Chapter 140: Impossible! This Is Absolutely Impossible! (6k)

Yuan Ya still remembered how Li Si had launched a solo ambush on Meng Xing—so clean, so efficient, not a single hesitation.

When she returned after slaying two Jin Dan cultivators, she saw Meng Xing’s corpse lying like a dead dog at Li Si’s feet.

Enraged beyond control, she charged forward with her sword, slashing and thrusting wildly, even tearing Meng Xing’s Nascent Soul into countless fragments, avenging her Master completely.

Unfortunately, he vanished suddenly then, and she never got a clear look at his face—but the scars beneath the blood and mud, and the upright silhouette of his back as he left, were etched deep into her heart.

He was a real man!

Seeing Yuan Ya suddenly display such a girlish expression, Yan Xiao immediately lost his cool.

What the hell is going on?

I saved you too, you know! Those Jin Dan cultivators were all killed by me—I even freed you from your bindings and gave you a healing elixir at the end.

Is the difference really that big?

At that moment, Zhou Qing also scratched his head awkwardly, then turned to look at Yan Xiao.

Seeing this, Yan Xiao immediately crossed his arms over his chest and let out a cold snort.

“He got unlucky—he’s dead!” Yan Xiao said coldly.

Yuan Ya’s smile froze on her face; her body swayed involuntarily, the faint blush on her ears now turning deathly pale.

Her hands hung limply at her sides, her eyes reddened, tears swirling in their depths.

“H-how could this be… he was so powerful…”

Seeing her reaction, Yan Xiao felt a quiet thrill inside.

Sister, sister, I’m truly sorry—your newly sprouted little flame of love is about to be doused by my bucket of icy water.

Frankly, my little brother’s current worth far exceeds even your Sect Master’s.

“Was it the Cangyan Dao Palace?” Instantly, Yuan Ya’s face was flooded with murderous intent, her eyes blazing as if two fires were about to erupt.

The sight terrified the two, causing them to instinctively step back several paces, their minds once again flashing with the memory of her frenzied tearing apart of Meng Xing’s Nascent Soul.

It was truly a shocking image.

“Yes!”

“No!”

Both spoke at once, then glanced at each other, quickly shaking their heads and nodding respectively.

“No!”

“Yes!”

Yuan Ya stepped forward immediately, staring intently at Yan Xiao. “Which is it?”

Yan Xiao blurted out: “He was killed by Song Yuan of the Cangyan Dao Palace.”

Zhou Qing, standing nearby, quickly shook his head at Yan Xiao silently—why are you telling her this?

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ya went utterly numb.

“So it was him… of course—he came to avenge Meng Xing. It’s all my fault—I dragged Li Si into this!”

Seeing her reaction, Yan Xiao felt a bit sheepish—he hadn’t expected her to react so strongly.

Does a scar on the face really make a man seem so much more masculine? If I’d known, I should’ve snatched that scar patch from Lao Si the moment he pulled it out.

“I know where Song Yuan is!” After a moment, Yuan Ya wiped her eyes fiercely, her gaze brimming with lethal intent.

Yan Xiao and Zhou Qing’s eyes lit up instantly; they asked in unison: “You do?”

Yuan Ya nodded slightly. “To be honest, in Youhuang City there’s a secret outpost of the Cangyan Dao Palace. We stumbled upon it half a month ago—that’s why I was left behind to monitor it.”

“This morning, I personally saw Song Yuan arrive here with a group. I’ve already sent word back—now we wait to see if any Qingshu Xian Zong elders are nearby and can rush here to trap him permanently!”

Yan Xiao immediately asked: “How many Nascent Soul cultivators are there?”

Yuan Ya shook her head. “The outpost is heavily guarded; few ever emerge. To avoid alerting them, we didn’t dare infiltrate further.”

But Yan Xiao didn’t care—he was thrilled. To him, as long as the target was here, everything else was secondary.

"Brother Zhou, have you finally extinguished that fire? Compared to last time, I no longer feel the heat when I get near you. I've already lined up several junior sisters—planning to take them to Taiqingmen after this is over..."

“Yuan Shijie—” Zhou Qing cut him off quickly, then stared at Yan Xiao in utter disbelief.

Yan Xiao kept winking at him relentlessly.

Helplessly, Zhou Qing had to admit he’d fully recovered.

Hearing this, Yuan Ya was stunned—she never imagined that in just a few months, Zhou Qing had returned to full strength.

What incredible luck!

“So you’re here for Song Yuan too?” Now Yuan Ya finally understood why they’d suddenly appeared.

Yan Xiao’s expression turned serious. “We came here solely to avenge Brother Li Si.”

Yuan Ya shook her head repeatedly, her face filled with worry. “Song Yuan ranks higher among the Cangyan Dao Palace’s Five Prodigies than Meng Xing did. His cultivation has already reached Nascent Soul late stage. Even if we all combined, we’d stand no chance against him.”

Yan Xiao had only just entered Nascent Soul early stage; Zhou Qing was barely back to Foundation Establishment late stage. Facing such a being was like an egg challenging a rock.

“Don’t worry—we know what we’re doing. Where’s the outpost?” Yan Xiao asked urgently.

Didn’t I kill a Nascent Soul late stage not long ago? All by myself, with Lao Si.

Now with me here, it’ll be easy.

“I can’t let you walk into certain death. Let’s wait—maybe our sect’s experts are already rushing here!” Yuan Ya urged.

Zhou Qing and Yan Xiao exchanged glances.

If we wait for your people, we’ll just be tagging along—what kind of trial is that?

One storage bag isn’t enough to split among all of us.

Just as Yan Xiao was about to speak, Zhou Qing cut in: “Alright then, let’s wait for the others to arrive before acting—it’s safer that way.”

Yuan Ya nodded in satisfaction. “Exactly. Our two sects are allies now, and the Cangyan Dao Palace is our common enemy.”

“Yuan Shijie is right,” Zhou Qing smiled. “Besides, we haven’t eaten since we arrived. How about you treat us to a meal?”

Yuan Ya agreed instantly. “Of course! I was just about to eat upstairs—join me.”

Yan Xiao stared at Zhou Qing, puzzled, but didn’t press further.

After the meal, the two took their leave, saying they had other matters to attend to and would regroup later.

Watching Zhou Qing slip away, Yan Xiao finally couldn’t hold back: “Wait—what’s your plan?”

Zhou Qing calmly analyzed: “From Yuan Ya’s perspective, if Li Si was so powerful and still got killed by Song Yuan, she’d never let us walk into a trap. She won’t tell us the exact location—and she’s probably afraid we’ll act rashly and alert them.”

Yan Xiao nodded thoughtfully, then ventured: “You want to follow her?”

Zhou Qing nodded. “She said she stayed in Youhuang City to secretly monitor the outpost. If she’s monitoring it, she’ll keep checking on it.”

Yan Xiao’s eyes lit up. He cleared his throat. “Actually, that’s exactly what I was thinking—so I didn’t ask you anything during dinner. Lao Si, I have to say, your brain’s almost caught up to mine.”

Zhou Qing smiled. “Yes, yes, my third brother is the smartest—I’ve still got so much to learn from you.”

“Damn right! So let me take the chicken for a walk, Chicken Lord!”

“If you say that nickname again, I’ll really lose it.”

“Fine, fine—how about Lord Chicken?”

“Get lost!”

………

Under the heavy night sky, a figure leapt lightly across rooftops, unaware that just behind, two figures in black nightclothes followed silently.

When Yuan Ya landed in a courtyard, three figures immediately rushed out, bowed, and reported to her.

Yuan Ya nodded slightly, then emerged again, her gaze fixed intently on a distant shanzhuang.

At that moment, a faint spiritual sense swept from the shanzhuang outward; seeing this, Yuan Ya immediately withdrew.

Soon after, two suspicious heads peeked out from another rooftop.

“Under the lamp’s shadow? Using such a large shanzhuang as an outpost!” Yan Xiao muttered.

It reminded him of when Qingshu Xian Zong had rented a similar shanzhuang during the Five Sects Exchange Fair in Yanlong City.

Zhou Qing had entered it searching for the chicken and stumbled upon Cui Yingying and others soaking in a hot spring.

The world is fickle—Cui Yingying and the others were now nothing but ashes, obliterated by the self-destruction of Ji Ying and Huang Xiu.

“What now?” Yan Xiao whispered.

Zhou Qing said: “You’re smarter than me—I follow your lead.”

Yan Xiao: “...”

“We don’t know what this outpost is for, or how many people are inside. Judging from the three low-level disciples guarding it, they’re meant to blend in without suspicion—while Yuan Ya must occasionally leave to avoid drawing attention.”

Yan Xiao analyzed.

Zhou Qing nodded in agreement. “You’re right, brother.”

Yan Xiao’s face flushed slightly; he chuckled awkwardly. “Lao Si, stop it—I’m listening to you.”

Zhou Qing’s expression turned serious. “I’m not joking. You’re right—but if you don’t enter the tiger’s den, how can you catch the tiger? Yuan Ya already alerted Qingshu Xian Zong—they won’t let a prodigy like Song Yuan slip away.”

Yan Xiao understood perfectly.

With Meng Xing dead, losing another prodigy would be a crushing blow to the Cangyan Dao Palace.

“But isn’t this too risky?” Yan Xiao couldn’t help worrying.

Zhou Qing smiled. “Didn’t we come out to take risks?”

Yan Xiao froze for a moment, then broke into a grin.

“Let’s go!”

The two quietly approached the shanzhuang, then leapt over its walls with agile movements.

Fortunately, the shanzhuang had no protective barriers or seals—likely deliberately omitted to avoid drawing attention.

“Is it okay?” Soon after entering, they hid among trees; Yan Xiao suddenly remembered something and pointed at the old hen in Zhou Qing’s arms.

Zhou Qing signaled it was fine, as its mouth had been sealed with spiritual power and could not make a sound.

Yan Xiao finally relaxed, and the two then parted ways to search separately.

The manor was small; after circling it once, they quickly met again, both faces filled with confusion.

For the strongest spiritual presence in the entire manor was merely an old man at the Foundation Establishment realm—apparently the manor’s owner.

Aside from him, there were no other cultivators.

Yet before they had entered, they had indeed sensed a faint, elusive spiritual sense scanning the surroundings.

“Cunning rabbits have three burrows—those sneaky Cangyan Dao Palace folks must have underground chambers like my own residence,” Yan Xiao muttered curses under his breath.

Zhou Qing glanced at him, secretly amused.

“I’ll soul-search him!” Yan Xiao said, then turned and left.

Zhou Qing could only wait quietly.

Not long after, Yan Xiao returned, his face flushed with embarrassment. “The master is just an ordinary old man—he knows nothing about Cangyan Dao Palace. I gave him an elixir as compensation for the soul-search.”

After hearing this, Zhou Qing fell into deep thought, then murmured, “This use of ‘the crow occupying the magpie’s nest’ is brilliant.”

“How about we wait a bit longer and see where that probing spiritual sense comes from?” Yan Xiao suggested.

For now, that was all they could do.

Soon after, the two found a concealed spot and focused intently on the surroundings.

About an hour later, the alerting sensation of probing spiritual sense reappeared.

Zhou Qing immediately transformed his aura into that of an ordinary person using the Void Realm Manifestation, making Yan Xiao envious.

But this technique was too difficult to cultivate—only Second Sister and Fourth Brother on Xiao Ling Peak had succeeded so far.

He quickly concealed his aura and swiftly pulled out a talisman, sticking it to his body.

The spiritual sense slowly swept over them but detected no anomaly.

“Looks like it’s late Nascent Soul realm spiritual sense!” Yan Xiao said.

Zhou Qing felt the same.

If they truly faced two or more late Nascent Soul cultivators, their reckless intrusion was far too dangerous.

After all, they themselves were only at the early Nascent Soul realm—holding their own against one late Nascent Soul cultivator was already extremely difficult.

“It’s coming from over there!” Zhou Qing, whose spiritual sense was stronger, sharply detected its origin; the two hurried over.

Soon, they stood before a rear garden, where a pond shimmered faintly under the moonlight.

Several weeping willows were arranged neatly around it, lending the place a quiet serenity.

“Could it be underwater? Isn’t this like taking off your pants to fart? Hiding in someone’s home, terrified of being found, yet secretly sending out spiritual sense to scout—afraid no one knows where you’re hiding,” Yan Xiao criticized.

Zhou Qing said, “Could this be intentional? Is this place a trap?”

At Zhou Qing’s reminder, Yan Xiao’s expression changed—perhaps it really was.

“Should we retreat first?” Yan Xiao suggested.

After a moment’s thought, Zhou Qing directly stared at the pond ahead and activated [Daily Inspection].

Soon, a series of details returned.

【Pond: This appears to be an ordinary pond, but beneath its surface lies a hidden secret—at the very bottom is another world, where numerous cultivators secretly captured for crafting humanoid puppets are imprisoned.】

Seeing this, Zhou Qing hadn’t expected the base to truly lie below.

Humanoid puppets?

The half-humanoid puppet corpse he and Third Brother had brought back had long been handed over by their Master to the Sect Master and others for study.

But even now, they had not uncovered its precise operational principles or countermeasures.

One thing was certain: to craft such puppets, one must implant unknown arrays into a living body, allowing them to slowly dissolve the host until complete fusion.

Ordinary puppets feel mechanical, cold, and dull—but the humanoid puppets of Cangyan Dao Palace, forged from living bodies, possessed extraordinary combat power.

Like the half-puppet he had found: it had been crippled only after multiple self-destructions by Qingyu Immortal Sect disciples, yet even after recovery, it seemed still usable—deeply eerie.

Only after soul-searching Meng Xing did they learn that over four thousand humanoid puppets had been deployed against Qingyu Immortal Sect alone, the weakest at Jin Dan realm, the strongest clearly at Soul Transformation.

Especially the Soul Transformation puppets—each possessed terrifying combat power capable of fighting three opponents at once, truly chilling.

Perhaps this was an opportunity to uncover relevant clues.

“Go down and take a look!”

Zhou Qing flicked his finger, creating an oxygen bubble for the hen, then leapt down.

He didn’t want to spend the whole manor searching for the hen again.

Yan Xiao could only reluctantly follow.

Truly, skill makes one bold—he wasn’t the least worried this was a trap.

How did you manage to half-learn Master Brother’s boldness and Second Sister’s caution?

As Zhou Qing entered the water, he felt like a dragon returning to the sea—a sense of ease surged through him; he merged seamlessly with the surroundings, as if born for the water.

Not only that, he could sense faint presences through the current, as if intuitively attuned.

“The Four Flowers at the Crown’s enhancement is truly incredible!”

Moonlight cultivation, water and fire both usable, stored spiritual power and blood qi—all now experienced one by one, leaving him with boundless gains.

“Slow down—”

As Zhou Qing, delighted and descending rapidly, suddenly sensed something, he pulled out his identity token and found it was Third Brother’s message.

He turned to see Third Brother swimming swiftly toward him, quickly writing on the token: 【Wait, when did your swimming get this good?】

Zhou Qing tapped the water, and the current formed six characters: 【Born with a Swimming Saint Body】.

His Nascent Soul enhancement was known only to his Master and Second Uncle; since Third Brother hadn’t asked, he hadn’t mentioned it.

This bizarre scene utterly stunned Yan Xiao.

In water, seeing someone write with water—and you can still see it—tell me, isn’t that awesome?

【Great move, deserves a reward—teach me next time!】

Yan Xiao quickly wrote back on the identity token.

Zhou Qing nodded.

Brother, no need to go through all this trouble—we’re this close, just whisper. No one will notice.

The two then slowly descended. To their surprise, though the pond looked small on the surface, it was astonishingly deep.

After half a stick of incense had burned, Zhou Qing suddenly pointed to a distant glow; both immediately went on guard.

As Yan Xiao was about to write, Zhou Qing wrote in water: 【No barriers—relax.】

Now he was the king of this water—he could clearly sense whether anything was hidden.

Then he closed his eyes and used the water as his eyes to peer inside.

He saw a cavern below—not just large, but vast—and nearby, several Cangyan Dao Palace disciples sat together, eating and drinking, laughing loudly with lewd expressions as they discussed something.

Zhou Qing opened his eyes; the water surged into words before Third Brother.

【I’ll go up first!】

He silently slipped in, emerging from the other side—those guarding nearby showed no sign of noticing him.

Until Zhou Qing climbed out and swiftly passed by with his broken sword.

The men stared at him in confusion until death—when had he appeared? How had they not sensed him at all?

Zhou Qing quickly moved the corpses to a hidden corner, then pressed his hand against the water’s surface.

Soon, Yan Xiao climbed out.

He first scanned the surroundings warily, then caught a faint scent of blood.

“Hey, you’re pretty good with water—where are the bodies?” Yan Xiao asked.

Zhou Qing pointed to a dark corner nearby.

Yan Xiao hurried over, rummaging through the corpses.

Then he brought over several storage bags, whispering, “You’ve really gotten cocky now—money’s lying there and you don’t take it? Small amounts add up.”

Zhou Qing nodded helplessly, agreeing he wouldn’t repeat it—under such circumstances, who had time to care about worldly possessions?

After tidying everything, the two crept silently along the stone wall.

Soon, a horrifying scream echoed ahead; both instantly went alert and crept forward cautiously.

When they saw the scene before them, they both drew a sharp breath.

Even the hen in Zhou Qing’s arms seemed to sense the chilling aura, jerking its head sharply inward.

Ten iron cages stood grimly, each holding no fewer than thirty people.

All of them radiated Jin Dan realm cultivation—but now, their eyes were hollow, their faces vacant, as if their souls had been searched countless times, leaving only empty shells.

On their chests and abdomens, grotesque, jagged scars crisscrossed, horrifying to behold.

This instantly reminded the two of the scene inside the half-humanoid puppet they had seen before.

Zhou Qing had already learned through inspection that these people were cultivators secretly captured for puppet-making.

It seemed the arrays had already been implanted in their bodies; soon, they would become far more agile and powerful than ordinary puppets.

Meanwhile, on another iron rack, over a dozen people hung like lambs awaiting slaughter, their bellies ripped open, blood and organs violently torn out, others frantically stuffing unknown substances into their cavities.

The agonized screams came from their throats.

The Cangyan Dao Palace disciples in red robes worked with precise efficiency—opening, implanting arrays, crudely suturing, soaking in medicinal fluids…

(End of Chapter)