Each One's Way Out

The moment Su Yao returned to Nanzhao with Mianning, the long-lasting glow of the sunset over Qixia Mountain finally faded away.

At the foot of the mountain, the Qingyang still held the long sword in its mouth, its body covered in blood. Blue blood dripped down the sword, almost soaking through the rocks beneath its feet.

Opposite them stood a boy dressed in white feather robes, holding a round jade talisman in his palm. The talisman had Taiji Diagram that slowly rotated, and thousands of runes around it appeared and disappeared, emitting an ancient and gentle light.

The boy looked at the blood-covered Qingyang and couldn't help but sigh.

"Why go through all this, fellow Daoist? It's just a test."

Qingyang remained silent, her eyes still fixed coldly on the boy.

Seeing this, the boy felt utterly helpless and could only steel himself and offer his advice:

"Fellow Daoist, we have no ill intentions whatsoever. We merely hope that your esteemed Daoist disciple can successfully pass the assessment and gain the favor of the three gentlemen."

Qingyang then said:

Who cares?

The boy was speechless for a moment before finally stammering:

"The three gentlemen..."

Before he could finish speaking, Qingyang coldly interrupted him:

"Master, you should first manage your own affairs and prevent the Yuanfu and Yang Palace from interfering in external matters. If you have some free time, Second Master, you might consider how to salvage the achievements of the Immortal Dao. As for Third Master, let's discuss other matters after we have revitalized the lineage under Biyou."

Qingyang paused for a moment, then continued:

"Take care of these matters first before worrying about the affairs of my Qixia Daoist lineage."

The boy was greatly alarmed upon hearing this and hurriedly tried to explain:

"Fellow Daoist, what makes you say such a thing! Leaving aside the First and Third Masters, the Second Master has always held the Qixia lineage in his heart. Ever since the incident with True Person Guangli, before Su Yao entered the sect, Senior Qizhen has no longer recruited disciples to inherit the lineage at the foot of the mountain. He only took some disciples from the Kingdom of Women and the Kingdom of Men and raised them at the foot of the mountain. Otherwise, with the foundation of Qixia Temple, how could there not be Purple Mansion cultivator for so many years... If those people were not in those two places, their upper limit would only be Foundation Establishment... The Second Master has repeatedly selected outstanding talents to send to Qixia, but Senior Qizhen has politely declined them."

Upon hearing this, Qingyang rolled her eyes, ignored it, and turned to head up the mountain.

The boy wanted to say a few more words of advice, but looking at Qingyang's resolute back, and recalling how he had almost burned himself out in order to activate the immortal artifact, he couldn't help but feel a wave of fear.

Just as Qingyang's figure was about to disappear into the end of the mountain path, he suddenly remembered the task the young master had assigned him and hurriedly shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Fellow Daoist, wait! There are still some things from your esteemed Daoist disciple that haven't been given to you!"

As he shouted, he frantically pulled a jade bottle and two jade boxes from his bosom.

Upon hearing this, Qingyang turned around and glanced back. Seeing this, the boy immediately started waving his hands.

"Fellow Daoist, don't be anxious."

Qingyang initially didn't want to pay any attention and was about to continue walking up the mountain when the boy hurriedly called out:

"This is what the young master won in a bet with the other two young masters of the palace. He promised to give it all to your son."

Qingyang then stopped, turned back, collected the items one by one, and then transformed into a streak of light, disappearing into the depths of the forest in an instant.

Seeing this, the boy let out a long sigh of relief, thinking to himself:

I finally got the job done.

Then, he glanced into the distance into the Great Void.

Several figures stood vaguely in the distance. He snorted coldly, looked away, turned and disappeared into the Great Void, flying straight towards the Jade Void Palace.

In the distance, four figures stood there. Although they couldn't see what was happening next to Qixia Mountain, the endless radiance that had been blooming earlier, coupled with the fact that the Qixia Daozi was now in Yongzhou, made them tremble with fear, afraid that they would be implicated.

As the afterglow faded, they could finally see that Qixia Mountain was still the same as before, and they breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as the four were about to disperse, a streak of light suddenly appeared.

The four of them were taken aback when they sensed that familiar aura.

The middle-aged man on the far right, dressed in the robes of a prefect, immediately spoke up upon seeing this:

"What happened, senior?"

But the streaking light ignored him and headed straight for Qinghe Commandery City.

The men's expressions changed, and then a voice accompanied by laughter came:

"This man is quite audacious, actually attacking me, Dao Daozi. Just then, the young master of the Jade Void Palace happened to be here and struck him with a dog-beating stick. His Divine Ability are probably about to crumble."

Upon hearing this, the group's expressions changed drastically. They looked in the direction of the voice and saw two middle-aged men approaching together. One was dressed in a green robe, and the other in a yellow robe. The one who spoke was the man in the yellow robe.

The middle-aged man in the prefect's robes looked even more somber upon hearing this. He cupped his hands in greeting and asked in a low voice:

"Fellow Daoist Liu, did you meet Fellow Daoist Li in Yongzhou?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the other three people standing nearby tensed up. The man in the yellow robe continued to laugh:

"We two saw that Daozi had come to Yongzhou, but only to protect the Dharma. We didn't expect that Zheng Jiazhao would happen to be in Yongzhou city. After Daozi settled his worldly affairs, he dared to go up and block his way, and even wanted to make a move."

As soon as he finished speaking, the man in the prefect's robes, his face darkening, finally suppressed his anger and said:

"Thank you both for informing me. I will now return. I will certainly submit a petition to Jiankang and Vast Righteousness Academy regarding Zheng Jiazhao."

After speaking, he transformed into a beam of light and flew towards Qinghe Commandery City.

At this moment, a figure enveloped in Bing Fire Human Dao Liu and Li:

"You two are nothing but subordinates of Qixia, yet now you're shouting 'I'm my own master!' Anyone who didn't know better would think you'd joined Qixia's inner circle."

Upon hearing this, Liu and Li's expressions changed drastically, but then they heard the figure say:

"If you have any connections, I would be grateful if you two could introduce us. My Noon Sparrow Mountain is willing to act as a protective shield for Qixia. If things go well, I will certainly reward you handsomely."

Upon hearing this, Liu and Li exchanged a glance, and the man surnamed Li, dressed in a yellow robe, spoke:

"If the opportunity arises, we will certainly introduce him to Daozi."

As soon as he finished speaking, the man dressed in the mountain god's robe also spoke:

"Fellow Daoists, please be sure to help with the introductions when the time comes."

As soon as he finished speaking, the man surnamed Liu, dressed in a blue robe, immediately retorted sarcastically:

"The mountain god is the Qixia Mountain, why bother asking the two of us?"

After speaking, the two transformed into beams of light and disappeared.

Only the mountain god, his face ashen, remained, along with the expressionless old man in his shaman's robes and the smiling figure in fiery red.

The Qixia Mountain was furious. He snorted twice and then vanished in a flash of light.

At this moment, the old man in the witch's robe looked at the fiery red figure:

"Fellow Que Nuo, has Noon Sparrow Mountain decided to ally with Qixia Mountain from now on?"

The fiery red figure, known as the Que Nuo, nodded:

"Five hundred years ago, I was completely unaware of the situation, and my relationship with Qixia was still decent, with some affection between us."

After speaking, he paused and looked at the old man:

"What are the plans of the Witch Department?"

The old man sighed softly:

"Our sect is no match for you, fellow Daoist. We will apologize when Qixia Mountain opens."

After speaking, he seemed unwilling to say more and was about to leave, but he paused for a moment and looked back:

"I need to go to Yunmeng in a while; my ancestors still have some favors to offer."

After saying that, he vanished in a flash of light.

Upon hearing this, Que Nuo sighed and thought to himself:

Indeed, the Hepu Witch Tribe were subjects of the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period, so it's normal that they had connections with the Yuanfu, which supported State of Chu.