Jiang Baishan, in Danger

The Black Rock Mountains are also a very famous mountain range within the Great Flame territory. A powerful beast king exists deep within them, and ordinary martial artists must be very careful when entering.

But it meant nothing to Ning Qi.

The only beings he can be wary of now are those at the level of the Beast King.

Ning Qi walked casually down the street, and no one noticed that such a young man had passed by. He concealed his aura and had a very low presence. Sometimes, people would only vaguely notice him after he had passed by, but upon careful recollection, they could not recall the specific face of the person who had just passed by, and were only filled with surprise.

Ning Qi was certainly not acting aimlessly.

While he was in the inn, he had already sensed the suspicious figures mentioned in the intelligence report. Now that he realized they were heading towards the Black Stone Mountains, he immediately followed them.

There were three people ahead, two men and one woman, all middle-aged, chatting and laughing, looking no different from ordinary adventurers entering the Blackrock Mountains.

But once they entered the Blackrock Mountains, the three of them changed their demeanor. The three, who had seemed to be of equal status, immediately became led by the woman.

"Sir, what should we do now?" the two men asked.

The woman replied:

"Follow the old rules!"

Ning Qi listened, and his spirits lifted.

He activated the Stillness Art and followed silently behind them. He saw the three of them wandering around, occasionally encountering Mutant Beast, but each time they were dealt with by one of the men wearing metal Gauntlets. This man's cultivation was not low; in fact, it was even higher than the intelligence indicated, clearly reaching the Yuan Pill Realm.

Then, the three of them stopped in a valley.

A low shout came from the valley:

"Registration number."

The woman in the lead replied in a deep voice:

"A touch of red in the southern frontier, which brother from the Holy Gate has arrived?"

"At the north wind's mouth of the Fengzi Hall in Holy Gate, I've met Lord Hong."

You're too kind.

After the two groups exchanged pleasantries, Ning Qi noticed that there were corpses hidden in the valley. It was not hard to tell that these corpses were all powerful martial artists in life. He raised an eyebrow, feeling that this scene was somewhat familiar.

He realized that the Demon Sect was assisting Southern Xinjiang in collecting the corpses of martial artists, shifting their focus from quantity to quality to avoid detection.

Led by the three from the Southern Frontier, the members of the Demon Sect continued their advance through the Black Stone Mountains, carrying corpses with them.

There was almost no conversation during that time.

After circling around for a while, they stopped in a forest. The three from Southern Xinjiang turned around and laughed:

"Brothers of the Holy Gate, thank you for your hard work. That's enough for now."

The leader of the Demon Sect didn't waste any time. With a wave of his hand, everyone placed the corpses at their feet, and then said:

"Lord Red, until we meet again!"

After saying this, everyone left together.

Ning Qi secretly praised the decisiveness, but he also attached his own aura to it. Although the strongest among them was only at the Gang Essence Realm, since they had discovered that it was a member of the Demon Sect, it was still a clue.

He could roughly tell that the people sent by the Demon Sect to deliver corpses were completely different each time.

He was somewhat expectant.

The handover was so vigilant and orderly that this outpost is very likely genuine.

Ning Qi was in a good mood, as he had already made a profit at the very first place he chose after descending the mountain. As long as he obtained another Blood King Gu, he could start looking for other Blood King Gu and eliminate this threat to the Southern Frontier.

He waited silently.

Once it was confirmed that the members of the Demon Sect had gone far away, the woman leading the group from the Southern Frontier took out a small box from her bosom, from which an unknown red Gu worm crawled out and took flight.

Not long after.

In the distance, a group of martial artists carrying wooden boxes appeared.

"Lord Hong, this time the harvest is quite substantial. Those people from the Demon Sect have kept their promises after all." The man who came chuckled as he packed the corpses into wooden crates.

The woman in the lead merely hummed softly:

"Non-Self in southern Xinjiang were also helping them, they wouldn't be in this situation. In the end, it's just a matter of mutual benefit."

Although they didn't know the purpose of collecting the corpses, they figured the Demon Sect wouldn't help them casually. They had also vaguely heard that the Demon Sect had something to ask for in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, so it was just a matter of mutual exploitation.

soon.

The body was put inside, and the group carried the wooden crates away quickly. Under Ning Qi's watchful gaze, they stopped in front of another valley.

Another round of rigorous questioning followed.

From one of the people's low complaints, Ning Qi learned that the code was different each time they entered and exited, and it seemed to be combined with some of the person's own characteristics, making it extremely difficult to impersonate them.

Ning Qi vaguely felt that this might be related to the Qingzhou stronghold he had destroyed before, as if they were deliberately guarding against people in disguise.

It seems that the people of southern Xinjiang reviewed the situation afterward, considered this possibility, and therefore took action against it.

Fortunately.

The Ning Qi of today is a far cry from the Ning Qi of that time.

After reaching the Celestial Person Realm, his methods became even more diverse.

now.

He simply seized the opportunity and silently stepped into the valley, rendering the martial artist's senses completely ineffective in front of him.

"There are Celestial Person Realm? And more than one?" Ning Qi was shocked. He sensed that there were four beings with the power of heaven and earth sweeping over his hiding place. It would be impossible for an ordinary person to sneak in.

He had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

So many experts in one stronghold?

Even if the Southern Frontier and the Demon Sect have profound foundations, they wouldn't be this extravagant, would they?

They followed the warriors carrying wooden boxes.

Ning Qi finally stopped in front of a palace.

His expression was slightly complicated, with a hint of self-deprecation.

He didn't even need to go inside to know that his hopes had been dashed.

There was not a trace of blood pool aura within the palace, nor any residual aura of the Blood King Gu. On the contrary, the auras of the several Celestial Person Realm warriors were extremely dazzling, as if they were gathering their strength.

By now, he understood perfectly well.

This is a trap.

It's clearly meant for fishing.

If the imperial court's people were to recklessly rush in, they would likely be killed. For a stronghold of this size, it would be quite remarkable that the imperial court could send two Celestial Person Realm. After all, the imperial court has too many places where it needs manpower, and unless it has accurate information, it is impossible to send many experts to any place at random.

"They really shouldn't be underestimated." Ning Qi sighed softly, abandoning the slight contempt he had shown before descending the mountain.

With his abilities, he initially believed this place to be a base for cultivating Blood King Gu, let alone others.

Someone has already discovered Ning Qi's presence.

"Who!"

A furious roar echoed from the depths of the palace, and layers of heaven and earth power erupted. A blue-haired figure soared into the sky, followed by three more powerful figures who rushed out and surrounded Ning Qi in an instant.

The numerous martial artists within the stronghold all charged out fiercely.

The others were somewhat bewildered, but they still joined in surrounding Ning Qi.

The blue-haired old man looked at the young Ning Qi with some disappointment:

"Just this little shrimp? What are you all doing? Someone's already crawled all this way and you still haven't noticed?"

Despite saying this, Ning Qi's discerning golden eyes had already detected that he was secretly gathering all his strength, clearly knowing that Ning Qi was no ordinary person who could get here alone.

Ning Qi remained calm.

He was just deliberately releasing that aura.

Since we're already here, even though it's not a Blood King Gu stronghold, killing some people from the Southern Frontier will at least lessen the threat.

Sensing the movement around him, he said calmly:

"Very good, as long as none are missed."

The Celestial Person Realm experts were about to angrily rebuke Ning Qi for his ignorance, but in the next instant, they were all stunned. They felt a vast, ocean-like power of heaven and earth converging upon them, making it difficult for them to breathe. The oppressive feeling made their souls tremble.

Ning Qi slowly rose into the air and formed a fist seal.

He didn't want to use his Sword Intent, but after thinking about it, he still felt that the Zhenbei King's Zhentian Fist was quite convenient.

The power of heaven and earth suppressed everything, and a massive fist imprint descended like a mountain.

Everything was utterly destroyed.

Inside the valley.

Battle breaks out.

The power of heaven and earth fluctuates, and the screams often come to an abrupt end.

A moment later.

Ning Qi turned and left.

All that remained was a scene of utter devastation.

After using the Soul-Capturing Eye Technique to inquire, the several Celestial Person Realm also knew nothing more. Their sole mission in being sent here was to ambush any potential imperial court experts and deliver a severe blow to the court.

Moreover, Ning Qi discovered that these Celestial Person Realm cultivators possessed a special type of Gu worm that could stabilize their spirits and resist his Soul-Seizing Eye Technique. Clearly, Southern Xinjiang had also taken precautions in this regard.

After a brief silence, Ning Qi let out a long breath.

Since there was no trace in this place, he would go to the next one; he refused to believe that there wouldn't be a single clue.

As for the aftermath here, let the imperial court handle it.

Ning Qi returned to Blackrock City.

I was a little frustrated, since I initially thought I had gained something, but it turned out to be a feint.

This made him realize that things might not be as simple as he had previously thought; he had witnessed the Demon Sect and the Southern Frontier.

Having strength is useless if you can't find a target.

If the Demon Sect and the Southern Frontier are determined to hide, they won't be so easy to find.

"Even if we can't find any trace of them, we should at least delay their progress. If we really can't find them, then so be it. I'll go back to the mountain and focus all my efforts on improving my strength!" Ning Qi secretly made up his mind.

Although he would go to the high heavens every day to cultivate the Three Flowers while he was away, he ultimately wasted a lot of time on enlightenment.

"We've given you two months; if we can't find it, we won't waste any more time."

Ning Qi slowly exhaled, calming himself down.

Half a day later.

Ning Qi set off for another suspicious location mentioned in the intelligence report.

Time passed.

More than a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

During this period of time.

Ning Qi's footprints covered five or six states. He followed Luo Wentian's intelligence all the way, but unfortunately, he gained almost nothing. Without exception, they were either traps or smokescreens.

It's as if the people of the Southern Frontier no longer cultivate Blood King Gu within the Great Flame territory.

After several unsuccessful attempts, even Ning Qi, with his temperament, began to feel somewhat irritated.

The only gain was the destruction of several ambush sites and the killing of nine Celestial Person Realm experts from the Southern Frontier and the Demon Sect. Both the Demon Sect and the Southern Frontier now know that a peerless expert from the imperial court is investigating the traps, and they have become much more cautious. This is perhaps the greatest consolation.

But for Ning Qi, the most important thing is to find the Martial Saint's Secret Land. Otherwise, it would be meaningless to kill as many Celestial Person Realm as possible, since he couldn't possibly slaughter all the Celestial Person Realm experts in the Southern Frontier of the Demon Sect.

"A few days ago, my senior brother sent a message saying that the Prince of Zhenbei has dispatched elite troops to the Northern Barbarians to investigate. We can only wait and see if there is any news from there."

After repeatedly coming up empty-handed, the group suspected that the Southern Frontier had already moved the cultivation of the Blood King Gu to the Northern Barbarians or other places.

However, since that area is not part of the Great Flame territory, the investigation is much more difficult.

Ning Qi took a small sip of wine.

He sat in the restaurant, lost in thought.

Suddenly.

His body trembled, his pupils contracted slightly, and he couldn't help but look south.

"This is... the fluctuation of Gang Essence Sword Seed)!"

He was currently in Cangzhou, and if he wasn't mistaken, the direction from which the fluctuation came should be... Leizhou.

Ning Qi's heart tightened.

When Jiang Baishan and Lin Ruhua descended the mountain, he gifted them a pair of mandarin duck Jade Pendant, which contained the essence of the Gang Essence Sword Seed. It could be unleashed if they encountered a crisis. Now that the sword seed has been unleashed, doesn't that mean that Jiang Baishan and his wife have encountered a crisis?

He couldn't sit still any longer.