Chapter 102: Liu Yiyi: Did a Qi-Condensation Technique Just Fall from the Sky?!

"S...Senior Envoy..."

The old man kneeling on the ground, trembling all over, dared not even breathe heavily.

This man was none other than Bai Laosan, one of the "Six Demons of Yunling," infamous for his brutality.

Yet this fearsome bandit, whose name struck terror across Yunling Prefecture, now could barely speak under the black-robed figure’s oppressive aura.

"I knew I shouldn’t have expected too much from you worthless scraps."

The black-robed figure gazed coldly at Bai Laosan, who knelt before him.

His gaze was like that of a man looking at a dying ant.

His aura stirred slightly; a thread of utter yin and icy killing intent spread silently, shrouding the entire peak in invisible cold.

"Gul..."

Bai Laosan felt his blood freezing, his heart gripped by an invisible hand, struggling to beat.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he involuntarily swallowed saliva—the sound piercingly clear in the silent peak.

He instinctively wanted to flee, but his legs felt leaden, his body nailed to the spot, not even a finger able to move.

At that moment.

"Heh, Senior Envoy, I don’t think this is such a bad thing."

A muffled, indistinct voice came from behind, carrying a casual indifference.

The voice was neither loud nor soft, yet like an invisible blade, it sliced through the stagnant air.

A man in purple robes, equally faceless, walked slowly to stand behind Bai Laosan.

In the next instant.

Bai Laosan felt the suffocating killing intent vanish instantly, as if a mountain had been lifted away.

His body relaxed; his frozen blood resumed flowing, his heart pounded violently, and he gasped for air as if just pulled from water.

He turned back—his scarred face, marked by a centipede-like wound, lit up with relief and emotion: "Boss!"

Indeed, the newcomer was none other than Zi Lao Da, the most mysterious of the "Six Demons of Yunling."

The purple-robed man raised a hand slightly, signaling him to be silent.

His eyes, hidden in the shadow of his hood, regarded the black-robed figure calmly—no fear, no flattery, only bottomless composure.

Standing before Bai Laosan, the purple-robed man was like an invisible wall, blocking the killing intent outside.

"Oh?"

The black-robed figure chuckled hoarsely, his cold gaze fixed on the purple-robed man, laced with scrutiny and amusement: "What makes you think it’s not a bad thing? I never thought you’d shield these worthless scraps."

"Senior Envoy, you’re mistaken."

The purple-robed man chuckled indistinctly, his tone unreadable:

"Your blood sacrifice failed, you couldn’t pinpoint the location—so letting these riffraff help search is perfectly fitting, isn’t it?"

He paused slightly; his shadowed lips seemed to curve faintly, his voice carrying a cryptic mockery:

"Or..."

"You lack the confidence to take the secret treasure from these riffraff yourselves."

Silence fell over the peak.

The black-robed figure stared at the purple-robed man for a moment, his cold gaze like twin invisible blades, trying to peel back his facade and see what lay beneath the calm.

"Don’t try to use provocation to excuse your underlings."

He chuckled hoarsely, but showed no anger—only slowly withdrew his oppressive killing intent.

"Still, you did say one thing right."

He turned, gazing again at the dark mass of people below.

"Letting these riffraff help search will indeed save us a lot of trouble."

At the mountain’s base, over a thousand outer disciples clustered tightly, heads bobbing, murmurs rising like a tide.

Who doesn’t have dreams?

Many had already imagined themselves discovering extinct spiritual herbs in the fallen dynasty’s ruins, swallowing them whole, reversing fate, and becoming mighty martial masters.

Wang Siyi was one of them.

She clung tightly behind Liu Yiyi, never letting her out of sight, her lovely face glowing with barely contained excitement.

She leaned close to Liu Yiyi’s ear, whispering fast:

"Sister Yiyi, do you think we’ll find some great fortune in this fallen dynasty ruin? Maybe we’ll punch the stewards and kick the Elders!"

Liu Yiyi glanced at her with cold, clear eyes—like a winter pond, utterly still, showing no intention to respond.

But Wang Siyi, oblivious, grew even more animated, her voice rising unconsciously:

"Sister Yiyi, first thing we do is take down that true disciple Jin Hai! Then see if Xu Qinghuan dares to..."

Seeing her grow more outrageous.

Liu Yiyi finally spoke, her voice crisp and indifferent: "Call me Liu Shijie, not Sister Yiyi!"

"Oh..."

Wang Siyi pouted, lips pressed together.

"Looks like Xu Qinghuan didn’t come."

Jiang Ye carefully studied the outer disciples below.

Seeing Liu Yiyi, he’d assumed Xu Qinghuan would be here too.

But after searching long, he saw no sign of her.

Clearly, she wasn’t participating in this mission.

Jiang Ye’s thoughts shifted—he understood at once.

That girl was naturally cowardly; not showing up was normal.

"It’s a pity she didn’t come."

Jiang Ye sighed inwardly.

His temper had been flaring again these past few days.

After roughly one incense stick’s time, the outer disciples gradually ascended, forming neat rows on the open ground, awaiting the Elders’ orders.

A thousand people gathered, a dark sea, yet utterly silent—only the rustle of robes and occasional stifled coughs broke the quiet.

"Since everyone’s here, I’ll say a few words and assign roles."

Hua Qingshui stepped forward with a smile.

His voice wasn’t loud, yet it drifted gently into every ear like a breeze.

"There are sixteen hundred outer disciples assigned here, and ten Bao Dan cultivators from the Five Inner Peaks."

He paused, his gaze warm as it swept over them.

"Tai’an Mountain is vast—so to speed up the search, I propose dividing the outer disciples into ten squads of one hundred sixty each, with each Bao Dan cultivator leading one squad."

"What do you all think?"

After speaking, Hua Qingshui looked at the Bao Dan cultivators.

"Master Hua’s arrangement is perfect!"

Xie Tang was the first to respond, bowing respectfully.

Jiang Ye and the others exchanged glances, offered no objections, and nodded in agreement.

The two Elders from Jinchen Peak, though cold-faced, said nothing in protest.

Hua Qingshui nodded slightly, still smiling warmly: "Then it’s settled—but..."

His tone shifted slightly, growing more serious: "If any outer disciple in your squad is injured, I’ll hold you accountable!"

"Yes, Master Hua."

Everyone replied in unison.

Only Zheng Feng looked troubled; after hesitating, he still stepped forward: "Master Hua, your two daughters haven’t returned yet..."

"Oh?"

Hua Qingshui waved a hand with a smile, utterly unconcerned: "Those two girls? No need to worry. They know their limits."

Zheng Feng opened his mouth to say more, but Hua Qingshui’s smiling gaze swept over him—he swallowed his words and stepped back helplessly, silently praying those two madams wouldn’t cause trouble.

Then the outer disciples began forming squads, awaiting selection by the Bao Dan cultivators.

"Sister Yiyi, we absolutely must not be picked by the Jinchen Peak Elders."

Wang Siyi huddled behind Liu Yiyi, whispering, looking like a trembling quail: "I heard Jinchen Peak people have terrible tempers—always beating and scolding. Following them will be torture..."

In truth, not just her—most outer disciples didn’t want to be assigned to Jinchen Peak’s squad.

Those two cold-faced demons standing there radiated such sharp, oppressive energy that even breathing felt hard—who’d willingly walk into the blade’s edge?

Soon after, a gray-clad, silver-haired old man walked slowly toward Liu Yiyi’s squad.

He was lean-faced, with calm features, his aura steady and restrained, utterly lacking any sharpness.

"I’ll take charge of you."

He smiled faintly, the warmth of an elder in his expression.

It was Jiang Ye.

Since Liu Yiyi was here, he’d naturally give her extra care.

Wang Siyi instantly exhaled in relief, whispering excitedly behind Liu Yiyi:

"Sister Yiyi, this old man is Elder Jiang from Tianyangfeng! They say he single-handedly wiped out Heifeng Village last month—he’s incredibly powerful!"

"And this old man doesn’t look as scary as the Jinchen Peak Elders."

“Following him, we probably won’t suffer anymore...”

As she spoke, Wang Siyi suddenly froze slightly.

She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she felt as if Jiang Lao had glanced at her with some hidden meaning—his gaze fleeting, gone in an instant, yet leaving her inexplicably guilty.

Could he have heard her muttering?

That’s impossible!

Her voice was clearly so quiet...

She pulled her neck in, dared not speak again, and quietly hid behind Liu Yiyi.

Soon, the teams were assigned.

Those chosen by Jin Chen’s team all wore grim expressions, as if marching to execution, their steps heavy with dread.

“Speed is paramount—get moving at once!”

Hua Qingshui smiled and waved his hand.

“Yes, Master Hua!”

The others responded in unison, leading their disciples in a massive sweep of the mountain.

In the following days, Jiang Ye led his one hundred and sixty outer-disciples in a large-scale search across Tai’an Mountain.

Though he was nominally in charge, he barely moved at all.

He handed command over to Chen Lili and settled comfortably into the role of a hands-off master.

Chen Lili, however, managed the hundred or so disciples with impressive authority, making them obey every order without question.

During this time, Zheng Feng’s long-awaited younger sister, Zheng Hui, was finally returned by the two Hua sisters from Xianshui Peak.

The girl had been taken out to play for several days by her senior sisters; when she returned, her face glowed with excitement, chattering nonstop, which terrified Zheng Feng—he feared she’d been spoiled rotten.

Because Zheng Feng often came to chat with him, Jiang Ye had witnessed Zheng Hui’s extraordinary sense of smell—truly unmatched.

Though they hadn’t found the ruins of the previous dynasty, this girl had used her nose to unearth several rare herbs, decades old, deep in the wild mountains.

Others strained their eyes and found nothing; she merely sniffed and walked straight to them.

Even Jiang Ye felt a surge of admiration, silently sighing: Zheng Hui is incredibly useful—I’d like to keep one just like her.

Time passed swiftly; before they knew it, seven days had passed.

But Tai’an Mountain was vast beyond measure, its peaks layered, ravines crisscrossing, ancient trees towering, blotting out the sky.

Despite deploying so many hands—sixteen hundred disciples scattered across this boundless wilderness—they vanished like pebbles dropped into the sea, stirring not even a ripple.

Not a trace of the previous dynasty’s ruins, not even a credible lead.

Night fell; campfires glowed here and there, disciples sat in small groups, their earlier excitement replaced by exhaustion and disappointment.

Jiang Ye sat on a green stone, gazing at the dark, distant mountain silhouettes, his aged eyes filled with deep thought.

Deep into the night, the campfires gradually died out, leaving only a few embers flickering faintly in the dark.

Liu Yiyi lay with her eyes closed, breathing steady, yet unable to sleep.

Tonight, she felt something was wrong—a prickling sensation on her back, preventing her from falling asleep.

She rolled over, trying to force herself to calm down, when her peripheral vision caught Wang Si’s face flushed crimson, like a boiled shrimp, staring at her helplessly.

“Senior Sister Yiyi... I need to relieve myself—could you come with me...?”

Wang Siyi’s face still flushed, her voice barely a whisper, filled with shy embarrassment.

A rare flicker of helplessness crossed Liu Yiyi’s icy face.

She stared at the small girl curled up beside her, then finally uttered a few words: “Are you even a martial artist?”

She simply couldn’t imagine this little girl was a martial artist of Hidden Force level.

“It’s too dark in the mountains... I’m scared...”

Wang Siyi lowered her head, embarrassed.

Liu Yiyi turned away, refusing to respond.

After a long while.

“Sigh.”

With a weary sigh, Liu Yiyi finally rose.

“Senior Sister Yiyi, you’re the best!!!”

Wang Siyi’s flushed face lit up with joy as she hurried after her.

Not far from the camp, on a green stone, Jiang Ye sat cross-legged, eyes half-closed, breathing slow and deep.

When the two figures slipped away silently, he slowly opened his eyes.

“What could they be doing out here in the middle of the night?”

He frowned slightly, uneasy.

Though nothing had happened in these days, who knew what lurked in the shadows of this deep wilderness?

His form blurred, and he followed them without a sound.

After finishing, Liu Yiyi slowly stood, and her peripheral vision caught a corner of something half-buried under fallen leaves beneath a nearby tree.

Moonlight filtered through the branches, illuminating that small corner.

Her heart stirred; she stepped forward cautiously.

She knelt, brushed aside the dry leaves, and a small booklet came into view.

On its cover were written several ancient characters—

The Canglan True Water Qi Cultivation Method!

Liu Yiyi’s cold, beautiful eyes instantly narrowed to pinpoints; her breath halted.

A Qi Cultivation Method?!