Deep within Soul Severing Gorge, inside a hidden cave dwelling.
The light was dim, illuminated only by several bronze lamps embedded in the stone walls.
A faint scent of medicinal herbs permeated the air.
Qi Xunnan looked at the letter in his hand.
Every word of the news within weighed heavily on his heart.
The Mysterious Dark Ox had been taken, the Seven-Leaf Golden Lotus had vanished without a trace, and most importantly... Qi Yu had been jointly captured by people from the Tianbao Supreme Sect and the Cloudwater Supreme Sect, and was now imprisoned in Tianbao Supreme Sect's Prison Peak.
"Prison Peak..."
He silently repeated the name in his heart.
It was the place Tianbao Supreme Sect used to imprison its most important captives, guarded with utmost severity and layered restrictions, with even eminent Buddhist cultivators stationed there.
Other than his tightly furrowed brows, no further emotion could be seen on Qi Xunnan's face.
Yet the aura around him was like the deep waters of an icy pool, gaining several more shades of chill.
He slowly raised his eyes and looked toward a corner shrouded in the cave dwelling's shadows.
There, at some unknown moment, a man in white had silently appeared.
The man was of average build, with an exceedingly ordinary face—the sort of appearance one might see ten times and still fail to remember.
Yet what was stranger was that although he stood right there, and one could clearly make out his brows, eyes, nose, and mouth when looking at him, the instant one's gaze shifted away, any impression of his specific features would swiftly blur and fade.
This was clearly some exceedingly profound secret art for concealing one's aura.
"This is not what you guaranteed me."
Qi Xunnan spoke, his voice low.
When this man had