The two entered the Eight Sceneries Palace.
Xuan Du remained standing beside Laozi, and upon seeing Zhou Qing arrive, he nodded slightly in greeting.
" Zhou Qing of the Human Race pays respects to the Taiqing Saint!"
Zhou Qing stepped into the hall and, without hesitation, bowed deeply to the figure surrounded by Shangqing light on the prayer mat.
Laozi slowly opened his eyes, his gaze falling on Zhou Qing, showing neither joy nor sorrow.
"What brings Emperor Sui here?"
Zhou Qing maintained his bowing posture, his voice clear and heavy. " Zhou Qing is incompetent, I humbly beg the Sage to have mercy, to show the way forward for the Human Race, and to grant them a glimmer of hope!"
He didn't directly ask Laozi to suppress the Witch Clan, as that would be both unrealistic and overstepping his bounds.
He only sought a "way forward," a "chance of survival."
The Eight Sceneries Palace was completely silent.
Xuan Du looked reluctant, and Lin Yan's heart was also heavy.
Laozi already knew why Zhou Qing had come, but as a sage, he naturally could not personally intervene.
After a moment of silence, Laozi slowly spoke, his voice as still as an ancient well. " Zhou Qing, since you are the Emperor Sui, you should know the secrets of Heaven."
"The so-called glimmer of hope must be earned by yourself."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Qing lowered his head even further.
It's obvious that Laozi doesn't want to get involved in the affairs between the Human Race and the Witch Clan.
Zhou Qing sighed and prepared to leave.
"You can go and take a look here." Laozi sent a beam of Immortal Light into Zhou Qing's body.
Zhou Qing instantly knew a general location.
"Thank you, Sage!" Zhou Qing bowed deeply to Laozi and left the Eight Sceneries Palace.
The coordinates that Laozi gave to Zhou Qing were the location of Li Ping'an's courtyard.
After he became a sage, he tried to see through Li Ping'an's true nature, but what he saw was only Chaos.
Having Li Ping'an deal with Zhou Qing and the Ancestral Witch would not only allow them to probe each other's backgrounds, but also save Zhou Qing from having to come to the Eight Sceneries Palace again.
Having learned of Li Ping'an's power, Zhou Qing would never bother him again.
Zhou Qing left the Eight Sceneries Palace with mixed feelings.
The sage was unwilling to intervene directly, which was within his expectations. After all, it is common sense for a sage to be detached from worldly affairs and not to get involved in cause and effect.
But what does this coordinate system that Laozi gave me mean...?
The location was not far from the foot of Shouyang Mountain, in an inconspicuous mountain hollow.
Zhou Qing had never heard of any reclusive masters there.
"Since it is a sage's guidance, there must be a profound meaning behind it."
Zhou Qing took a deep breath, suppressed his distracting thoughts, transformed into a streak of light, and flew towards the direction Laozi had indicated.
In a short while, he landed at the entrance of a secluded valley.
The faint sounds of roosters crowing and dogs barking could be heard, and wisps of smoke rose from chimneys.
This... this is the "sliver of hope" the sage spoke of?
Zhou Qing was stunned.
The scene before him was far removed from the celestial abode and Great Power cultivation place he had imagined.
It's more like an old farmer who grew tired of the Prehistoric World, found a secluded place, and started living a pastoral life.
"Could it be... that the sage is implying to me that the future of Human Race lies in returning to simplicity and recuperating?"
The thought flashed through Zhou Qing's mind, but then he felt something was amiss.
If that were all there was to it, why would Laozi have specifically pointed out this location?
He calmed his breathing and slowly walked into the valley.
The further I went in, the stronger that strange feeling became.
The valley was so quiet, so quiet... as if it were isolated from the noisy Prehistoric World.
Zhou Qing's divine sense quietly spread out, trying to investigate those thatched huts.
However, when his consciousness approached within three zhang of the thatched hut, it vanished without a trace, like a clay ox sinking into the sea.
Zhou Qing's heart skipped a beat.
He possessed the divine sense of Early Quasi-Saint. Any being capable of blocking his divine sense intrusion must be at least Hun Yuan Grand Unity.
Zhou Qing composed himself, walked to the gate of the small fenced courtyard, straightened his clothes, and raised his hand to knock.
Just then, the courtyard gate creaked open by itself.
Li Ping'an was dressed in coarse linen clothes, with his sleeves rolled up and his hands still covered in mud, as if he had just finished tending the vegetable garden.
He looked Zhou Qing up and down, a knowing glint in his eyes. "You're also Xiao Tian's friend, right? Come in and have a seat."
Zhou Qing's pupils contracted slightly.
Xiao Tian?
Zhou Qing's mind raced, and combining this with Laozi's words, he immediately guessed that the "Little Heaven" Li Ping'an mentioned was none other than the Tongtian Cult Master!
To dare address Tongtian in such a way, this person's strength must be unfathomable.
Although in Zhou Qing's eyes, Li Ping'an Li Ping'an just an ordinary Human Race had acquired cultivation and hadn't even started cultivating yet.
But he was certain that the other party was not as simple as they appeared.
The Prehistoric World was indeed full of hidden talents; many powerful Great Power had never appeared before.
The moment Zhou Qing entered Li Ping'an's courtyard, his Quasi-Saint cultivation was instantly suppressed.
"This..."
Then he saw the courtyard full of Innate Spiritual Root and Quasi-Saint level native chickens.
Holy crap!
"What's wrong?"
Li Ping'an looked at Zhou Qing, who was in shock, and asked him a question.
"It's nothing, it's nothing..."
The two sat facing each other at a stone table, with a pot of tea steaming in the middle.
Zhou Qing took a deep breath and spoke solemnly:
"Senior, I have come here because Human Race has suffered a great calamity."
"The thirteen Ancestral Witch of Buzhou Mountain have issued an ultimatum to our Shouyang Human Race."
He spoke slowly, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, his eyes filled with barely suppressed anxiety and pleading.
" Human Race is too weak to contend with the Ancestral Witch."
"I implore you, senior... out of consideration for our Human Race, could you... show me a way to survive?"
After Zhou Qing finished speaking, he stared intently at Li Ping'an.
He dared not directly ask the other party for help, but only hoped that this reclusive master would show a little pity or give him some hints.
Li Ping'an held his teacup, listening intently.
After Zhou Qing finished speaking, he nodded thoughtfully and slowly took a sip of tea.
"Hmm... thirteen people."
Li Ping'an put down his teacup, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather.
"From what you're saying, these people are pretty domineering, occupying this mountain and not letting others live their lives?"
Zhou Qing was taken aback. "... Yes, they are indeed domineering."
So they were bandits!
To Li Ping'an, Zhou Qing's words sounded like thirteen bandits planning to rob and plunder.
The person sitting opposite Xiaotian was his friend, and as Xiaotian's elder, he had to help out.
"Wait a moment."
Li Ping'an went to the backyard and then brought out a rusty machete.
In Li Ping'an's eyes, this knife was just a broken, old cleaver, but in Zhou Qing's eyes, it was a Innate Supreme Treasure.
"Take this, for self-defense!"
Li Ping'an thought he was quite smart.
This knife is rusty. Even if we kill those bandits, they'll die of tetanus without a vaccine.
"Ah?"
When Zhou Qing saw the cleaver containing the law of destruction, he thought to himself that Li Ping'an must be out of his mind, giving away Innate Supreme Treasure to a complete stranger.
But after seeing Li Ping'an's room full of treasures, Zhou Qing shut his mouth.
"What, not enough? I have more!"
"If all else fails, bring those bandits to me. I've practiced martial arts for years, and I'll help you deal with them!"
In the end, Zhou Qing left the courtyard with several Innate Supreme Treasure given to him by Li Ping'an.
"System, what's the situation with Li Ping'an?" Zhou Qing asked the Human Race Rise System.
System: "Don't ask, as long as there's a benefit."