Chapter 84: Identity Exposed

Li Qing looked at Li Youyi, who was walking along the river as if strolling, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

The combat power he had just displayed beneath the telekinetic stone wall hadn't intimidated the other party; instead, he had taken the initiative to come to his door. More importantly, the other party actually exuded a sense of indifference and ease.

Where did this confidence come from?

Li Qing was vigilant and laughed: "Alright, wait until I finish my business first. The Eight Springs Pure Immortal Body is still not to be underestimated."

Li Youyi stopped two zhang away and said: "I suggest we talk first."

"You really are here to be a hero saving the beauty! Li Youyi, the beauty of a Pure Immortal Body woman does indeed make people feel pity, but this is the Hidden Sect. If she survives, you and I will have to die."

A flash of cunning crossed Li Qing's eyes, and he deliberately laughed: "Since you are so soft-hearted, let's do this: I'll let you go into the cave for an hour. After an hour, she must die. Then, we can talk slowly."

He was good at exploiting human weaknesses.

As long as Li Youyi took the bait, he would naturally go in and seize the opportunity to deal with both of them together.

Li Youyi shook his head: "You underestimate me too much. Also, it's best to put away your little cleverness. A month has passed; have you found the way out?"

Li Qing said: "How could it be that easy? From entering the underground river to arriving here, we walked for several days, and the number of tributaries we passed is countless. There is only one way to return to the surface, and that is to become a Hidden One. To become a Hidden One, you must..."

"Swish!"

The magic long sword in his hand instantly erupted with dazzling brilliance, like a bolt of lightning stabbing at Li Youyi's heart.

The magic Qi was very condensed, and the sword tip spat out a foot-long, bright, sharp light.

"Kill all competitors."

Li Qing did not underestimate Li Youyi and mobilized all his Nine Springs magic power.

He and Li Youyi both knew each other's secrets, so he had to make the other party shut up forever before the Hidden Sect's people arrived. As for the rule that high-realm people cannot kill low-realm people, he had already thought about how to explain it to the Hidden Sect.

That was the Six Desires Talisman.

He only needed to tell the Hidden Sect that he discovered Li Youyi had been planted with the Six Desires Talisman and was a mole sent by another force. Anyway, there was no proof of death, so he could naturally explain it away.

Li Youyi stood in place, one hand behind his back, not even bothering to draw his sword.

He raised his right arm, mobilized the Eight Springs to surge, and magic power flowed in the silver meridians, gathering toward his palm.

The Heaven-Turning Palm Seal was formed, and the air around his palm was distorting.

He struck out with one palm.

In front of his palm, the magic Qi condensed into a three-foot-square divine seal phantom, colliding with the battle sword Li Qing stabbed over, not worried at all about falling into the same fate as Seeing Yao Yin.

"Boom!"

The divine seal phantom flashed and disappeared, and the strong palm force surged outward.

Li Youyi still stood in place, not moving a single step.

Looking at Li Qing, he retreated repeatedly, stepping out deep footprints on the ground before unloading the fierce and domineering palm force.

His hand holding the sword was in unbearable pain, and his eyes were full of surprise. The palm seal the other party had just struck was too miraculous. How could this still be the method of a Gushing Spring Realm Wu Xiu?

Hearing the sound and realizing that the two had already fought outside, Seeing Yao Yin immediately rushed out of the tributary river cave entrance with her magic dagger, stepping on magic Qi, flying up like a celestial maiden stepping on water: "I'll help you; let's fight him together, and there might still be a chance."

Li Qing's strength was too strong, and he might already be at all-silver meridians. She knew that the guy who came to show off definitely wasn't his match.

But what surprised Seeing Yao Yin was that Li Qing clearly had strong magic power and was fully capable of fighting two with one, yet he suddenly turned and fled.

"Want to leave?"

The Clear Void Cicada-Chasing Step was performed.

Li Youyi's body seemed to have no weight, his feet not touching the ground, stepping on grass leaves, turning into a series of afterimages, and intercepting Li Qing's path in an instant.

The Huang Long Sword had already been drawn, and he slashed out with a domineering sword strike to open the sea.

"Slash!"

The bright yellow sword Qi tore through the air, forming a zhang-long light trail.

Li Qing knew the power of this sword and his expression changed drastically. How could he dare to hold back at all? He mobilized the magic Qi in his Wind Mansion and performed a Heavenly Dao Law Convergence level unique sword technique to block it.

"Bang!"

Defeated in one strike, Li Qing was knocked flying backward, and the robe on his body exploded.

Li Youyi pursued, leaping to mid-air several zhang high, and stabbed out with one sword. The sword shadows erupted like a celestial maiden scattering flowers.

One sword turned into a hundred!

Li Qing roared, completely bringing out the momentum of fighting for his life, and the magic Qi in his Ancestral Field flowed surgingly. Holding the sword with both hands, he slashed out with all his might.

"Puff!"

"Puff!"

He didn't fully defend against it, and Li Youyi's move, Wishful Universe Sword, left two bloody holes in his body, and the sound of breaking bones rang out.

"You can't be Gushing Spring Realm... you are Five Seas..."

Li Qing knew he was no match for Li Youyi and shouted this while performing his movement technique to escape, wanting to attract the Hidden Sect's people over.

If I die, we all die together.

Li Youyi's speed was a notch faster than Li Qing's. In just three breaths, he caught up and slashed out with his third sword.

The fourth sword followed.

Even if Li Qing mobilized the massive amount of magic Qi in his Ancestral Field, he blocked it extremely difficultly, even more strenuously than fighting Hidden Nine. After all, although the Ancestral Field was like a Qi Sea and could store massive amounts of magic Qi, magic Qi could only undergo essential transformation after reaching the Five Seas Realm.

Every sword Li Youyi dropped felt like a mountain pressing down, making it impossible for him to even breathe.

"Puff!"

Finally breaking his defense, the fifth sword pierced Li Qing's forearm holding the sword.

Li Qing let out a low scream, and the magic battle sword fell to the ground. Holding his wound, he retreated in embarrassment, spilling drops of blood on the grass by the river.

"Bang!"

Li Youyi chased up and struck his back with one palm, causing him to vomit blood and completely lose his combat power and ability to escape, rolling and falling to the ground.

By the time Li Qing wanted to stand up again, the tip of the Huang Long Sword was already pressed against his throat.

"It actually took six moves to completely defeat you. Among Nine Springs Supreme Humans, you should be considered relatively strong," Li Youyi had already used his full strength just now, so he was very dissatisfied with this record.

Although it was one move faster than Hidden Nine.

But, Hidden Nine was only a wall painting, possessing only combat techniques, and his combat consciousness and combat wisdom were definitely not as good as his own.

Besides, Li Qing was only concerned with escaping just now, his fighting will was weak, and his state was not as good as when he fought Hidden Nine.

Seeing Yao Yin in the distance was already stunned, not knowing where to put the dagger in her hand.

Seven Springs? Eight Springs?

What realm was he exactly?

Seeing Yao Yin had always known Li Youyi was very strong, but she never thought he could be stronger than Li Qing. Even a Nine Springs Pure Immortal Body might not have such combat power, right?

"Tell me, which tribe are you from?" Li Youyi asked in an interrogating tone.

The terror in Li Qing's eyes gradually dissipated, and then he laughed: "Which side are you on? If I don't tell you this secret, does it mean I can survive?"

"Self-clever."

"Slash!"

Li Youyi raised his arm and cut off Li Qing's left wrist: "Two choices: either die slowly, or die quickly."

Li Qing bit his teeth and glared, finally feeling Li Youyi's terror. Blood kept surging from his left wrist, and his entire arm became colder and colder.

Sensing something, Li Youyi looked up and saw Hidden Twenty-Four arriving at this place.

In addition, the old man in black, who was always silent, stepped on strands of spirit light and appeared before the two with an astonishing speed of crossing more than ten zhang per step.

"You won't get an answer asking like that; you have to use telekinetic power to make him speak."

A cluster of light spots appeared on the old man's glabella, and powerful telekinetic power erupted. In his Yintang Spirit Realm, he released nine telekinetic silk threads like light marks, flying toward the major acupoints of Li Qing's head.

His telekinetic power was extremely strong, and the light on his body was like a dazzling little sun.

Li Youyi hurriedly retreated, his heart shaking, staring at the old man with wariness.

Undoubtedly, the Hidden Sect was not ignorant of anything.

Li Qing knew he had been exposed and would definitely die today, so he wanted to drag Li Youyi down with him: "He... he was sent by the Earth Wolf King Army, he was planted with the Six Desires Talisman by Shi Liuyu... ah..."

"Bang!"

In the midst of a shrill scream, Li Qing's glabella exploded.

A spirit light flame with extremely high temperature was released from beneath his glabella, instantly burning his entire head into ashes.

He died an unspeakably miserable death.

The old man's eyes were stern, and he retracted the nine telekinetic silk threads, his brows furrowed tightly, muttering to himself: "Sure enough, he was planted with death spirit fire. Once telekinetic power is used to control his consciousness and lead him to speak, the spirit fire will erupt."

The old man stared deeply at Li Youyi, extremely displeased: "You ruined our big plan! Little Twenty-Four, take the corpse and follow me to see the Hidden Lord."

Hidden Twenty-Four picked up Li Qing's headless corpse with one hand and looked at Li Youyi, somewhat confused and somewhat curious.

Clearly, the combat power Li Youyi displayed shocked him too, falling into self-doubt.

After all, when boarding the ship, he personally investigated, and this guy's cultivation was indeed Seven Springs.

Li Youyi was even more confused and curious, watching the two walk further and further away, and couldn't help but ask: "What about me? Don't I need to go with you?"

There was no response; the two didn't pay attention to him at all.

"The Hidden Sect must have known Li Qing had problems long ago. The reason they didn't move him was to catch the big fish behind him. But since the Hidden Sect knows Li Qing like the back of their hand, how could they not know I have problems?"

"Even if they didn't know before, Li Qing just said it. They didn't even investigate?"

Li Youyi was uneasy, thinking about whether to take out Master Coffin's letter immediately.

A faint fragrance wafted over.

Seeing Yao Yin appeared beside him, her apricot eyes full of complexity, and she asked in a soft, pleasant tone: "Are you really sent by the Earth Wolf King Army?"

"Are you asking if I was planted with it?" Li Youyi said.

Seeing Yao Yin didn't know much about the Six Desires Talisman, but she could guess the general idea just by hearing the name, and she could immediately understand Li Youyi's various behaviors before.

She considered it again and again and said: "You must have been forced, I believe the Hidden Sect didn't deal with you because they knew this. Actually, as long as you perform well enough, you still have a chance to become a Hidden One."

Seeing Yao Yin was not stupid and knew very well that Li Youyi caught up at that critical point just to save her.

That was why she said this to comfort him.

No matter what Li Youyi's identity was, at least he was quite good to her.

Li Youyi looked over with strange eyes, feeling that what Seeing Yao Yin said actually made some sense. But with Master Coffin's letter, he didn't need to deliberately prove himself.

He would go deliver the letter now.

……

Entering the mountain gate was the true Nine Li Hidden Sect.

Outside the Hidden Lord's cultivation cave, a seventeen-story stone tower was built against the cliff. In each floor of the tower, a dazzling spirit light flame bloomed, illuminating this dark underground space with gorgeous colors.

The Hidden Lord, wearing a mask, inspected Li Qing's headless corpse on the ground and shook his head: "That old guy is very cautious and left no traces. Now the clue is completely broken! Which of the nine tribe chiefs could it be?"

The old man said: "Hidden Five doesn't know either?"

"Hidden Five said that the chief is very close to Coffin Mountain and has been hiding his identity. It is highly probable that only Xu Fudu and An Xianjing know who he is."

The Hidden Lord added: "He should have been subdued by that taboo of Coffin Mountain; otherwise, how could a chief-level existence defect?"

The old man's eyes were full of shock: "Even such an ancient existence is going to enter the game?"

The Hidden Lord said: "The battle situation in Lingxiao Palace is unfavorable, retreating step by step, gradually losing the power to intimidate the world. The various demons and ghosts who didn't dare to act rashly before naturally have ideas in their hearts. Fortunately, the great changes in Burial Immortal Town gave us sufficient preparation time; otherwise, the war that swept through the entire Li Prefecture would have already broken out."

The old man said: "This battle is destined to be unavoidable, but before that, we must purge the interior. Tell the Dao Academy and the Divine Temple and let them investigate."

"No, that's too easy to startle the snake, and it might lead to Hidden Five's exposure. Don't they have another pawn to figure out the situation of the Nine Li Hidden Sect?"

The Hidden Lord suddenly asked: "Can that kid really defeat Li Qing in six moves? Could it be that he broke through to Five Seas?"

"This is the strangest part! Clearly not Five Seas Realm, but the combat power seems to be no less than Hidden Nine," the old man said.

"If he is truly a stunning genius, then give him a chance. This game still has to be broken through him. Hidden Five said he helped the Nine Li tribe a lot and has a good relationship with the Cang Li tribe; he is a victim who got involved by mistake."

After deep thought, the Hidden Lord added: "Since his strength is so strong, arrange the second trial for him immediately. At the same time, test him to see what choice he will make. Hidden Twenty-Four, this matter is left to you!"

……

Li Youyi came to the mountain gate and told the old man guarding the gate his wish to see the Hidden Lord.

"The Hidden Lord, is that something you can see just by saying so? It's not an easy thing for me to see him," the old man said.

"I have a very important matter; please trouble the Elder to help report it."

Li Youyi dared not let the secret of the leader's imminent return be known by the entire Hidden Sect. The more people who knew, the more eyes would be on him, and the easier it would be for his various secrets to be exposed.

It was enough for a few high-level members of the Hidden Sect to know.

The old man and Hidden Twenty-Four came down the mountain one after another.

The old man said: "Little guy, don't be so flustered. We know your background like the back of our hand. Six Desires Talisman or Earth Wolf King Army, none of these are important matters. What is important is your choice and your talent. Old Twelve, let's go, come play chess with me."

The old man pulled the old man guarding the gate away.

Li Youyi's gaze fell on the heroic Hidden Twenty-Four: "I want to see the Hidden Lord!"

Hidden Twenty-Four said: "The Hidden Lord has arranged the second trial for you. As long as you complete it, you will naturally have the qualifications to see him."

"My matter is very important," Li Youyi said.

Hidden Twenty-Four said: "There is nothing the Hidden Lord handles that is not important. Also, you know that the Hidden Sect knows everything. What you don't know, the Hidden Sect also knows. Understand? You are completely transparent in our eyes."

Li Youyi endured and endured: "Why is it impossible to talk to you? Forget it... you are not in a hurry, and I am not in a hurry. What is the second trial? Isn't it too fast?"

The trial is dangerous; no one wants to participate more.

The reason Seeing Yao Yin couldn't wait to attack Li Qing was to become a Hidden One as soon as possible and participate in fewer trials.

Hidden Twenty-Four said: "Eliminate all high-level members of the Long Lin Gang above Seven Springs."

Li Youyi was stunned.

Hidden Twenty-Four was very satisfied with his expression at this moment: "Now do you believe that we know you like the back of our hand?"

"I thought all trials were underground, but the Long Lin Gang is far away in Nine Li City," Li Youyi said.

"Far?"

Hidden Twenty-Four smiled: "You have already entered the Hidden Lord's eyes. This is a test specially prepared for you. As long as you pass, the quota for Hidden Twenty-Six will likely be yours!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 85 =====