With Mi Xingzhe's palm strike, the tree trunk in front of him shattered, leaving a clear hole in the middle.
Mi Xingzhe was stunned by the scene, looking at the tree trunk and then at his hand. When did he become so powerful?
"Not bad, not bad. This golden core in your body indeed helps in steadily improving your cultivation," Li Minghan clapped and said in a mocking tone.
Hearing this, Mi Xingzhe suddenly felt something was off. [Master had previously instructed that the matter of the golden core should not be mentioned lightly. Why did he so easily speak of it today?]
Recalling the past events, Mi Xingzhe immediately sensed something was wrong. He glanced at the grass nearby and quickly came up with an idea.
"Master, since today is the Tianzhong Festival, we should burn some wild calamus to strengthen our bodies and ward off pests," Mi Xingzhe said, casually picking a piece of grass and handing it to Li Minghan.
"Sure." Li Minghan took the grass from Mi Xingzhe, his eyes already noticing the change in Mi Xingzhe's demeanor.
As Li Minghan took the grass, Mi Xingzhe suddenly raised his hand and struck towards his face, but Li Minghan easily dodged it.
In the silent outskirts, the only sound was the tree behind Li Minghan slowly falling. The two faced each other.
"Smart move, knowing how to use what you just learned," Li Minghan looked at the grass in his hand, his tone calm and indifferent.
"You're not my master. Who are you?" Mi Xingzhe asked warily, staring at the person who looked exactly like his master.
"It seems this little disciple isn't entirely foolish. However, I haven't had enough fun yet," Li Minghan said with a playful look, then asked, "Little thing, how did you know I'm not your master?"
"My master is well-versed in herbal medicine and is familiar with all kinds of herbs. The grass in your hand is Eastern Sweet Flag, not wild calamus. If you were my master, you would have corrected me for picking the wrong herb. But you accepted it without a second glance, proving you know nothing about herbal medicine. Who are you?" Mi Xingzhe stated confidently, secretly gathering strength in his hand behind his back.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, interesting indeed." Li Minghan nonchalantly rubbed his fingers and, before he finished speaking, flicked a shard of ice towards Mi Xingzhe.
Mi Xingzhe didn't expect the sudden attack and quickly leaned back to dodge. The ice shard narrowly missed his face and embedded itself in the tree behind him.
Before he could react, Mi Xingzhe felt a force lift his right foot, causing him to fall face-first to the ground.
He quickly crossed his hands in front of his face, and just as his arms touched the ground, he flipped backward, barely landing on his feet.
Once he steadied himself, Mi Xingzhe lunged at Li Minghan.
Li Minghan remained unflustered, lightly tapping the ground with one foot and gracefully flying up to land steadily on a tree.
Missing his target, Mi Xingzhe looked up at Li Minghan in the tree, angrily leaping up the trunk. As he approached, Li Minghan struck his kneecap with the black and gold silk fan.
With a dull thud, Mi Xingzhe lost his balance and fell hard to the ground.
Lying on the ground, Mi Xingzhe was too pained to get up, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. Li Minghan floated down, took a few steps towards Mi Xingzhe, and looked down at him with contempt.
"Enough playing. Let's go back."
Li Minghan snapped open the fan to cover his lips, the fan slightly trembling as he chanted a spell.
Just as Mi Xingzhe tried to get up, he felt a burning sensation rush from his spine to his head.
"You..." he muttered before losing consciousness.
"Rise."
Hearing the command, Mi Xingzhe's eyes glowed dark red, and his fingers stiffened like a puppet as he saluted Li Minghan.
"This is for you." Li Minghan took a pill from his wide sleeve and held it out to Mi Xingzhe.
Without hesitation, Mi Xingzhe took the pill and swallowed it.
In the chilly mountain cave at midnight, Yun Qingyi had managed to start a fire with some twigs and leaves.
"The Medicine King has always been kind and compassionate, obsessed with pills and rarely leaving his seclusion. It's impossible for him to have made enemies, so why would he suffer such a misfortune?" Li Luoning pondered.
"Xingzhe is carefree but essentially good-hearted. I can't understand what kind of malicious person would sacrifice the Medicine King's life to harm him," Yun Qingyi said angrily, clenching his fists.
"I'm afraid that framing Xingzhe is just one step of their plan," Li Luoning said thoughtfully.
"Another plan? If Xingzhe isn't their target, then who is?" Yun Qingyi was puzzled.
"Me."
"Master, do you mean to say there's an even deeper conspiracy behind this?" Yun Qingyi was surprised.
"I can't be certain yet, but everything is too coincidental. In recent years, at Mirror Cloud Residence…" Li Luoning trailed off.
"Master, are you suggesting that the people framing Xingzhe are the same ones who've been watching our every move at Mirror Cloud Residence?"
"I originally thought that if we kept to ourselves, we could live in peace. I didn't expect that, in the end, I would bring disaster to the Medicine King and Xingzhe," Li Luoning said with some self-reproach.
"Do you have any guesses about who might be behind this?" Yun Qingyi asked.
Just as Li Luoning was about to speak, a sound of fighting came from the cave entrance. A powerful force shattered the rubble blocking the entrance.
Yun Qingyi covered his mouth and nose, suppressing a cough as he tried to see the figure in front of him, "Uncle?"
The newcomer was Uncle Mu Han. Upon seeing Yun Qingyi, he immediately searched for Li Luoning.
"How did you know we were trapped here?" Yun Qingyi asked.
"I sensed your Hundred Blades Incendiary Strike earlier, so I went to Mirror Cloud Residence to see what happened. On the way, I saw the Flowing Light Butterfly and intercepted it. That's when I found the message you sent to Qingyuan and came here," Mu Han explained.
"If you hadn't arrived in time, Qingyi and I might have been stuck in this cave for days," Li Luoning said.
"Uncle, Master used a lot of spiritual energy to save me. Now, he has only recovered fifty percent of his strength," Yun Qingyi quickly sought help from the reinforcements.
"Qingyi~" Li Luoning interrupted, not wanting to worry Mu Han.
"The Hundred Blades Incendiary Strike consumes a lot of spiritual energy. What kind of demon did you encounter that required such a battle?" Mu Han asked while checking Li Luoning's pulse.
"It wasn't a major demon, just some small ones. But there were many of them, and some were even Five Poison Demons. Master and I were indeed outnumbered," Yun Qingyi explained.
"Small demons? This demon forest is heavy with evil energy, but it shouldn't have so many small demons. Moreover, today is the fifth of May, a day when many immortals pass through The Flatland to celebrate Yanding Dragon King's birthday. Usually, small demons avoid this day. Why would they suddenly gather here?" Mu Han asked, puzzled.
"Not long after Qingyi and I entered the cave, the entrance was blocked by external forces. I suspect that the small demons were also gathered by someone," Li Luoning explained.
In the pavilion of the Quadrangle, Hua Ruoying and Qingping lay idly on the stone table in the courtyard.
"Sister Ruoying, how long do we have to stay here?" Qingping lazily asked while playing with an apple.
"I wish I knew. This Quadrangle Pavilion is sealed by Nan Zhe, and our cultivation isn't enough to break out," Hua Ruoying said helplessly.
"I don't even know why we're being kept here. Those powerful cultivators are really hard to understand," Qingping sighed.
Her words reminded Hua Ruoying of something, and she suddenly sat up with a new sense of purpose. Qingping, startled by her reaction, also sat up and looked around.
"Qingping, last time you mentioned fearing someone, why was that?" Hua Ruoying asked mysteriously.
"You mean the Immortal Lord?" Qingping confirmed, seeing Hua Ruoying's curious nod. She sighed, "That day in the main hall, I wasn't sure at first, but when I saw the pattern on his belt, I was certain."
"Certain of what?" Hua Ruoying asked, intrigued.
"Certain that the Immortal Lord was the one who took my father away years ago. He came to find my father, and since then, I've never seen my father again," Qingping said, her voice tinged with sadness.
"So, you think that Immortal Lord killed your father?" Hua Ruoying asked seriously.
Qingping shook her head. "Probably not. Although we Shadow Demons aren't as powerful as high-level cultivators, we have our own techniques. You saw earlier that we can turn into shadows at will. Because of this, even if our bodies die, our shadows remain. If we want to be reborn, we can attach ourselves to someone else and control them to achieve rebirth."
"That powerful? Then why is your clan's population dwindling?" Hua Ruoying asked.
Qingping sighed and continued, "While we can rely on shadows to be reborn, our consciousness is very weak when in shadow form. Many people take advantage of this, capturing and killing our clan members, then taming our shadows to control others."
"Puppet control technique?"
"Exactly. Our clan has been hunted down and dwindled in number. It wasn't until a deity sealed this technique that our remaining members could barely survive," Qingping said, her voice growing sadder, eyes lowered in sorrow.
"I'm sorry, Qingping. I shouldn't have brought up something that makes you sad."
"It's fine. The puppet control technique is no longer in use, so I am safe," Qingping forced a smile and raised her head, giving Hua Ruoying a faint smile.
"Ha, ha, yes, yes," Hua Ruoying replied somewhat guiltily. [The puppet control technique may be gone, but I developed a drug called Qianmo. If Qingping knew I made it, she might run away in the night. I can't say anything.]
Not far southwest of the Quadrangle Pavilion was a pagoda.
At the top, Nan Zhe stood, listening to every word exchanged between the two women.
"So, there's more to this..." Listening to their conversation, Nan Zhe found it intriguing, recalling the conversation he had with Li Minghan that day.
"Help me rescue someone."
"Oh? Who could be important enough for you, the great Demon Lord, to ask me for help?"
"In terms of disguise and illusions, my skills are not as good as yours. Besides..." Li Minghan glanced at Nan Zhe, paused, and continued, "I only want that little disciple. The other two, you can handle as you wish."
"How generous of you. I've heard Hua Ruoying is excellent at making poisons. You're just going to give her to me?"
"She's nothing but an ungrateful dog. That girl likes poison as much as you do. Besides..." Li Minghan turned to look at Nan Zhe, and they both laughed sinisterly.
"Thank you, Demon Lord. In that case, I will gladly accept," Nan Zhe replied with a sinister tone, his laughter chilling.
"There's no need for such formalities between us."
Nan Zhe's lips curved into a smile as he stood at the top, "A one-for-two deal. Not bad, not bad." With that, he flew toward the Quadrangle Pavilion, landing lightly in the courtyard.
"Ah!" Hua Ruoying turned around to see Nan Zhe standing there in a dark purple robe, startling her.
"Showing up out of nowhere in broad daylight, trying to scare someone to death?" Hua Ruoying muttered, looking annoyed, and turned to go back inside.
"Miss Ruoying," Nan Zhe grabbed her wrist, his voice playful, "You've been cooped up here for days. Why not let me take you for a walk?"
Nan Zhe lifted Hua Ruoying's chin with his fingertips, his deep eyes filled with amusement.
"I'm busy. Find someone else," Hua Ruoying said, shaking off Nan Zhe's hand.
"Have you forgotten the three things you promised me? I haven't told you what they are yet," Nan Zhe said, displeased, and as he spoke, he extended his hand, using his power to lift Qingping into the air.
"What are you doing? Let him go!" Hua Ruoying rushed forward to stop him when she saw Qingping suspended in the air.
"My patience is limited," Nan Zhe said, adding pressure to his grip.
"Ah, Sister Ruoying," Qingping managed to utter, pained.
"As long as you don't harm Qingping, I'll agree to whatever you want."
"I didn't expect a poison master to have such a kind heart," Nan Zhe released Qingping, then disdainfully turned his wrist, looking at the two with a tilted head.
"Nan Zhe, what do you want?" Hua Ruoying demanded.
"Nothing much. I heard today is the Tianzhong Festival. Would Miss Ruoying care to join me in... hiding from Tianzhong?" Nan Zhe paused before finishing his sentence.
"Hiding from Tianzhong? I thought you, Lord Nan Zhe, feared nothing. Yet on the day of driving away evil, you need to hide," Hua Ruoying mocked.
"Would you accompany me?" Nan Zhe asked politely, raising his hand in invitation.
"Fine, let's go. Do you think I'm afraid of you?" Hua Ruoying replied defiantly.