Chapter 198: In Front of the Water Mirror, an Uninvited Guest

Long Qi was pacing back and forth in agitation, his expression shifting between worry and impatience, looking from time to time at the spot where Lingxiang had just vanished, or looking at Ajin, wanting to speak but holding back.

It was not that he feared Ajin, but because his relationship with Zhao Wuyang was quite close, so it was not appropriate to make the atmosphere too tense.

Just as Long Qi was extremely anxious, a cloud of dust rose up; it was Lingxiang and the Old Mountain God returning. The Old Mountain God was seen carrying a strange pack on his back, his expression dejected, like a rooster that had lost a fight. In contrast, Lingxiang appeared to be in an excellent mood, her eyebrows dancing and her cherry lips smiling.

Long Qi hurriedly stepped forward to pull at Lingxiang, looking her over from left to right, fearing she had been injured somewhere, and kept asking if she had been bullied.

Seeing this, the Old Mountain God could not help but pout at the two of them and mutter: "This little girl is fierce; who could hurt her even a bit? It would be good enough if she didn't bully others."

Although it was a mutter, the people present heard it clearly, and everyone had different expressions upon hearing this.

Xinyi smiled helplessly, while Zhao Wuyang nodded in agreement; the two seemed to highly approve of this. Liu Xia's expression was indifferent, as if his heart were not here, not knowing what he was thinking. Banxia looked surprised, thinking only that Lingxiang was amazing to have even beaten the old immortal, and felt even more admiration for her in her heart. Ajin, meanwhile, looked composed, as if the matter were within his expectations.

However, Long Qi looked angry. After confirming that Lingxiang was unharmed, he stepped forward to grab the Old Mountain God's clothes and raised his fist to strike him. Fortunately, Xinyi and Zhao Wuyang grabbed him, so the fist did not fall.

The old immortal easily broke free and hid behind Lingxiang. He brushed off his ragged lapels that had been crumpled by Long Qi and deliberately spoke in an elder's tone: "Young man, do not be so violent; you must have a peaceful state of mind..."

He seemed to do it on purpose; his words were like adding fuel to the fire. Long Qi was even more furious upon hearing this, and had it not been for Xinyi and Zhao Wuyang struggling to stop him, he would have drawn the Seven Star Dragon Abyss.

Xinyi tried to dissuade Long Qi while smiling helplessly; he truly did not know why this old immortal had to provoke Long Qi so much—could it be that he simply found it fun?

Seeing Long Qi's furious appearance, the old immortal seemed to have finally found his balance. He stroked his beard with great satisfaction, turned his head, and said to Lingxiang: "We agreed just now; the old man will take you to the Water Mirror. If you are discovered by Yunzhongjun after entering Yunmeng Marsh, do not drag me into it!"

Lingxiang gave a sly smile, patted the Universe Bag at her waist, and said with certainty: "That goes without saying. Am I the type of person to go back on my word? Since we have a three-point agreement, I will naturally fulfill it. Besides, I have already sworn by my Dao path; what else are you worried about?"

Although most people who cultivate the Dao keep their word, the Old Mountain God simply could not rest easy. This girl was Tu Mi's daughter, and her mind was as winding as hers; who knew how she might scheme against him? He had been scared by Tu Mi's schemes.

The Old Mountain God looked at Lingxiang with skepticism, then thought to himself: Since this little girl has said so, she will surely keep her word—cultivators would never mess around with their Dao path; they value it extremely highly.

Thinking of this, the Old Mountain God smacked his lips: "Since that is the case, I will believe you once." After saying this, he beckoned everyone to gather around him. Long Qi naturally did not trust the Old Mountain God, assuming he was up to some trick again, and pulled Lingxiang to keep her from getting close.

Lingxiang looked at Long Qi, patted his hand soothingly, and insisted repeatedly that there would be no mishaps. Only then did Long Qi move closer with Lingxiang, though he remained skeptical and kept pulling her without letting go.

As soon as Long Qi and Lingxiang approached, they heard the Old Mountain God shout "Go!" as if he were performing in a play. Everyone felt the world spinning, and they did not know how much time had passed; when they came to their senses, they were in a forest.

As soon as they landed, there was a flurry of activity. Among those present, apart from Lingxiang and Ajin who were calm and composed, Xinyi was standing but frowning, clearly feeling very uncomfortable. Zhao Wuyang, Liu Xia, and Banxia had all fallen to the ground; it was clear at a glance that this was their first time experiencing the Earth Escaping Technique. Zhao Wuyang even felt his stomach churning and nearly vomited.

Although Long Qi's face was slightly pale, he stood without falling, which surprised the Old Mountain God.

The Old Mountain God naturally did not know that Long Qi had experienced the Earth Escaping Technique twice with Shoucheng. As soon as the sense of Chaos struck, he remembered the previous experience of being sent by Lingxiang to the Ancient Bamboo Forest and had prepared for the landing early on.

While everyone was still soothing their physical and mental discomfort, they heard the Old Mountain God say: "This is the Water Mirror, the entrance to Yunmeng Marsh!"

Looking in the direction the Old Mountain God pointed, through a few old trees, there was a pool of water not far away. It was just that this pool looked somewhat strange; although there was clearly a wind blowing in the forest, the pool water was calm and waveless, as if it were a silver mirror. Just as Lingxiang wanted to get closer to take a good look, the Old Mountain God grabbed her: "I have brought you here; it is time for you to fulfill your promise."

Lingxiang rolled her eyes at him, flicked her fingers to take the turtle shell of the Heaven Returning Pill Formula from her Universe Bag, and handed it to the Old Mountain God.

The Old Mountain God took the turtle shell and, after confirming it was correct, burst into laughter: "Finally back in the old man's hands! Now I can report back to Fairy Yaoji!" As soon as he finished speaking, he transformed into a beam of light and, accompanied by laughter that resounded through the forest, flew into the pool like a shooting star.

Watching the Old Mountain God dive into the pool, the water surface did not ripple at all and remained calm and waveless. This made Lingxiang even more curious. She looked at Ajin, hoping to get some information from him, but Ajin only crossed his arms and shrugged in return.

Although Ajin had cultivated for many years, he had wandered the mortal world for a long time and only knew the surface, not the depths, of the Water Mirror of Yunmeng Marsh.

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