A little quirk

The ten-day period arrived in the blink of an eye.

Qi Yun arrived at Black Baleful Intent Peak as promised.

The entire mountain peak remained shrouded in a somber and frigid atmosphere, even the air seemed to carry the smell of rust.

Li Chong was already waiting at the mountain gate. When he saw Qi Yun, he forced a slightly stiff smile and came forward to greet him.

"Junior Brother Qi, you are indeed a man of your word, keeping your appointment on time." Li Chong said, cupping his hands in a polite, formulaic tone.

"How could I not come when we made a promise? That would be too dishonest." Qi Yun returned the greeting calmly.

Upon hearing this, Li Chong's face twitched involuntarily.

After exchanging brief pleasantries, Li Chong led Qi Yun into the interior of Black Baleful Intent Peak, arriving at a relatively secluded side hall.

He took out a jade box engraved with intricate sealing runes and solemnly handed it to Qi Yun: "Junior Brother Qi, this is the [Three Lives Glazed Treasure Mirror] we agreed upon earlier. Please examine it."

Qi Yun opened the jade box and immediately felt a gentle yet powerful aura rush towards him. Inside the box lay a crystal-clear mirror, containing three worlds within it, emanating a profound Daoist charm.

After carefully checking and confirming that everything was correct, he put it into his storage Law Artifact and nodded, saying, "Thank you, Senior Brother Li, the mirror is indeed genuine."

Seeing that Qi Yun had accepted the precious mirror, Li Chong felt somewhat relieved, but then he immediately put on a perfectly timed expression of embarrassment and said, following his master's prior instructions, "Junior Brother Qi, you have accepted this precious mirror."

Unfortunately, the [Soul-Cleansing Elixir] is currently in seclusion to cover up your past karmic traces. The final refining and sealing can only be carried out after he emerges from seclusion.

I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to wait here for a moment, junior brother.

Once my master emerges from seclusion, the handover can be completed.

After he finished speaking, he had already prepared his remarks in his mind.

We should be prepared for potential dissatisfaction, doubts, or even anger from the Qi Yun.

After all, it was an agreement that had already been made, and anyone would be unhappy if it was delayed like this.

However, to Li Chong's surprise, Qi Yun did not show any displeasure upon hearing this. Instead, he nodded in agreement, even with a knowing smile on his face, "I see."

Uncle Li's actions were also to help me.

"In that case, I will wait here. I'll trouble Senior Brother Li to arrange a quiet room."

Li Chong was taken aback by Qi Yun's frank and even "easy-going" attitude.

When did this guy become so easy to talk to?

Since the other person was being so agreeable, he couldn't say anything more. Suppressing his doubts, he nodded and said, "Junior brother is understanding, senior brother is grateful. Please come with me."

As he spoke, he led Qi Yun to a quiet room within the side hall.

The interior was simply furnished with only a few tables and chairs, making it feel somewhat cold and empty.

"Junior brother, please rest here for a while. If my master emerges from seclusion, I will come to inform him immediately." Li Chong said, waving his hand to summon a servant to Qi Yun a pot of spiritual tea.

"Thank you for your trouble, Senior Brother." Qi Yun smiled and cupped his hands in greeting.

Li Chong glanced at Qi Yun again, and seeing that he was indeed acting normally, he turned and left the side hall with a belly full of suspicion, closing the door behind him.

Stepping out of the side hall, Li Chong glanced back at the tightly closed doors and sighed inwardly, "Alas, Junior Brother Qi, I hope you'll come to your senses soon—"

Thinking of his master's unfathomable temperament and scheming nature, he didn't say the rest of his words, but simply shook his head and quickly left.

He had a personal grudge against Chang Qing, so he was naturally grateful to Qi Yun for killing Chang Qing.

But he was powerless to obey his master's absolute command.

Inside the quiet room of the side hall.

After confirming that Li Chong had gone far away and that there were no other prying Divine Sense around, Qi Yun gradually revealed a faint smile on his face.

Looking around at this empty and quiet side hall.

His right hand, hidden within the wide sleeves of his robe, quietly formed a Method Formula.

[Gather Form and Disperse Qi]

The next moment.

Qi Yun's figure rippled slightly like water, becoming blurred.

A faint, almost indistinguishable aura, almost blending into its surroundings, quickly disappeared into the shadows of the corner of the side hall.

It then seeped silently through the cracks in the wall and disappeared without a trace.

In the center of the side hall, "Qi Yun" still sat upright in his chair, his posture natural, and one could even see his chest rising and falling slightly.

He reached out and picked up the tea that had long since gone cold from the table, smoothly bringing it to his lips and taking a small sip.

His face even maintained a semblance of the calm and patience one would expect while waiting.

This "Qi Yun" who remained in place was so lifelike in its breath, form, and even the slightest movements that it was almost indistinguishable from the real thing!

In the silent corridor, Qi Yun looked around.

He had no intention of simply waiting here patiently for the Black Baleful Intent Peak Master, who might not "emerge from seclusion" for who knows how long.

The Black Baleful Intent Peak Master wanted to delay and manipulate the situation, but wasn't Qi Yun also using this waiting time to do what he needed to do?

"That Black Baleful Intent kid, don't let his cold and aloof demeanor fool you, acting like everyone owes him eight hundred strings of cash. He actually has a lot of little quirks and strange habits."

Inside the Green Mountain Daoist Temple, the old True Person Deng Yin took a sip of coarse tea, a knowing smile flashing in his cloudy old eyes, as if he were talking about a good-for-nothing junior.

He raised his withered finger and pointed at Qi Yun: "He has a very private hobby, which is to gather all his most beloved and prized treasures in one room, and then lie down in the middle of that pile of treasures."

It is said that this was so that—upon opening one's eyes, one could see all the treasures.

That feeling was more comfortable than any magic pill or medicine.

Qi Yun stood with his hands at his sides, listening quietly, but couldn't help but smile to himself.

Unexpectedly, the Sha Qi and dignified Black Baleful Intent Peak Master...

He secretly harbors such a unique collecting obsession.

Take this with you.

As the old True Person spoke, he flicked his sleeve, and a stream of Flowing Light fell into Qi Yun's hand, transforming into a pair of uniquely shaped objects with clear lenses and ancient cloud patterns on the frames. They looked somewhat like the Western-style glasses that Qi Yun had seen in his previous life.

"[Treasure-Gathering Bronze Mirror] is specially designed to dispel falsehoods and discern Baoguang."

Once you enter Black Baleful Intent Peak, just head towards the spot with the brightest and strongest radiance of the Baoguang; that's sure to be where that brat Li Hanyan hides his secret treasure trove.

The old True Person's words echoed in Qi Yun's ears, carrying an undeniable certainty. "Since he has already decided to delay and break his promise, and is playing the tactic of stalling with you, then he is the one who is unrighteous first."

Since that's the case, don't blame us for being unjust.

We need to teach this money-grubber a lesson so he doesn't bleed out badly.

He really thinks my disciples are easy to bully.

Clearly, the old True Person knew Li Hanyan's temperament very well.

They had anticipated this move and had even prepared countermeasures and specialized "tools" in advance.

Besides this [Treasure-Gathering Bronze Mirror], the old True Person also bestowed several other treasures with concealed auras, all of which aided in stealth.

Strange objects that evade detection.

The most important of these is the [Formless Divine Talisman].

Once activated, this talisman can transform itself into a state of "Form of Existence and Nonexistence," which not only allows it to ignore restrictive Formation Art but also resists deduction and Divine Sense probing.

It is an essential item for murder, robbery, and petty theft.

A moment later, Qi Yun's figure had already disappeared into the chilling shadows of Black Baleful Intent Peak like a ghost.

He wore that peculiar pair of Treasure-Gathering Bronze Mirror perched on his nose.

Within sight, the once ordinary palace corridors and rocky paths were instantly filled and intertwined with countless golden rays of varying thickness and brightness.

These are the traces of the magical light reflected by the Treasure-Gathering Bronze Mirror.

Ordinary restrictions and concealment methods are almost impossible to hide from it.

With a sharp gaze sweeping across the golden threads, Qi Yun quickly locked onto the thickest, most solid, and most dazzling golden thread.

Like a rushing golden river, it cuts through layers of walls and Formation Art barriers, steadfastly pointing towards a hidden location deep within Black Baleful Intent Peak.

"This is the one!"

With a thought, Qi Yun quietly circulated his True Essence, and the [Formless Divine Talisman] in his arms emitted a radiant light.

A faint fluctuation, barely perceptible to the naked eye and even harder to detect with Divine Sense, enveloped his entire body, further minimizing his presence.

The next moment, he moved.

Her figure was like a wisp of wisp of green smoke, following the thickest golden thread, rapidly traversing the labyrinthine passages, caves, and corridors within Black Baleful Intent Peak.

Along the way, he encountered several patrolling disciples with sharp auras and wary eyes.

They even nearly brushed past a steward with a cold, hard expression and an aura of Sha Qi, who appeared to be at the Qi Refining Great Perfection.

However, under the dual cover of [Gather Form and Disperse Qi] and [Formless Divine Talisman], these people were completely unaware of him.

Their self-light swept across Qi Yun's location as if passing through empty space, without causing the slightest ripple.

The route passes through several key points where restrictions are clearly in place, or hidden behind murals are spying eyes, or there are invisible spirit-binding traps and warning barriers set up on the ground and in the void.

These setups are enough to instantly expose or even kill an ordinary infiltrator.

Under the mysterious interference of the [Formless Divine Talisman], there was absolutely no reaction.

Qi Yun as if he were in an empty field, smoothly traversing the golden line.

In the short time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the view suddenly opened up. The end of the golden line was not the magnificent palace or the solemn cave abode that I had imagined, but a desolate place located in the shade of a mountain peak.

The Spiritual Qi here is thin, the light is dim, and all you can see is a dark, grotesque forest of withered trees with twisted and bizarre branches, shrouded in a deathly stillness.

In stark contrast to the desolate and cold atmosphere of other parts of Black Baleful Intent Peak, it appeared exceptionally desolate and inconspicuous.

The most dazzling and thickest golden thread ultimately pointed precisely to a particularly inconspicuous sapling in the deadwood forest.

It was no taller than a person, with a slender trunk, cracked and withered bark, and charred black all over, as if it had been struck dead by lightning many years ago. It was no different from the other dead trees around it, and even more withered.

Qi Yun stopped in his tracks, his gaze falling on the small tree that seemed about to turn to ashes at any moment, and a meaningful smile slowly curved his lips.

"Hide treasures in rotten wood, conceal valuables in dead lands."

Uncle Li's idea of hiding treasure truly grasped the essence of "going against the grain," exactly as his teacher had predicted. He secretly praised him, but at the same time became even more vigilant.

Under the perfect cover of the [Formless Divine Talisman], Divine Sense probed the area around the sapling as gently as the softest tendrils.

Sure enough, hidden beneath the seemingly calm ground and air were dozens of extremely subtle, interconnected...

A restriction that exudes a dangerous aura.

Once triggered, the explosive power is enough to instantly annihilate any intruder below the Foundation Establishment Realm.

At the same time, a faint yet extraordinary fluctuation of the cosmic barrier was emanating from within the small tree itself.

If it weren't for the Baoguang light of the Treasure-Gathering Bronze Mirror pointing directly to the core, it would be almost impossible to perceive.

"The entrance is indeed here." A look of understanding and anticipation flashed in Qi Yun's eyes.

Without further hesitation, he swayed slightly, transforming into a wisp of pure energy, using the [Formless Divine Talisman] to ignore the restrictions.

Following that subtle ripple of the cosmic wall, it merged seamlessly into the trunk of the seemingly withered and lifeless sapling.

The next moment, his figure completely disappeared into the withered forest.

It was as if it had never existed.