Chapter 358: Long Qi Leaves Seclusion and Meets an Old Acquaintance

The early morning sun, carrying the chill of last night, wantonly scattered its morning glow, dyeing every piece of land gold.

Yet even so, Long Qi still felt dazzled and could not help but cover his face with his sleeve, attempting to stop the light from piercing his eyes.

Long Qi could no longer remember how many days and nights he had spent in the tomb; suddenly returning to the human world, he was still somewhat unaccustomed to it.

It was not that Long Qi wanted to leave seclusion himself; in truth, Wuji had driven him out without room for argument, and not only that, but he had also insisted on keeping Long Sheng behind.

The shackles within his body had not yet been broken through, and Long Qi truly did not understand why the Old Ancestor would do this.

He still had to go save Lingxiang!

With this body, how was he to save her?

But Wuji would not listen, only saying "the time has come," and in the blink of an eye, Long Qi was sent out.

This...

Where was this supposed to send him?

How about...

Returning to the Yuanqing Sect?

It seemed that was the only place to go...

Long Qi traveled all the way north, passing through several towns, yet he did not see a single shadow of a person; not even a cat or a dog could be seen.

Moreover, every village was dilapidated and ruined, and some villages were even permeated with a foul stench.

This was the stench of corpses!

Long Qi's expression was grave; his intuition told him that something must have happened here, yet he searched every corner and could never find any corpses.

After the Yuanqing Sect suffered its injuries, Long Qi had recovered for some time before heading straight for the Long Family Tomb, so he knew nothing of what had happened in the outside world.

To call the current human world a purgatory would not be an exaggeration.

The Imperial Preceptor had said that if the souls of the dead did not dissipate, they would cling to corpses, either becoming stiff and unrotting, or turning into demons out of resentment. The former fed on human flesh, the latter on human souls, to make up for their deficiencies, causing infinite harm.

Therefore, to prevent these walking corpses from harming people, the Imperial Court gathered the living into cities, with officials visiting daily to verify them; if anyone died, they were burned on the spot to avoid future trouble.

After all, there were not many living people left now, but the nation still had to be maintained through them.

Long Qi had encountered the same situation in all three villages he had passed through, which forced him to be extremely vigilant.

In a previous village, Long Qi had entered a household, but that home was not only dilapidated, there were even dried bloodstains on the floor and walls.

Sunlight shone through the broken windows, casting mottled patches onto these dark bloodstains; even in broad daylight, it appeared eerie and unpredictable.

According to Long Qi's deduction, this situation did not look like it had been ransacked by bandits, but rather like the work of demons. So, encountering it again, he maintained twelve points of vigilance.

Although the village looked dilapidated, one could see that the houses were built with exquisite materials, mostly green wood and tiled roofs, unlike the previous two villages which were built entirely of thatch and clay.

A village like this must have been prosperous with a flourishing population and abundant Yang energy; ordinary demons and ghosts would never dare to intrude.

To be able to ruin such a village to this state, the perpetrator was surely no incompetent person; their background must be significant.

Thinking this, Long Qi was cautious of the movements around him, following step by step, fearing that the demons might still be lingering here.

Just as Long Qi was fully focused, a sound suddenly came from the house behind him, as if a collapsed roof beam had rolled down, accompanied by a long hiss.

Could it be a Snake monster or the like?

It did not sound like it, but Long Qi dared not take it lightly.

At this moment, a light breeze blew, and the wild grass by the road rustled; other than that, there was no sound.

The surroundings were suddenly deathly silent, eerie in their stillness.

The sun was at its peak, yet everything stood still at this moment, as if the light and shadows were frozen, unable to move a fraction.

Long Qi dared not turn his head rashly, fearing that making even the slightest movement would startle the monster behind him. And behind him, there was not a single sound, like a beast waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.

In an instant, things could change in the blink of an eye, but neither side moved first, each waiting quietly.

The sun rose high, scorching his spine.

Perhaps unable to bear the damp stickiness on his back, Long Qi's star-like eyes flashed; he pinched the Spirit Official Seal and turned around with lightning speed, chanting words:

"Xun, Li, Kan, Zhen, Immortal Fire, heed my command!"

It was the Small Five Thunder Method.

Since taking the Hanyu Pill, Long Qi's energy channels had been congested, making it difficult to mobilize Spirit Power, but after some training by Wuji, he was able to absorb external Spirit Qi for his own use.

However, this method was not enough to allow him to wield the Longyuan Sword as he once had.

But this also caused Long Qi to settle his mind; he was no longer reckless or hasty when encountering matters, and he learned to be cautious and thoughtful.

So, while in the underground palace, Long Qi began to focus on practicing Witchcraft, and some less profound techniques could now be used with ease.

It was just that although Long Qi had mastered the method of external Spirit Qi, he could not maintain it for too long; it was as if there were a giant hole in his body, and as soon as the energy gate opened, it would absorb endlessly.

This matter had also troubled Long Qi for a long time and had once nearly caused him to fall into danger; fortunately, Wuji intervened in time, and he was spared. Later, under Wuji's step-by-step guidance, Long Qi slowly comprehended the method within.

As Long Qi chanted the incantation, in the blink of an eye, bolts of green thunder like swimming Snakes shot out from Long Qi's hands, roaring incessantly, striking directly at the ruins that had collapsed behind him.

But at this very instant, a huge silver mirror suddenly appeared where the thunder struck, spinning rapidly and reflecting all the Thunder Method back.

Seeing this, Long Qi was not panicked and hurriedly drew the Longyuan Sword from his back; in an instant, the bolts of thunder were guided onto the blade of the Longyuan Sword.

The Thunder Method wrapped around the sword edge, sizzling and ringing continuously, like a hidden dragon chanting.

This magic treasure was not simple! But why did it look so familiar?

For a moment, Long Qi could not recall where he had seen it.

It was also at this time that vines scattered out from behind the mirror, carrying a strong wind, rushing toward Long Qi.

Because his energy channels were blocked, Long Qi truly could not dodge, and the vines were coming fiercely, appearing as if they were about to wrap around him.

Long Qi let out a loud roar and slammed the Longyuan Sword into the ground.

In an instant, the green thunder wrapped around the Longyuan Sword burst out, as if breaking free from a cage, with the momentum of an unbridled horse, surging and roaring.

One was the vine carrying the wind, the other was the roaring swimming thunder.

The two Witchcrafts collided, and in the blink of an eye, sand and stones flew, and the gale did not cease.

When the dust settled, Long Qi looked up and saw that the mirror was actually unscathed, hanging above the ground as steady as Mount Tai.

Long Qi's brows were tightly locked, feeling that the trouble before him was quite thorny, but just at this moment, a woman's voice came from behind the mirror.

"Eh?"

"Hm?" Long Qi scratched his head.

Is it a person?

He saw a woman poke her head out from behind the mirror, stare at Long Qi for a long time, and then exclaim: "Ah! I said it sounded familiar, it really is you, you reckless ghost!"

Reckless ghost?

This person is so impolite!

Long Qi couldn't remember who the woman was for a moment, until another person flashed out from behind the mirror, and then he remembered.

"Ah!"

Long Qi also let out an exclamation, pointing at the two of them and stammering for a long time.

"It's you!"

The man and woman behind the mirror were none other than the ones Long Qi hadn't seen for a long time...

"Liu Xia! Lianqiao!"