword strike follows.

Even with the massive amount of magical energy in his ancestral field, Li Qing found it extremely difficult to resist, even more so than when facing Hidden Nine. Ultimately, although the ancestral field is like Qi Sea, capable of storing magical energy, only when magical energy reaches the Five Seas Realm can it undergo a fundamental transformation.

Each of Li Weiyi's sword strikes felt like a mountain pressing down on him, leaving him no time to breathe.

"Puff!"

Finally breaking through his defenses, the fifth sword pierced through the forearm of the hand holding the sword in Li Qing's hand.

Li Qing let out a low, miserable scream as his magical sword fell to the ground. Clutching his wound, he staggered back, spilling drops of blood onto the grass by the river.

"Bang!"

Li Weiyi chased after him and struck him squarely in the back with a palm strike, causing him to vomit blood and completely lose his fighting ability and ability to escape, before tumbling to the ground.

As Li Qing tried to stand up again, the tip of the Yellow Dragon Sword was already pressed against his throat.

"It actually took six moves to completely defeat you. Among the Nine Springs Perfected Person, you should be considered one of the stronger ones." Li Weiyi had already gone all out, so he was very dissatisfied with this result.

Although he was one move faster than Hidden Nine.

However, Hidden Nine is ultimately just a mural; he only possesses combat skills, but his combat awareness and combat wisdom are certainly inferior to those of the real person.

In addition, Li Qing was only focused on escaping, so his fighting spirit was weak and his condition was not as good as when he fought Hidden Nine.

Yao Yin, who was in the distance, was already stunned, unsure of what to do with the dagger in her hand.

Seven Springs? Eight Springs?

What level of attainment does he possess?

Yao Yin had always known that Li Weiyi was strong, but there was no way she could be stronger than Li Qing. Even the Nine Springs Pure Immortal Body might not possess such combat power, right?

"Tell me, which tribe do you come from?" Li Weiyi asked in an interrogative tone.

The fear in Li Qing's eyes gradually faded, and then she laughed, "Whose side are you on? If I don't tell you this secret, does that mean I can actually live?"

"Too clever for one's own good."

"Sizzle!"

Li Weiyi raised his arm and severed Li Qing's left wrist. "Two choices: either die a slower death, or die a quicker death."

Li Qing gritted her teeth and glared angrily, finally realizing how terrifying Li Weiyi was. Blood kept gushing from her left wrist, and her entire arm grew colder and colder.

Sensing something, Li Weiyi raised her head and looked at Hidden Twenty-Four, who had arrived at the scene.

In addition, the usually taciturn, black-clad Cooking Elder appeared before the two of them, stepping on streaks of spiritual light at an astonishing speed of several dozen feet per step.

"You can't get anything out of him by asking like that; you have to use telekinesis to make him talk."

A spot of light appeared between the Cooking Elder. A powerful burst of mental energy erupted, and nine strands of mental energy, like streaks of light, shot out from the Forehead Spirit Realm between his eyebrows, flying towards the various acupoints on Li Qing's head.

He possessed extremely strong mental power, and the light emanating from his body resembled a dazzling little sun.

Li Weiyi quickly retreated, his mind reeling, and stared at the Cooking Elder with apprehension.

There is no doubt that the Hidden Gate is not completely ignorant.

Knowing he had been exposed and was doomed to die today, Li Qing tried to drag Li Weiyi down with him. "He... he was sent by the Earth Wolf King Army. Shi Liuyu planted the Six Shi Liuyu Six Desires Talisman on him... ah..."

"Bang!"

Amidst a piercing scream, Li Qing's brow exploded.

A ball of extremely hot spiritual light and flame was released from below his brow, instantly burning his entire head to ashes.

His death was indescribably tragic.

The Cooking Elder had a stern look in his eyes. He retracted the nine strands of mental energy, his brows furrowed tightly, and muttered to himself, "As expected, he has been implanted with the Death Spirit Fire. Once I use mental energy to control his consciousness and coax him to speak, the spirit flame will erupt."

The Cooking Elder glared at Li Weiyi, extremely displeased. "You've ruined our grand plan! Little Twenty-Four, take the corpse and come with me to see the Hidden Lord."

Hidden Twenty-Four picked up Li Qing's Decapitated Corpse with one hand, looked at Li Weiyi with some confusion and some curiosity.

Clearly, Li Weiyi's displayed combat prowess had also astonished her, causing her to fall into self-doubt.

After all, she had personally checked him when he boarded the ship, and it was true that his cultivation level was at the Seventh Spring.

Li Weiyi was even more confused and curious. Watching the two walk further and further away, she couldn't help but ask, "What about me? Don't I need to go with you?"

There was no response; the two completely ignored him.

"The Hidden Gate must have known all along that Li Qing had something going on. The reason they didn't touch him was to expose the big fish behind him. But if the Hidden Gate knows so much about Li Qing, how could they not know that I also have something going on?"

"Even if they didn't know before, Li Qing just mentioned it. Why didn't they investigate?"

Li Weiyi was filled with unease, wondering whether he should immediately take out the Coffin Master's letter.

A faint fragrance wafts by.

Yao Yin appeared beside him, her almond-shaped eyes filled with complex emotions. In a soft and melodious tone, she asked, "Are you really sent by the Earth Wolf King Army?"

"You want to ask me if I've been implanted with the Six Desires Talisman, right?" Li Weiyi asked.

Yao Yin didn't know much about the Six Desires Talisman, but just hearing the name, she could guess its general meaning and immediately understand Li Weiyi's previous actions.

After careful consideration, she said, "You must have been forced into this situation. I believe the Hidden Gate didn't punish you because they knew this. In fact, if you perform exceptionally well enough, you still have a chance to become a Hidden Person."

Yao Yin wasn't stupid; she knew perfectly well that Li Weiyi had caught up with her at that point just now because he wanted to save her.

That's why I said those words to comfort you.

Regardless of Li Weiyi's true identity, he was at least quite good to her.

Li Weiyi looked at Yao Yin with a strange gaze, feeling that what Yao Yin said actually made some sense. But with Coffin Master's letter, he didn't need to deliberately prove himself.

Go deliver the letter now.

Only after entering the mountain gate can one enter the true Jiu Li Hidden Gate.

Outside the Hidden Lord's cultivation cave, there stands a seventeen-story stone tower built against the cliff. Within each level, a dazzling flame of spiritual light emanates, illuminating this dim underground space with brilliant colors.

Wearing a mask, Hidden Lord examined Li Qing's Decapitated Corpse on the ground and shook his head, saying, "That old fellow was very cautious and left no trace. The trail has been completely cut off! Which of the nine clan leaders could it be?"

The Cooking Elder asked, "Hidden Five doesn't know either?"

"Hidden Five said that the clan leader is very close to Coffin Mountain and has been hiding his identity. Most likely, only Xu Fudu and An Xianjing know who he is."

The Hidden Lord added, "They must have been subdued by that forbidden being from Coffin Mountain. Otherwise, how could a clan leader-level being betray them?"

The Cooking Elder was filled with astonishment. "Even such an ancient being is going to get involved?"

The Hidden Lord said, "Lingxiao Palace War Situation is in a bad situation and is retreating step by step, gradually losing its power to intimidate the world. The various demons and monsters who dared not act rashly before are naturally starting to have ideas. Fortunately, a major change occurred in Immortal Burial Town, giving us ample time to prepare, otherwise the war that would have swept through the entire Lizhou would have already broken out."

The Cooking Elder said, "This battle is inevitable, but before that, we must purge our own ranks. Tell the Dao Academy and the Temple the news and let them investigate."

"No, that would be too easy to alert them, and it could expose Hidden Five. Don't they still have one more pawn to figure out the situation of the Jiu Li Hidden Gate?"

Hidden Lord suddenly asked, "That kid, could he really defeat Li Qing in six moves? Could it be that he has broken through to the Five Seas realm?"

"That's the strangest thing! He's clearly not at the Five Seas Realm, yet his combat strength seems to be no less than Hidden Nine's," said the Cooking Elder.

"If he truly is a remarkable genius, then give him a chance. This game still needs to be won through him. Hidden Five said that he helped the Jiu Li Tribe a great deal and had good relations with the Cangli Tribe. He was a victim who was accidentally dragged into this mess."

After a moment's thought, Hidden Lord said again, "Since he's so strong, let's arrange a second trial for him immediately. Let's also test him to see what choice he'll make. Hidden Twenty-Four, I'm entrusting this matter to you!"

Li Weiyi arrived at the mountain gate and told the old gatekeeper of his wish to pay homage to the Hidden Lord.

"The Hidden Lord is not someone you can just see whenever you want. Even for this old man, seeing him is no easy task," said the old gatekeeper.

"I have something very important to report, Elder."

Li Weiyi dared not reveal the secret of the leader's impending return to the entire Hidden Gate. The more people knew, the more eyes would be on him, and the easier it would be for his various secrets to be exposed.

It's enough to let a few high-ranking members of the Hidden Gate know.

The Cooking Elder and Hidden Twenty-Four came down the mountain one after the other.

The Cooking Elder said, "Little fellow, don't panic so much. We know your background perfectly well. Whether it's the Six Desires Talisman or the Earth Wolf Army or the King's Army, it's not important. What's important is your choice and your talent. Twelfth brother, come on, let's play a game of chess."

The Cooking Elder pulled the old man guarding the gate away.

Li Weiyi's gaze fell upon the imposing Hidden Twenty-Four: "I want to see Hidden Lord!"

Hidden Twenty-Four said, "The Hidden Lord has arranged a second trial for you. Once you complete it, you will naturally be qualified to meet him."

"My business is very important," Li Weiyi said.

Hidden Twenty-Four said, "No matter what the Hidden Lord handles is unimportant. Besides, what you know, the Hidden Gate knows. What you don't know, the Hidden Gate also knows. Do you understand? In our eyes, you are completely transparent."

Li Weiyi held back for a moment. "Why can't I get through to you? Fine... you guys aren't in a hurry, and neither am I. What is this second trial? It's coming up way too fast!"

The trial was dangerous, and nobody wanted to participate further.

Yao Yin was so eager to attack Li Qing because she wanted to become a recluse as soon as possible and participate in fewer trials.

Hidden Twenty-Four said, "Annihilate all high-ranking members of the Changlin Gang above the Seven Springs level."

Li Weiyi was stunned.

Hidden Twenty-Four was very satisfied with his expression at this moment. "Now you believe that we know everything about you, right?"

"I thought all the trials were underground, but the Changlin Gang is far away in Jiu Li City," Li Weiyi said.

"Far?"

Hidden Twenty-Four smiled, "You have already caught the eye of Hidden Lord. This is a test he prepared specifically for you. If you pass it, Hidden Twenty-Six will most likely be you!"