However, just after flying a few miles, a figure on the deserted mountain road made his escape suddenly stop.
It was a rickety old man, dressed in short brown coarse cloth that had been washed white, with a firewood Curved Saber pinned to his waist, and a bundle of dry firewood on his back, and he was walking slowly down the mountain road.
He originally thought that there would be no more living people in the entire southern region of the Cloud Marsh Kingdom.
But this old man was walking on the mountain road so arrogantly.
Zhou Qi did not go down immediately.
He observed in the air for a moment and Divine Sense scanned the old man from head to toe.
Without cultivation, you are not a monk.
The vitality in the body is somewhat declining, but it is still normal. He is indeed an ordinary old man.
Zhou Qi collected the escaping light and landed lightly on the mountain road.
The old man was walking on his way with his head down, when suddenly he saw someone in front of him. He was startled at first. After seeing clearly the Zhou Qi Immortal attire, the panic in his eyes suddenly turned into awe. He quickly put down the bundle of firewood and tremblingly knelt down to salute.
"Oh! The old man is blind and doesn't know that the immortal master is coming!"
Zhou Qi stretched out his hand, a gentle force Spiritual Power supported the old man, and said warmly, "No need to be like this, old man. I am a disciple of the Primordial Immortal Sect. I am passing by here and want to ask about something from me."
"Primordial Immortal Sect?" The old man paused, and then thought of something, "Oh, it turns out he is the immortal master who saves the suffering..."
Zhou Qi asked, "Where do I come from? Where are the people here?"
"I came from the north Song Ridge Mountain, and I was the only one left on the mountain." The old man sighed, "Everyone has fled."
"Where did he go?"
"Imperial City." The old man said without hesitation, "The king of the country gave an order saying that the beast tide in the south cannot be stopped, and asked all the people to evacuate to Imperial City, saying that there are immortals guarding it and it is safe."
Zhou Qi's eyes moved slightly. "Everyone has gone Imperial City? Can Imperial City hold so many people?"
The old man waved his hand. "I don't know whether I can pretend or not. Anyway, everyone who can walk has left, and those who can't walk died on the way. The old man couldn't bear to part with the chickens and the old donkey at home. He left a little late and saw no one."
As he spoke, he showed a bit of regret on his face:
"It's better now. There's not even a single person asking for directions in the entire south. The old man has been hiding in the mountains for almost two months, and he doesn't know if my son-in-law has arrived at Imperial City."
Zhou Qi glanced at the bundle of firewood on the old man's back and suddenly asked, "Old man, where did you get down the mountain from? Are there any traces of the beast tide on the mountain?"
The old man thought for a while and shook his head, "Not on the mountain, but I have seen a few wild wolves down the mountain. They were so hungry that they ran away from people."
Zhou Qi nodded and asked, "After you came down from the mountain, did you ever go in and see the cities you passed by?"
The old man suddenly showed a strange expression:
"City? Is there any city near here? Immortal Master, please stop teasing the old man. From here to the south, there are wild forests for hundreds of miles, and there are hardly even a village."
Zhou Qi looked at him, his eyes gradually deepening.
Less than twenty miles south from where they were standing was Clear Origin City.
According to the Jade Slip information reminder, the aborigines of Clear Origin City have a population of 1.3 million.
But this old man actually said, "Where is the city?"
Zhou Qi didn't expose it, just smiled, "Maybe I forgot."
The old man nodded repeatedly, and enthusiastically took out a few wild fruits from the firewood pile and handed them over. "Master Immortal, you have been working hard on the journey, eat a few wild fruits to moisten your mouth!"
Zhou Qi took it with a smile and changed the subject, "Old man, when did the beast tide subside?"
As soon as the words came out, the old man showed a trace of confusion on his face, but he quickly spoke subconsciously:
"We retreated a few days ago. Several Primordial Immortal Sect immortal masters came to our aid to help clear out the remaining Demon Beast!"
Zhou Qi narrowed his eyes when he heard this, but his voice remained calm. "Primordial Immortal Sect The immortal master who came to help? Do you know his name?"
The old man said without thinking, "The leader is Chen Youliang Master Chen! There are five of them in total, and all of them are big shots who can fly into the sky and escape from the earth! We Imperial City people have all seen them!"
Zhou Qi once again used Divine Sense to sweep the old man over, but he sneered in his heart.
There is no one named Chen Youliang above Primordial Immortal Sect, Spirit Transformation Realm.
Moreover, this old man's memory is obviously confused.
The location they are currently in is thousands of miles away from Imperial City.
What this old man keeps saying is "We all the people of Imperial City have seen it", but he has never been to Imperial City at all, how could he say this!
Could it be... that the memory has been tampered with?
Zhou Qi said in a calm tone, "Yes, yes, Chen Youliang is the elder of our Immortal Sect. I came here this time just to find him back. Do you know where he is now?"
The old man did not doubt that he was there, and said with a smile, "Master Chen Xian is naturally at Imperial City! A few days ago, the king wanted to build a shrine for him! When you arrive at Imperial City, you can find out by asking someone!"
Zhou Qi thanked the old man and stood there, watching the old man's rickety back gradually disappear at the end of the mountain road.
The smile on his face disappeared little by little.
"Interesting."
The old man is a living person, not an illusion. His soul is intact and Blood Qi is normal.
But his memory has been tampered with.
Zhou Qi murmured in a low voice, the sound dispersed in the wind:
"What kind of mission did I take on..."
Immediately, he stopped staying and rose up from the ground, turning into a stream of light and flying straight in the direction of Cloud Marsh Imperial City.
Half a day later, the outline of the Cloud Marsh Kingdom capital finally appeared at the end of his field of vision.
It was a majestic city built on the mountain. The city wall was more than ten feet high and stretched for dozens of miles. It was close to a towering black mountain to the north. From a distance, it looked like a giant beast entrenched on the plain.
Outside the city, spiritual light circulates.
A pale golden light curtain enveloped the entire Imperial City, like an inverted bowl, protecting the entire city tightly.
Zhou Qi stopped ten miles away and did not approach rashly.
He looked at the light curtain, and a strange color flashed in his eyes.
This formation is of high quality.
At least it can be planted by monk Body Integration Realm.
But Cloud Marsh Kingdom is the strongest, but Nascent Soul Early Stage.
How can a monk of Nascent Soul Early Stage spread City-Protecting Grand Formation of the Body Integration Realm?
Zhou Qi concentrated his aura to the extreme and quietly approached the city wall.
Outside the city gate, people were still coming in and out.
The guards checked the identity, registered and kept the order in good order.
The people coming and going were simply dressed, looked peaceful, and were not tired or frightened of running away. They were all ordinary people from the surrounding villages.
Zhou Qi blended in with the crowd and followed into the city.
The scene in the city was more normal than Zhou Qi expected.
The streets are noisy and people come and go.
The candied haws hawker was shouting at the street corner, and several children were laughing and playing around the candied man's stall.
In each shop, customers were coming in and out, and business was booming.
The city has a large population, but it is far from the scale of the nearly 10 million refugees migrating south, which is completely inconsistent with what the old man said, "All the people evacuated to Imperial City."
Zhou Qi walked among the crowd, Divine Sense unfolded quietly.
The chatter of the people around him reached his ears intermittently.
"... My cousin's family just escaped from the east yesterday and said they encountered two demon wolves on the road. Fortunately, they were lucky and ran fast..."
"The king is still wise. If it weren't for him, we Cloud Marsh Kingdom would have been gone long ago."
"No, those immortal masters said that the beast tide has receded and will not come again in the future."
"Hey, why haven't you seen that Old Wang next door to your house in the past few days?"
"Old Wang? Who is it?"
"It's the one selling tofu. I gave you tofu a while ago."
"Did you remember wrongly? There is no tofu seller next door to my house. That house has been empty for several years."
Zhou Qi paused in his steps.
He turned his head and looked at the two people who were talking.
They were two middle-aged women, picking vegetables and talking at the side of the road.
One of them had a puzzled look on his face, while the other looked normal.
There was another flaw, which completely confirmed his guess.
Their conversation continues, but Zhou Qi has taken back Divine Sense.
There is indeed something wrong with this city.