Chapter 209

Inside the Tiankui Herb Garden.

Jiang Ye sat cross-legged on the open ground of the herb garden, his body shrouded in a layer of hazy Heaven and Earth spiritual energy, faintly radiating a vibrant vitality of budding plants.

The Wood-element true qi pill in his dantian had already been refined by more than half, and the verdant, dripping-with-dew true qi brilliance slowly flowed on the surface of the pill, becoming more refined with every rotation.

"According to my current progress, I should be able to refine the Wood-element True Qi before going to the Upper Sect in Linzhou."

Jiang Ye introspected on the pill in his dantian that had been refined by more than half, pondering to himself.

Cultivation in the Embracing the Pill Realm lies in opening up the twelve regular meridians in the body.

Cultivation in the Divine Qi Realm lies in the polishing and refining of true qi.

Although he is currently only in the early stage of the Divine Qi Realm, once he refines all five elements of true qi, his true qi will be further condensed, reaching the mid-stage of the Divine Qi Realm.

The Heaven and Earth spiritual energy of the Upper Sect Tianyun Peak is far denser than here; it shouldn't take too long to polish his true qi to completion and step into the late stage of the Divine Qi Realm.

And after that...

That is the Primordial Realm!

As Jiang Ye was pondering, his brows suddenly moved, and he looked toward the entrance of the herb garden, "She... why is she here."

A familiar aura was approaching this place, gentle as fine rain, yet deep as an abyss.

A moment later, Liu Liu Qingyu walked slowly to the entrance of the herb garden.

Today, she was still wearing a simple and elegant moon-white long dress, without any makeup yet still beautiful, only there was a hint of cold light in those star-like eyes more than usual.

Seeing that Jiang Ye had already dispersed the spiritual energy around his body, Liu Liu Qingyu greeted Jiang Ye with a faint smile: "It seems I have accidentally disturbed your cultivation, Elder Jiang."

"What a rare guest, Liu Fengzhu Liu... what brings you to my herb garden."

Jiang Ye stood up slowly with a calm expression, his tone carrying a bit of just-right politeness.

He knew that this Liu Fengzhu Liu would certainly not come to his door for no reason.

Sure enough.

Liu Liu Qingyu had no intention of beating around the bush, the faint smile on her face slowly dissipated, and she spoke with a serious tone:

"Elder Jiang, we are going to cooperate again..."

"The Sect Master has ordered that you and I set off immediately to hunt down the traitor Lu Xiao."

Speaking to the end, a rare cold and sharp edge flashed in her star-like eyes.

"Oh?! Have Lu Xiao's tracks been found..."

A strange brilliance flashed instantly in Jiang Ye's aged eyes.

This person Lu Xiao had quite a grudge against him...

It was he who joined forces with Zhao Jing in the Affairs Hall to divide the Tianyang Peak's elixirs.

It was also he who indulged the Jin family to kill Xu Xu Qinghuan in the back mountains of Jin Chen Peak.

And it was he who committed the beastly act of abandoning the peak and fleeing when the sect was attacked.

Whether for public or private reasons, being able to deal with this person before heading to the Linzhou Upper Sect could be considered a happy event.

He nodded immediately: "Good, let's set off immediately."

Cangling Mountain.

A remote mountainous area at the border of Yunling Prefecture and Lingchuan Prefecture.

At the foot of the mountain were endless streams of merchant caravans, and there were several tea stalls nearby for passing merchants to rest their feet.

In the corner of one of the tea stalls sat a tall, thin man dressed in black and wearing a bamboo hat.

He looked around cautiously, coughing lightly while clutching his chest from time to time; the coughing sound was dull and intermittent, as if there were still unhealed hidden injuries remaining in his chest cavity.

The face under the bamboo hat was pale without a trace of blood, his eye sockets were deeply sunken, and his brows were full of irrepressible lethargy and haggardness.

This person was none other than Lu Xiao.

That night, in order to escape from the hands of that Divine Qi Realm demon of the Qisha Sect.

He could be said to have used every means possible.

However, this move he thought was clever now seemed stupid to the extreme.

That night, after using every means to escape, he lurked in the prefecture city.

However, the news he heard the next day left him in disbelief.

"Those were two Primordial martial artists... how could they possibly have held on!!!"

Lu Xiao gripped the tea bowl in his hand tightly, almost biting his teeth to pieces.

It was because he felt the aura of those two Primordial martial artists that he chose to abandon the peak and run away without hesitation.

In his understanding, the Tianqing Sect's strongest, Pei Pei Yunchuan, was only at the peak of the Divine Qi Realm; facing two Primordial martial artists, annihilation was only a matter of time.

As a result, not only was the Tianqing Sect not annihilated, but the demons of the Qisha Sect were beaten back...

He really couldn't figure out how the Tianqing Sect could have held on under the hands of two Primordial martial artists.

"Could it be that the Tianqing Sect really possesses a foundation that even I don't know about?!"

Lu Xiao felt stifled in his heart and coughed violently several times, which affected the hidden injury in his chest caused by the demon's palm force, making the veins on his forehead jump with pain:

"Damn it! Old Dog Pei hides so deeply..."

"Even hiding it from me."

"If you had this kind of foundation, why didn't you say so earlier? Why would I have had to run!"

But now that things have come to this, regret is useless.

He knew that his reputation must be ruined by now; let alone Yunling Prefecture, he probably couldn't survive in the entire Linzhou.

Those powerful families in the prefecture city who once called him brother are probably scrambling to show their loyalty to the Tianqing Sect right now, wishing they could tie him up and send him back themselves.

"If I can't make it in Linzhou, I'll go to Miaozhou! The world is so big, there will always be a place for me!"

He gritted his teeth and snorted coldly, drank the remaining tea in the bowl in one gulp, threw down a few copper coins, and got up to leave.

He didn't choose the main road taken by the merchants, but drilled into a sheep-path trail rarely trodden by people.

These merchants have many eyes and ears and are well-informed; it would be troublesome if they accidentally recognized him.

What he lacks most now is time; as long as he passes through Lingchuan Prefecture, he will be closer to Miaozhou.

On the quiet mountain road.

The dense forests on both sides were deep and secluded, and even the chirping of birds gradually became sparse.

Lu Xiao's heart, however, inexplicably tightened more and more.

An indescribable chill crawled up his spine, as if a poisonous snake were flicking its tongue against the back of his neck.

He subconsciously wanted to quicken his pace.

However, just at this moment, a layer of white mist emerged without warning within a hundred meters of the surroundings, thick as paste, and one couldn't see a person three steps away.

"This is..."

Lu Xiao's pupils suddenly shrank sharply.

The next instant.

A voice that was gentle as fine rain but cold as an ice spring suddenly came from overhead, but it sounded like a thunderclap in Lu Xiao's ears:

"Lu Xiao! Do you think that by fleeing to Lingchuan Prefecture, you can escape from the palm of the Tianqing Sect!"

The moment the words fell, the surrounding white mist suddenly condensed into blue water snakes, biting at Lu Xiao from all directions.

The water snakes raised their heads and flicked their tongues, fangs bared; although they were formed by Water-element true qi, they were more lethal than real poisonous snakes.

"Oh no! It's Liu Liu Qingyu..."

Lu Xiao secretly thought it was bad, and a brilliant golden light suddenly erupted from his body.

Countless sharp Gold-element true qi like swords drawn from their sheaths poured madly toward the surroundings with him as the center, shredding all the water snakes that lunged close.

However, water has no constant shape.

The water snakes were shredded by the golden light only to re-condense, the broken water droplets elongated and deformed in mid-air, once again turning into snake shadows that shook their heads and wagged their tails, lunging at him endlessly.

Lu Xiao knew he couldn't afford to drag this out in the water mist.

He still had hidden injuries left behind from being hunted by the Qisha Sect demon, and every time he activated his Gold-element true qi, it affected his old wounds.

Fighting a war of attrition with Liu Liu Qingyu, who practiced Water-element true qi, was definitely courting death.

While swinging his palms to hack apart the water snakes wrapped around his ankles, he shouted loudly: "Xu Xu Shijie Liu! For the sake of our years of working together, why must you chase me relentlessly!"

A cold, sharp shout came from the water mist: "A beast like you who uses disciples as shields and abandons the peak to flee is worthy of calling me Xu Xu Shijie?!"

Lu Xiao gritted his teeth, and the layer of feigned tragedy on his face was torn to shreds in this instant.

He knew that Liu Liu Qingyu looked gentle on the surface, but once she was truly angry, there was no room for maneuver.

Since that was the case, he could only fight.

He bit the tip of his tongue, sprayed a mouthful of essence blood onto his palms, and the golden light around his body suddenly surged. The whole person was like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath, forcibly breaking free from the heavy entanglement of the water snakes, and with a fierce stomp of his feet, he rushed out of that white water mist.

At the cost of burning his essence blood, he finally rushed out of that deadly water mist.

However, before he could catch his breath.

What came into view was a pair of aged eyes devoid of any mercy.

"You came too..."

Lu Xiao's expression changed suddenly, and a startled shout was about to escape his throat.

A red-gold "Big" character-shaped fire seal, carrying a scorching high temperature that seemed to boil the sky and sea, had already arrived in his face.

"It's over."

This was the last thought in his heart.