Chapter 177: No, what does 'Big Mama' written on this portrait mean?

"Enough!" Hou Shan stepped forward, pulled the burly man, and said to the people of the Five Sects, "My brother is a bit crude, please don't take offense. I'll leave the rest to you all!"

Cao Zhengyang and the others nodded at this. Although they were somewhat dissatisfied with the attitude of these two Demon Kings, they couldn't flare up at this moment. Afterward, they each took their own sect's people back to the flying boats and departed.

After boarding the ships, everyone dared not delay and immediately took out the image stones to watch the recorded footage.

Yet, after watching it over and over several times, they still couldn't find the slightest subtle clue.

"First, disperse the people and start the investigation with Mount Canglan as the center!" After a brief moment of contemplation, Cao Zhengyang suggested.

Since there would be no more slaughter between the Five Sects, and Hou Shan had already ordered that the demon beasts in this mountain range must not interfere, the danger level of Mount Canglan would now be greatly reduced.

First, use the most rudimentary method to conduct a sweep, then mobilize manpower from the sects to go deep into every city and between the sects to search for figures with big bellies like this; perhaps there might be some gains.

Facing Cao Zhengyang's decision, Lei Wuji and Immortal Immortal Xuanyou Xianyou Xianzi naturally had no objections.

*Pfft—*

But at the very next moment, Immortal Immortal Xuanyou Xianyou Xianzi suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, directly giving the two of them a fright.

"What's going on?" Cao Zhengyang asked hurriedly.

Could it be that Si Kong Yan had secretly played a hand against her without anyone noticing?

Facing the concern of the two, Immortal Immortal Xuanyou Xianyou Xianzi waved her hands repeatedly and said, "I am fine. It might be that I made a mistake in my recent cultivation. I will be fine after resting for a while."

As she spoke, she even managed to squeeze out a faint smile.

Afterward, she wiped the blood from her mouth and continued, "Then let's follow Brother Cao's plan. I will arrange the manpower to handle it right away."

Having said that, Immortal Immortal Xuanyou Xianyou Xianzi turned and left in a hurry.

The two looked at each other. Could it be that the injuries from when they were besieged by the Chiyan Longshi in the past had not yet healed?

Soon, Zhou Qing and the others received the order, requiring them to go in pairs to prepare for an investigation on the east side of Mount Canglan.

"Zhou Shixiong, can I go with you?" Lu Yaoyao ran over at the first opportunity, her big eyes wide open, looking at Zhou Qing with a face full of anticipation.

Zhou Qing looked at Yan Xiaohu, who was hooking shoulders with Lei Luo and whispering about something, so he had no choice but to nod with a smile.

"Sure, wait for me a moment!" After Zhou Qing said this, he first found Cao Zhengyang and made a copy of that image, planning to have it identified tomorrow to see if there could be any gains.

Immediately after, Zhou Qing greeted Yan Xiaohu and then took Lu Yaoyao toward a certain direction.

"Zhou Shixiong, where are we going next?"

"After you watched that image, do you already have a plan?"

"I knew you were the smartest. Yaoyao is dull and didn't find any clues at all. Tell me a little bit."

…………

Not long after they left, Lu Yaoyao's little mouth beside him kept chattering non-stop.

This left Zhou Qing speechless. He had to say, your personality is actually very similar to that silver-haired woman.

In the eyes of outsiders, you, as a core disciple, have a cold and aloof image, rarely speaking to others, even when facing Li Daoxuan and the others.

Since breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm, you have become even more graceful and charming.

Especially after cultivating that "Ice-Clearing Art," your whole body seems to be shrouded in a layer of transparent, icy cold energy, and the sense of coldness has become even more intense.

Every gesture reveals coldness. Such a goddess naturally became the object of secret love for countless disciples of the Taiqingmen. Many true transmissions and inner disciples didn't even dare to speak when they saw her.

But how come when you are with me, your mouth is so talkative?

"It's all the same, I didn't see anything either. I'm actually worried about one point now!" Zhou Qing looked ahead, his face suddenly showing worry.

Lu Yaoyao was puzzled.

Zhou Qing analyzed, "That Fusang Lingkui is currently in a lost state and has not yet been refined. I don't believe that other Demon Kings wouldn't be tempted."

After hearing this, Lu Yaoyao seemed to have guessed something.

"You mean to say that the two Demon Kings who suddenly appeared today will take advantage of the fire to rob?"

Zhou Qing nodded.

The attitude of those two Soul Formation Demon Kings toward everyone seemed to be for the sake of venting Hou Shan's anger, but I'm afraid their real purpose for coming was to investigate whether that holy medicine was truly lost.

Of course, he didn't doubt that if they really couldn't find the spiritual medicine, they wouldn't unite. After all, the benefits they would gain from launching a beast tide against the Five Sects would also be extraordinarily huge.

It's just that they lacked a righteous excuse!

If they truly found the holy medicine, they would face three potential dangers.

The first is those Demon Kings who have probably already arrived secretly and are constantly watching them.

Kill them to silence them, snatch the item, and then return to their own territory to refine it and improve their cultivation.

Whether it is the human race or the demon race, in the end, it is strength that is respected.

With such a good opportunity to improve their strength, those Demon Kings would not easily let it go.

The second is the Chiyan Longshi and the Tianji Sect, especially the divination techniques of Master Xuanji and others, which are sometimes quite eerie.

Everyone wants to take this opportunity to win over Hou Shan and the group of Demon Kings to avoid helping the other side.

The third is the Demon Wang Hou Shan.

He searched for a year and didn't find it, so how come you found it when you asked for help? This is somewhat intriguing.

Could it be intentional, and not refining it, just to drag their demon race into the great war of the Five Sects?

But if it can't be found, although it can prove innocence, a crazed Demon King will always do something.

Therefore, this is a dead end. Of course, perhaps I am thinking too much.

Regardless of which one it is, it is an indisputable fact that the Demon Wang Hou Shan is now very desperate to find the holy medicine he has cultivated for a thousand years.

"Take it one step at a time!" Zhou Qing said helplessly.

Lu Yaoyao, who was beside him, looked at Zhou Qing's furrowed brows. She originally wanted to ask something, but suddenly a whistling sound came from not far away.

The two stopped immediately and saw Li Hanshan coming aggressively with a large halberd on his back.

Lu Yaoyao quietly took out the image stone. If he dared to make a move, she would record it directly and then let the elders in the family take action to wipe him out.

Li Hanshan looked at their defensive posture but snorted coldly. However, he had no intention of making a move; he just looked at them coldly and then turned and left.

"It seems this half-year truce agreement is quite deterrent!" Zhou Qing looked at Li Hanshan's departing back and muttered to himself, then his tense nerves relaxed a little.

Of course, he wasn't afraid either. After all, the elders in his family were now on Mount Canglan, and if he encountered danger, he could directly ask for help.

At that time, let's see who is embarrassed!

"Find a place to rest for a while!" Zhou Qing looked around and said.

Mount Canglan is so big, and countless people come in and out every day, especially with the abyss incident a year ago. I don't know how many people came, not to mention that so much time has passed since then.

Even if you want to conduct a rough sweep, this isn't the way to do it.

Looking at the group of low-level demon beasts whistling past below, Lu Yaoyao nodded immediately.

The two found a large tree with lush branches and leaves and landed on a relatively flat spot on it.

"I brought some food here, Zhou Shixiong, have a taste!"

Lu Yaoyao immediately took out some snacks from her storage bag and handed them over enthusiastically. Zhou Qing thanked her.

After taking a bite, the taste was indeed not bad.

"Did you make this?" Zhou Qing asked curiously.

Lu Yaoyao shook her head and said, "I don't have this skill. I met a Shijie in the sect, and the snacks she makes are simply superb."

Afterward, she looked at Zhou Qing, hesitated for a moment, but still couldn't help saying, "Zhou Shixiong, I have a small snack recipe here, which records all the various snacks I love to eat."

After she finished speaking, she handed over a manual, her eyes revealing a hint of small anticipation.

Zhou Qing took it suspiciously.

What does this mean?

Do you want me to buy them for you?

As he opened the first page, his eyes narrowed, and a look of surprise appeared on his face. Looking at Lu Yaoyao, who was hesitating to speak, he asked in confusion, "Is this a portrait of Immortal Immortal Xuanyou Xianyou Xianzi?"

Lu Yaoyao was stunned, immediately snatched it back, and her earlobes turned red. She stammered, "I, I took the wrong one. What did you see just now?"

What else could I see? I just saw a vivid portrait, and there seemed to be various notes on the side, one of which even had the words "Big Mama."

I hadn't even looked at the others carefully before you snatched it away.

Looking at Lu Yaoyao's nervous appearance, Zhou Qing's heart couldn't help but jump.

Before, when Immortal Immortal Xuanyou Xianyou Xianzi came to Taiqingmen, she became a close friend with her at the fastest speed, and even asked herself to go for breakfast, and even randomly played matchmaker, forcing herself and Immortal Immortal Xuanyou Xianyou Xianzi together.

After the various things the two experienced later, he guessed that Lu Yaoyao regarded him as her deceased brother, so she wanted to find a good backer for him.

A Sect Master, an Imperial Princess, and a Soul Severance powerhouse.

But the words "Big Mama" just now seemed unusual.

Could it be that she lacks maternal love?

That's right, it should be like this, so she has always valued the silver-haired one.

Moreover, the last time the two went out, she even wanted to call herself 'Daddy.'

Thinking of this, Zhou Qing suddenly felt a little heartache for her. Before, he had always thought she had a problem with her orientation.

It seems that her family members should all be dead, which is why she is so eager for these emotions.

At this moment, facing her inquiry, Zhou Qing immediately said, "I didn't see anything."

Lu Yaoyao breathed a sigh of relief, and the nervous look on her face eased a little. She said, "Actually, I just draw casually. Not only Immortal Immortal Xuanyou Barrier, but also the Eldest Shixiong, Second Shixiong, and the others."

After she finished speaking, she seemed afraid that Zhou Qing wouldn't believe her, so she immediately took out another booklet from her storage bag.

Opening it, sure enough, there were many people drawn on it, including familiar Shixiong and Shijie, and the expression of each person was drawn quite vividly.

Zhou Qing nodded repeatedly and appreciated it seriously. He had to say that it was indeed drawn well.

"By the way, you take this!" This time, after she carefully looked at the snack recipe she wrote, she handed it to Zhou Qing.

Zhou Qing opened it and saw the names of various snacks such as lotus flower pastry, sugar-steamed milk curd, fermented rice balls, mung bean cakes, etc., and there were even corresponding pictures behind them, which looked very tempting.

Lu Yaoyao said seriously, "That, I mean, if you meet that silver-haired Barrier next time, you can invite her to eat these things."

Zhou Qing couldn't help but be stunned and asked curiously, "Why?"

"Because these are all things I love to eat!" Lu Yaoyao said as if it were a matter of course.

Zhou Qing shook his head helplessly. A Soul Severance realm, why would she go eat these things with me?

What's more, she probably already returned to her own cultivation country by now. I am a number one, if I really met her, I would be eager to hide my identity, let alone invite her to dinner?

What are you thinking about in your little head every day?

But because of what happened just now, Zhou Qing had no choice but to accept it and said, "Let's talk about it if there is a chance to meet."

Lu Yaoyao was happy and said, "If she really likes to eat these things when the time comes, you must tell me."

Zhou Qing had no choice but to nod and said helplessly, "Okay, I will tell her then that these snacks were recommended by you."

Lu Yaoyao immediately smiled like a flower.

Just like that, the two rested until late at night, and then Zhou Qing took out the image stone and activated it, immediately conducting an identification.

【Secret of Peeping: This is a scene of peeping at Li Niang's nesting behavior. A mother is strong; in order to delay the birth of her child, she has also tried her best for these thousand years. It is sad and sigh-worthy!】

Seeing the feedback information, Zhou Qing's eyes lit up, but he quickly frowned.

Li Niang?

So this person is named Li Niang, female, pregnant, not pretending. In this way, at the very least, the scope of the investigation can be greatly narrowed.

However, what does it mean to delay the birth of the child?

And this effort has lasted for a thousand years?

Even Nezha wouldn't be pregnant like this, right?

The Nascent Soul realm breaks the core to form an infant and can live for a thousand years.

The Soul Formation realm is the transition from Nascent Soul to Primordial Spirit, and the lifespan can exceed two thousand years.

Judging from the fact that she can ignore those Nascent Soul realm demon beasts in the image, combined with the introduction given by the system now, this Li Niang is at the very least at the Soul Formation realm.

In this way, it is difficult to handle. If she is really found, she can only contact the elders to come forward.

Lu Yaoyao opened her sleepy eyes at this moment, looked at Zhou Qing, who was seriously analyzing the image stone, then gave a light yawn, turned over, and continued to sleep.

It feels so good to have a young daddy by my side, I don't need to use my brain!

In the night sky, whistling sounds passed by from time to time, and Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao continued to rest here.

The next day, Lu Yaoyao stretched and asked, "Zhou Shixiong, where are we going next?"

Zhou Qing took out a map and started looking at it.

The more powerful a cultivator is, the more difficult it is to get pregnant, because as you cultivate, your body will suffer from the erosion of spiritual energy, especially causing damage to the gentle environment needed for nurturing life, and your constitution will also slowly alienate.

Coupled with the various side effects and backlash of cultivation techniques, as well as the obstacles of the heart-mind, and the entanglement of cause and effect, these many factors combined only make it more difficult.

A pregnant Soul Formation female cultivator who has been pregnant for a thousand years, coming out alone with a big belly to find spiritual medicine, from the side, one can guess, is her man gone?

Pregnant for a thousand years without giving birth, yet trying every means to prevent the child from being born. From this point, two clues can be analyzed.

First, this person named Li Niang is very likely to have been pregnant since the Nascent Soul realm until she comprehended the realm of understanding and promoted to Soul Formation. This is a bit scary.

Second, she is either a pervert or has mental problems.

Assuming the above reasoning is correct, as a pregnant mother, then subconsciously she should like liveliness rather than being surrounded by coldness.

After all, when a person is in a special period, they psychologically crave warmth and company.

At the very least, in the image, when she picked that Fusang Lingkui, she was so calm and indifferent, and her emotions looked at least very stable.

This shows that her mentality shouldn't be too bad, so perhaps she would choose to live in a place that is a bit more lively.

Coupled with the fact that the Demon Wang Hou Shan has already dug three feet into the ground to check Mount Canglan over the past year and hasn't found her tracks.

Then Li Niang is very likely living in the cities around Mount Canglan, and the probability will be relatively higher.

Zhou Qing looked carefully. There are no other sects around Mount Canglan, but there are nine cities surrounding it in different directions.

It's just that it's really hard to say which city it is specifically. It seems that he still has to find more clues.

After midnight tonight, let's identify it again. After all, 【Daily Identification】 sometimes has different information feedback for the same thing, it mainly depends on luck.

"Zhou Shixiong?" Lu Yaoyao saw that Zhou Qing hadn't responded to her for a long time and couldn't help but call out softly again.

Zhou Qing, who had come back to his senses, smiled slightly: "Continue to rest!"

"Ah?" Lu Yaoyao was stunned.

After midnight, Zhou Qing opened the image stone again and conducted a second identification.

【Secret of Peeping: In order for the child to see his father at first sight after birth, Li Niang has been delaying the birth of the child. For this reason, she needs a large amount of spiritual medicine to nourish and restrict it. In this image stone, she secretly recorded the scene of her sneaking into a Demon King's cave to pick spiritual medicine.】

Unexpectedly, there was actually a brand-new introduction.

It even revealed Li Niang's purpose for doing so.

"A thousand-year delay, just to let the child see his father at first sight?" Zhou Qing was a little shocked.

Then what about the child's father?

Did he die or did he abandon her?

If he died, how could she still persist until now?

For a moment, Zhou Qing didn't know whether to scold her for being stupid or praise her for her loyalty to love.

The child is innocent. After finally getting pregnant and nourishing and restricting it for a thousand years, what kind of freak will be born then?

No, it should be said that it is not even certain whether what is in her belly is a normal baby at this moment.

"Wait another night!" Zhou Qing sighed softly.

Lu Yaoyao naturally had no objections. On the other hand, the next day, Lu Yaoyao received Cao Zhengyang's inquiry message first.

After confirming safety, he revealed a piece of news: they were preparing to return to the sect.

They would fully organize sect personnel to conduct a detailed investigation of the cities around Mount Canglan, and then slowly expand to other sects in the entire Eastern Region, and told the two to be careful.

Immediately after, Zhou Qing also received Yan Xiaohu's message. He and Lei Luo teamed up, wandered around, and found no clues. They were preparing to leave, find a place to eat, and asked if Zhou Qing wanted to join.

"You go first, I still have something to do!" Zhou Qing had to reply.

As the third night arrived, after Zhou Qing identified it again, the information no longer changed. Helplessly, Zhou Qing took out the map and handed it to Lu Yaoyao.

"You have good luck, pick one of the nine cities!" Zhou Qing said.

Lu Yaoyao seemed to have thought of something, immediately shook her head, and said, "No, my luck has always been quite bad, you pick it."

Zhou Qing looked at her suddenly disappointed appearance, not knowing what he said wrong again. Just as he was about to say something, his expression suddenly changed.

Almost at the same moment, Po Shang Feng instantly flashed to his palm, his figure tense, looking around vigilantly as if facing a great enemy.

Under the night color, the surrounding scene seemed to have no abnormalities, the breeze still blew gently, and the flowers, plants, and trees swayed as usual, but Zhou Qing keenly sensed an inexplicable horror.

The hair on his back stood up, as if he were shrouded in an invisible chill, and a strong life-and-death crisis quickly rose from the bottom of his heart.

"What's wrong?" Lu Yaoyao asked softly with a puzzled face.

Zhou Qing frowned tightly and spread his vast spiritual sense in all directions without hesitation.

What shocked him was that his spiritual sense only extended less than a thousand meters before it was like a clay ox entering the sea, as if it were blocked by an invisible and dense barrier.

"Prepare to fight!" Zhou Qing lowered his voice, revealing a hint of solemnity, and kept looking for the other party's tracks.

Upon hearing this, Lu Yaoyao immediately took out her weapon. A cold and icy aura spread out like ripples with her as the center. She was full of vigilance and guarded back-to-back with Zhou Qing.

Soon, a golden light flashed in Zhou Qing's pupils, and he immediately locked onto a void in front of him, saying faintly, "Since everything is set up, why hide? You say so, right, Li—Han—Shan!"

"As expected of the pride of today's Taiqingmen, how did you discover it was me?"

As Zhou Qing's voice fell, ripples appeared in the void in front of him, and then a person carrying a large halberd flashing with cold light slowly emerged.

Who else could it be but Li Hanshan?

I saw him in a dark black tight-fitting suit, the corners of his clothes fluttering in the wind, with a faint cold smile on his face, staring at the two.

Zhou Qing snorted coldly and said, "I didn't expect you to be so impatient. It seems that the truce agreement between the Five Sects is just a piece of waste paper to you. Aren't you afraid of being punished?"

Li Hanshan slowly took down the large halberd on his back and then shook his head: "Zhou Qing, I have to admit that your growth speed is too fast, giving me an unprecedented sense of urgency. Therefore, you must die."

Looking at the thick killing intent in Li Hanshan's eyes, Zhou Qing knew that there was no room for negotiation in this matter. The other party had definitely made full preparations.

Lu Yaoyao even quickly took out the image stone to record it.

It was the other party who took the initiative to break the rules. According to the truce agreement, a Soul Formation realm powerhouse could come down to kill him at that time.

Zhou Qing didn't say anything more, but looked cautiously to the other side, his gaze becoming sharp, and mocked, "Old Ghost Xuegu, at your age, still thinking of sneak attacks, it's a bit too degrading."

After hearing this, Lu Yaoyao's face changed greatly.

The next moment, above their heads, a familiar loud laughter indeed came.

The laughter was eerie and strange, making people get goosebumps all over after hearing it. Immediately after, Old Ghost Xuegu walked out swaggeringly, stood in mid-air, grinned, and revealed a mouthful of big yellow teeth.

"What a remarkable spiritual sense. Young Master Li, if this old man didn't come today, you really might not be able to solve him!" Old Ghost Xuegu said with a vicious face.

Zhou Qing's face showed solemnity. A half-step Soul Formation realm and a Nascent Soul Great Perfection, they really thought highly of him.

Zhou Qing blocked Lu Yaoyao behind him, but gave a tsk-tsk, looked at Li Hanshan and said, "How did you think of teaming up with him? This old ghost is a person of ill omen. Song Yuan was with him and was beheaded by me in Youhuang City."

"At the Beimang mining area, the delivery person Sima Yaoji died. Afterward, she used the excuse of ambushing this old ghost to seize my Shijie Pei Yan's body, tricked us out, and finally died. This old ghost brings disaster wherever he goes."

"Now you are with him again. It seems that today the five great geniuses will all fall into my hands. Old ghost, thank you!"

Zhou Qing laughed loudly.

Old Ghost Xuegu's face suddenly turned gloomy, snorted coldly, and cursed, "Sharp-tongued brat, you'll have time to cry later!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 178 =====