Forbidden Flying Immortals

"Is this Xu Yuan's residence? The Seek Immortals Society requests an audience."

At the sound of that voice, Xu Yuan's body nearly tensed on instinct. His mind replayed his conflict with them—he had nearly killed their members in the mine tunnels. Were they here to settle scores?

Run? Fight? Or find a way to notify the mining district overseer?

Countless thoughts surged through his mind, only to fall silent again as the blood and qi within him roiled.

With innate martial bones, having cultivated a mining district long-fist technique to its peak, even changing his trait to Martial World Supreme—there was no reason for him to fear these nobodies from the Seek Immortals Society.

"I'm here."

He answered evenly. The person outside apparently had not expected Xu Yuan to respond so quickly and froze for a moment, not knowing how to reply. But by then, Xu Yuan had already stepped forward and opened the door.

Under the cold moonlight, Lou Fan, whom he had met several times before, stood before him once more. Yet Xu Yuan's attention was clearly not on him, but on the woman behind him.

She doesn't really seem like one.

The thought inexplicably crossed his mind. Xu Yuan stood on the threshold, his eyes fixed on the two of them.

"Xu Yuan is here. What guidance do you have for me?"

His question was cold and detached. Xu Yuan revealed no particular attitude—or rather, that was his attitude.

Lou Fan opened his mouth as if to say something, but before he could speak, a cool voice drowned him out. "They say hearing of someone is not as good as meeting them. Brother Xu's bearing truly makes one's heart incline."

She signaled to the others to step back. This woman, who was clearly the society leader, came forward and said politely, "There are some things I wish to discuss with Brother Xu. Would you permit me to enter and speak inside?"

Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes at her. His first thought was whether she intended to use their time alone to cast some kind of spell on him.

As he hesitated, she seemed to see through his thoughts and said bluntly, "If Brother Xu believes I possess such great ability, then I would have cast a charm spell on you the moment you opened the door."

With that, the woman stepped forward, crossing the threshold where Xu Yuan stood. Then she gestured for her subordinates to shut the door.

In an instant, only the two of them remained in the room.

Xu Yuan watched her warily. Just as he was wondering what exactly she wanted to say, she first listened to the sounds outside. Once she knew her subordinates had gone far enough away, she turned around calmly to face him, broke into a smile, and then—

With a bang, before Xu Yuan could react, she dropped cleanly to her knees.

"I, Bi Qiong, pay respects to Big Brother Xu Yuan!"

Xu Yuan: "?"

Who? Whose big brother?

Xu Yuan stared at her blankly, utterly dumbfounded this time. What happened to being unfathomable? What happened to mysterious methods? What kind of move was kneeling before him supposed to be—showing weakness to lure in an enemy?

It took Xu Yuan a full three breaths to regain his senses. "Just say what you intend to say. Why humiliate yourself like this?"

"How is this humiliation?" To his surprise, the Seek Immortals Society's leader gave him a thoroughly baffled look. "In the Hidden Moon Sect, kneeling before the strong is merely basic etiquette. If Boss Xu still doesn't acknowledge me, I have plenty of other—"

As she spoke, her hand reached for Xu Yuan's boot. He leaped backward in fright, only then looking at her with grave seriousness.

For some reason, he found the Seek Immortals Society's leader in this state even more terrifying. As for her earlier words about this being basic etiquette in the Hidden Moon Sect, he instinctively ignored them.

What a joke. How could kneeling and kowtowing possibly be basic etiquette in a grand immortal sect? They were all cultivating immortality here—did they have no shame?

"Big Brother Xu, why won't you believe me?"

Bi Qiong cast him a resentful glance. She did not rise, instead shifting from kneeling to sitting cross-legged. "I truly came here this time to discuss cooperation with you."

"Cooperation?" Xu Yuan looked at her as if it were amusing and said bluntly, "Cooperate with you to trick those immortal slaves into becoming free labor?"

"Free labor?" Bi Qiong did not quite understand the term, but she grasped Xu Yuan's meaning and hurriedly said, "Tricking a few immortal slaves—how much money could that bring in? It wouldn't even cover the cost of making my charm talismans. What I want to discuss with you is a real, serious business deal!"

Seeing that Xu Yuan still looked unconvinced, Bi Qiong stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "Big Brother Xu, do you know that the mining district we are currently excavating was originally a jade marrow crystal mine?"

Xu Yuan nodded. Just a few days ago, he had personally seen that frigid cavern.

Why was she telling him this? Could it be...

"Big Brother Xu guessed correctly. In the deeper mine tunnels, there is still an unexploited jade marrow crystal mine."

Confirming Xu Yuan's guess, Bi Qiong looked at his eyes, which had suddenly turned fiery, and said calmly, "Now do you understand why I softened my stance before you? Because in this entire mining district, you are the only person I know who can withstand the freezing cold of jade marrow crystals and excavate them."

Xu Yuan took a deep breath. He was not swept away by this sudden news, but said coolly, "The question remains: how am I supposed to believe you?"

Bi Qiong did not answer at once. Instead, she suddenly asked, "How long have you been here, Big Brother Xu?"

"One year."

"Two years for me." Bi Qiong held up two fingers, then said evenly, "In those two years, I have not seen a single person in this mining district ascend to immortality."

"Logically speaking, even if the lot of us are utterly useless and our aptitudes are abysmal, there should at least be three or four lucky ones. But in reality, there hasn't been a single one."

Meeting Xu Yuan's gaze, Bi Qiong continued, "Because of this, I once observed several people who might have broken through to Qi Refinement. Their endings were all the same: one day, they suddenly disappeared, vanishing without a trace from this mining district."

"Xu Yuan, do you think it's possible that above our heads, there is a pair of eyes silently watching us? The moment we show even the slightest possibility of leaving, they impatiently seize us and swallow us whole."

"After all, this is a mining district. The Hidden Moon Sect neither cares nor concerns itself with it. They only need their fixed mineral resources every month. As for everything else—heh—they can dispose of it however they please."

Bi Qiong smiled strangely, and a cold chill settled over her originally aloof, beautiful face.

Though she had not shown herself in the mine tunnels for a long time, she was not far from the level at which people suddenly vanished. Otherwise, she would not have clung to Xu Yuan like a drowning person clutching at a lifeline, even resorting to the Hidden Moon Sect's basic etiquette.

No one knew whether the eyes hanging over the mining district had already fixed upon her.

Xu Yuan pressed his lips together as countless thoughts flashed through his mind. He knew she must be aware of something, and jade marrow crystals were indeed a heaven-sent opportunity for him.

However, he did not agree immediately. Instead, he replied that he still needed some time.

"Then you'd better hurry. If you don't come within three days, I'll take the risk and try it myself."

Leaving those words behind, Bi Qiong rose to her feet. In an instant, she returned to her original state, called for the people outside, and left.

For a time, Xu Yuan was once again the only one left in the room.

The joy from earlier had faded considerably. As he gazed at the pitch-black night sky, that sense of urgency and suffocation seemed to be slowly closing in again.