Chapter 337: Returning to the Tomb to See the Old Ancestor

What exactly is Lingxiang thinking?

After learning of the Hanyu Pill's effect, Long Qi had been pondering this matter for over two years, yet he could never fathom why Lingxiang would do such a thing.

"Snap!"

Just as Long Qi was lost in thought, a ruler struck the back of his hand, making him wince and grimace in pain.

The person who struck him was an old man with wild, bushy eyebrows and hair as white as snow, yet he was full of vigor.

"Distracted again!" The old man, dressed in a tattered gray robe, paced back and forth with his hands behind his back in front of Long Qi, who was standing in a horse stance. "Relax, quiet, still, empty! Relax, quiet, still, empty! Is it really that hard? It's a pity that..."

The deep, resonant reprimand made Long Sheng, who was outside the Stone Chamber, shrink his neck.

Ever since Long Sheng had sent Maidong back to Yuanqing last time, he never imagined that the girl's master would be the friend to whom he had entrusted the Sword Formula years ago.

Long Sheng couldn't help but chuckle; such a coincidence was truly rare in this world.

When the Long Family met with disaster and Long Sheng fled, he had received help from Fuyin, and years later, he was graced by the kindness of Fuyin's disciple; fate is truly a marvelous thing.

But at the thought of that girl who was always smiling, Long Sheng's brow furrowed again.

Long Sheng could not believe that Maidong would betray her sect, yet the facts were laid out before him, undeniable.

"Sigh..." Long Sheng could not help but let out a sigh.

After sending Maidong back to Yuanqing, Long Sheng gathered some news from Yuanqing, and after resting for a short while, he went to Manzhou alone, hoping to scout out the movements of the Demon Race.

Who would have thought that as soon as he arrived in Manzhou, the Demon Race would be nowhere to be found, having vanished into thin air as if they had never appeared at all.

Although the Demon Race had disappeared, Long Sheng still managed to dig up some information.

The Demon Race had occupied Manzhou for many years, and most of the large and small tribes there were under their control; their power was immeasurable, with only a few tribes putting up a desperate resistance.

Against these tribes, the Demon Race's methods were incredibly ruthless; if they did not submit, the entire tribe, young and old, would be annihilated—it was extremely cruel.

Under such pressure, those tribes had no choice but to submit, and although they would make some moves in private, they could not shake the status of the Demon Race in the slightest.

Among them was a Yuerong Tribe whose Khan was held hostage by the Demon Race; he had a son who escaped to the Central Plains and joined the Daoist Sect. It is said that he returned some time ago, but his whereabouts became unknown after the Demon Race vanished.

Now that the tribes of Manzhou were in total chaos, the threat to the Central Plains had lessened significantly, and some tribes had even sent envoys to the Tianchao to seek protection.

Since the Demon Race had vanished, there was nothing left to scout in Manzhou, so Long Sheng planned to return to Yuanqing to figure out the next steps, but on the way, he heard rumors of Yuanqing's suffering.

This terrified Long Sheng, and he rushed to Yuanqing without stopping. When he arrived, all he saw were scars and devastation.

Lieyang Zhenren died from his severe injuries, and before long, his soul returned to the Grand Void; his disciples brought him back to the sect, and it was unclear where the Taishang Sect would go from here.

Yuanqing had lost Elder Zhaoming, but strangely, the remaining disciples seemed to be unharmed.

It was just that Banxia, whom he had met once, had her soul scattered. However, her physical body had not died, seemingly protected by the Curse Seal on her.

It is said that it was a curse text bestowed by the ancient god Yunzhongjun, who once said it would save her life; it seems this must have been that tribulation.

Donghui Zhenren said that the threads dissipating from the Eight Trigrams Plate were definitely Banxia's scattered soul. Since there were traces to follow, the girl could still be saved; he heard that two disciples from Yuanqing had already gone down the mountain to search for her.

When Long Sheng found Long Qi, he had already fallen into a coma, but Fuyin Zhenren said he was not in any serious danger, just some flesh wounds.

Everyone felt it was strange; Long Qi had clearly been struck heavily by the Demon Lord, yet he only had flesh wounds? Later, they realized it was the Hanyu Pill inside his body that had saved Long Qi's life.

With his Qi channels congested, his body naturally would not suffer too much damage even under heavy attack.

Long Sheng remembered that after Long Qi woke up, he remained depressed for many days, lying on the bed without eating or drinking, just staring blankly and motionless; he was visibly growing weaker, but one day he was dragged out of the room by Rendong.

Rendong dragged Long Qi to the mountains and threw him onto the ground, his face full of frustration at Long Qi's lack of resolve.

Just as Long Sheng was worried about Long Qi's health and wanted to argue with Rendong, he heard Rendong shout at Long Qi:

"Who are you putting on this 'dying' act for? It's a pity you followed Lingxiang for so long; is this all you learned—to just give up on yourself?"

As Rendong spoke, he pointed to the surroundings.

"Look around you; of all the rocks in the entire sect, which mountain isn't jagged and sharp? Only the stones of Qingwei Peak are smooth and polished—do you know why?"

Hearing the mention of Qingwei Peak, Long Qi's eyes flickered; he felt as if he hadn't been there in a long time.

Seeing Long Qi react, Rendong quickly continued: "I've finally seen you for what you are! You don't understand Lingxiang at all!"

Hearing this, Long Qi looked up at Rendong.

That's right, he truly didn't understand Lingxiang; he didn't know what she was thinking, nor did he know what she was plotting. But even if he knew, what could he do in his current state?

Long Qi's gaze dimmed once more.

"That girl has a Residual Spirit Root! The reason the stones of Qingwei Peak are so smooth is because of her day and night of bitter cultivation of the Water Art!"

Residual Spirit Root? Transforming stone with water? How is that possible? Long Sheng was extremely astonished.

"Earth naturally overcomes water, yet Lingxiang insisted on transforming stone with water; is the Lingxiang you know the type of person to give up so easily?"

That's right, although Lingxiang was mischievous, she was never one to give up halfway.

Long Qi's eyes regained their spirit. Seeing this, Rendong knew the time was right and quickly said: "Lingxiang must have her plans; although I don't know why she left you, she must have her reasons. Perhaps she is waiting for you to save her right now—do you still intend to remain this decadent?"

Lingxiang is waiting for him to save her!

A fire seemed to ignite in Long Qi's heart, and his eyes were no longer as lifeless as before.

That's it, that's it; thinking carefully, Lingxiang had never given up on him, and following the Demon Lord was also to save everyone. If he were to just give up like this, how could he save Lingxiang?

She must be waiting for him!

Long Qi finally regained his spirit, and after resting for half a month, he decided to head to the former site of the Long Family.

Long Sheng did not know why Long Qi was so insistent, but worried about his health, he went along with him.

With Long Sheng there, the location of the Long Family's secret chamber was much easier to find, as he had been there with the family head before; however, what Long Sheng never expected was that someone was already waiting there in the tomb.

"You've come?"

The voice was aged but full of vigor; an old man with hair as white as snow and a tattered gray robe stood tall, his eyes pitch black, and one could tell at a glance that he was no ordinary person.

Long Sheng was about to attack, but Long Qi seemed to know who the man was; he pulled up his robes and knelt on the ground, saying, "Old Ancestor."

Old Ancestor?

Old Ancestor!