Aroused Suspicion

Fist-sized black lotuses surrounded the man in black in layer upon layer, each one condensed from dim, dark flames and giving off a suffocating heat.

The air around the lotuses twisted violently, as if it might ignite at any moment.

The protective black baleful aura around the man in black shuddered violently, letting out a hissing sound. Terrifying heat kept seeping through, and with a whoosh, the clothes on his body burst into flame, turning to ash in the blink of an eye and revealing a purple ritual robe beneath.

Light shimmered over the ritual robe, barely keeping the flames at bay.

At the same time, he hurriedly slapped his storage pouch and pulled out three Black Baleful Protection talismans in one breath, laying down three black light barriers in succession to shield his body.

Yet this flurry of movement also fully exposed his true appearance.

It was none other than Dong Chuan.

Luo Siqing's eyes were icy cold, without the slightest ripple. Clearly, she had long since guessed the other party's identity.

The hand seals in both her hands changed rapidly, and the black lotuses immediately began spinning in place, advancing as one as they slammed fiercely toward Dong Chuan!

Boom, boom, boom...

The black lotuses struck the light barriers one after another, erupting with deafening roars.

The light barriers trembled violently, and the first layer of protection was instantly covered in cracks.

Even the defensive artifact shaped like a skull hissed under the terrifying heat of the black lotuses, its radiance dimming at high speed.

Dong Chuan completely panicked.

The power of the Nine Nether Demon Lotus far exceeded his expectations!

"No! Luo Siqing, you can't kill me! I'm a core disciple of the Demon Sect, I'm a genius! If you kill me, you won't escape the harsh punishment of the sect rules either!" Dong Chuan cried out in terror, his voice already trembling.

"Noisy!"

Luo Siqing gave a cold rebuke, and the hand seals in her hands changed again.

The black lotuses spun faster and faster, every petal seeming to transform into a sharp blade as they madly sliced at Dong Chuan's protective black baleful aura.

Bang! Bang!

In the blink of an eye, two layers of protective light barriers shattered with a crash. Terrifying heat seeped through, burning Dong Chuan's skin bright red, like a boiled shrimp.

"Ah! No! I'm Uncle-Master Ye's man! If you kill me, Uncle-Master Ye will never let you off!" Dong Chuan roared hoarsely, utterly terrified.

But Luo Siqing was not moved in the slightest and continued driving the Nine Nether Demon Lotus.

The final layer of black baleful protection shattered with a boom, and the skull artifact also lost all its light, swaying on the verge of collapse.

Thirty-three Nine Nether Demon Lotuses swarmed forward and completely swallowed Dong Chuan.

"Ah! Luo Siqing, you bitch! You'll die a horri—"

Dong Chuan let out a shrill curse, but before he could finish, a black lotus suddenly rushed into his mouth, and his scream came to an abrupt stop.

His eyes bulged round, his face left with only contortion and endless agony.

His body turned from bright red to charred black, and in the end, with a bang, it completely became a cloud of flying ash that scattered with the wind.

Luo Siqing raised her hand with a light beckon, and a storage pouch and that skull artifact flew toward her, disappearing into her sleeve.

Lu Lin watched from the side, his eyes hot with envy.

This Dong Chuan was far stronger than the "Yu An" from back then, and his wealth was certainly incomparably abundant. If he could obtain it, who knew how many years of bitter cultivation time it could be exchanged for?

But he could only think about it.

Even among immortal cultivators of the same realm, the gap in strength can actually be this enormous... Lu Lin thought to himself.

Luo Siqing had only just broken through to the ninth layer of Qi Refining, yet the moment she attacked, she had almost crushed Dong Chuan, leaving him with no strength to resist at all.

She was worthy of being hailed as the Blood Baleful Demon Sect's number-one genius in the past thirty years.

At that moment, Luo Siqing put away her artifact and drifted down.

Lu Lin and the other guards immediately stepped forward to regroup.

All eleven were present, with only Tang Qiguang missing.

Luo Siqing's gaze swept over everyone, and she said calmly, "Where is Tang Qiguang? Dead?"

"Reporting to Immortal Master, we heard Tang Qiguang's cry earlier. I'm afraid... he has already met with disaster," Fang Hong answered with a bow, his eyes dim.

Everyone sighed inwardly, as if they had seen their own future end in Tang Qiguang.

Yet Luo Siqing's expression did not change in the slightest, as if she had only lost a tool. She said indifferently, "When you find his corpse later, bury him on the spot. Now tell me, what exactly happened just now? Fang Hong, you speak first."

"Yes!"

Fang Hong bowed and, after a brief moment of thought, replied, "This subordinate was previously protecting Immortal Master from the north when I suddenly heard Tang Qiguang shout 'enemy attack,' so I rushed over at once. From afar, I saw Dong Chuan intending to harm Immortal Master, and this subordinate immediately used Spirit-Breaking Arrows to obstruct him."

"After that, for some reason, Dong Chuan flew into a rage, turned, and chased in a certain direction, launching a fierce assault. But after attacking for a while, he turned back and charged toward Immortal Master again. Though we tried our utmost to stop him, we could not hinder his steps. Fortunately, at that moment, Immortal Master successfully broke through..."

"Oh?"

Luo Siqing seemed thoughtful.

She had been fully focused on her breakthrough just now. Though she had left a sliver of attention on guard, she had only vaguely heard bursts of collision sounds and had not noticed the specific details.

A Qi Refining cultivator's spiritual sense was still weak, far from that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, who could project their spiritual sense outward and see everything as clearly as fire in a cave.

After that, she questioned the others as well, and their accounts were much the same as Fang Hong's.

"Lu Lin, what about you? Tell me," Luo Siqing said at last, turning her gaze to Lu Lin.

Lu Lin had long since prepared his words. He cupped his hands and said, "In reply to the Immortal Master, this subordinate was previously guarding the wolf pelts and wolf claws when I suddenly heard Senior Brother Tang Qiguang shout 'enemy attack.' Knowing something had gone wrong, I immediately rushed over. When I arrived, I saw Dong Chuan had already been intercepted by Spirit-Breaking Arrows, and this subordinate also drew my bow and fired at once..."

His account was basically consistent with everyone else's, only tactfully revealing that his cultivation was lower and that by the time he arrived, the others had already begun the interception.

"Strange..." After hearing this, Luo Siqing's brows knitted slightly as she murmured, "Dong Chuan came for me this time. Logically, he should have gone straight for his target and would never have chased someone else midway... unless..."

Her words reached this point, then stopped abruptly.

Lu Lin's heart sank slightly.

Clearly, Luo Siqing had already grown suspicious.

This matter was indeed riddled with doubts. With her meticulous mind, how could she fail to notice?

But for now, he could only take things one step at a time.

On the surface, he still showed no change in expression.

For some reason, Luo Siqing seemed not to intend to pursue it deeply. Her gaze swept over everyone as she said coolly, "Dong Chuan sought to kill me first, so it is only the law of Heaven and earth that I struck back. But to avoid stirring up extra trouble, this matter must not be leaked. Understood?"

"Yes, Immortal Master!" everyone answered in unison.

Exclusive guards rose and fell with the Immortal Master they protected; sharing glory in prosperity and sharing loss in ruin. Naturally, they would not leak it.

Luo Siqing nodded, ordered everyone to find Tang Qiguang's corpse and bury it on the spot, then put the wolf pelts and wolf claws into her storage pouch.

Once everything was settled, she controlled the flying boat and carried everyone toward the Floating Splendor Mountain Range.

The Floating Splendor Mountain Range covered an extremely vast area, stretching for a thousand li, while the newly discovered Red Gold Mine was located on only one of its peaks.

Before long, they had entered the territory of the Floating Splendor Mountain Range.

Once they arrived here, Luo Siqing clearly became much more cautious. She no longer dared to fly, putting away her magic artifact and traveling through the mountain forests together with everyone else.

Now, this region had gathered large numbers of Qi Refining experts from the two great sects. The people of the Blood Baleful Demon Sect were mostly concentrated near the Red Gold Mine, while the people of the Green Duckweed Sword Sect moved unpredictably.

If they flew, it would be very easy for the other side to discover and encircle them.

Fortunately, they did not encounter anyone from the Green Duckweed Sword Sect along the way. After more than an hour, they were already approaching the Red Gold Mine.

Caw, caw...

Bursts of birdsong came from high in the sky.

Everyone raised their heads and looked up, only to see several dozen giant eagles, black from head to tail, circling and flying. Their gazes were sharp as they swept over the four directions.

"Those are the sect's spirit beasts, the Black-Winged Falcons. They can monitor all directions and discover enemy traces in advance. Since the falcons show no unusual movement, that means there should be no one from the Green Duckweed Sword Sect within several dozen li. Get on the flying boat. We'll fly straight there."

After Luo Siqing finished speaking, she once again brought out the flying boat, carrying everyone toward the Red Gold Mine.

Caw, caw!

A few Black-Winged Falcons discovered them and let out piercing cries, passing the message downward.

The flying boat was extremely fast. After a few breaths, a mountain peak was already in sight.

That mountain peak was not towering, but it covered a rather wide area.

Rosy light suffused the summit. From a distance, it looked like a glowing giant bowl turned upside down, shrouding the entire peak within it.

Inside the light barrier, at least a hundred sharp gazes fell on everyone at once.