Chapter 195: Number One, I have been waiting for you (6k)

After the three of them exchanged a few pleasantries, Yan Xiao could not help but tease.

"No way, your father asked you to come and manage the business here; you should be quite busy these past few months, right? How come looking at you like this, you're living a life that is more than just comfortable."

Zhang Wan Bao scratched his head in embarrassment and laughed, "I only handle some matters reported from below; the rest is handled by Grandpa Fu. Let's not talk about that for now. Come, come, come, my treat. Let us brothers have a good gathering!"

Zhou Qing and Yan Xiao exchanged a glance and readily agreed.

After the two of them asked for leave from the academy, they followed Zhang Wan Bao out of the academy and found an inn with an elegant environment.

Inside the inn, Zhang Wan Bao ordered a sumptuous table of food and wine, and the three of them sat around it, chatting while eating.

Zhang Wan Bao spoke with great enthusiasm about what he had seen and heard in the Vast Expanse Mansion over the past few months, especially the various interesting anecdotes about business.

Zhou Qing and Yan Xiao shared their various experiences in the academy.

When they talked about some interesting things, all three of them could not help but laugh out loud, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.

After three rounds of drinks, the three of them bid farewell, mainly because Fu Kui had come looking for them, and it seemed there was some matter that needed Zhang Wan Bao to handle.

"Alright then, I'll come find you two brothers again after I'm done with my work!" Zhang Wan Bao looked very happy.

The two of them waved goodbye with a smile.

"Be more careful of that person who brought you here that day!" Fu Kui kindly reminded them before leaving.

Zhou Qing and Yan Xiao were stunned for a moment, but they still nodded repeatedly and expressed their gratitude.

It looked like Fu Kui was truly a Soul Severance realm expert; otherwise, how could he have sensed the existence of the Second Granduncle?

Or perhaps, was the Second Granduncle doing it on purpose?

As they returned to the academy again, they saw Li Li Daoxuan waiting at the entrance of the cave dwelling with Lu Lu Yaoyao.

"Zhou Zhou Shixiong!" Lu Lu Yaoyao ran over happily.

Li Li Daoxuan asked, "Where did you two go?"

Yan Xiao told him the truth.

"That's actually quite good. Interacting with such a wealthy young master might be of great help at a critical moment. It just so happens that I have some time these two days, so I plan to take you around the academy."

Ever since the two junior brothers and junior sister came to the academy, he had been busy comprehending his realm of understanding and had truly neglected them, who were new arrivals.

Zhou Qing felt a bit embarrassed.

After all, Li Zhou Shixiong left the Eastern Region of Lingyun Mansion precisely to break free from the shackles of the past, to hone himself in a brand-new environment without distraction, and to comprehend his own unique realm of understanding.

Yet now, because of their arrival, the other party's cultivation plan had been shelved instead.

But if he didn't accept this kindness, Zhou Qing was afraid of disappointing the other party's enthusiasm.

After a brief hesitation, he could only smile, "Then I will trouble Li Zhou Shixiong."

Over the next three days, Li Li Daoxuan took the three of them around, introducing the academy's history, culture, and various anecdotes in detail wherever they went.

This included certain areas on the outskirts of the academy, such as Yellow Maple Valley.

Li Li Daoxuan even curiously asked who the person who asked him to bring the note was, and why Zhou Qing said they knew them too when he returned.

Zhou Qing had to cleverly brush it off; the matter mentioned by Elder Gao Xuan was of great importance, and he was afraid of causing panic among the three.

Seeing that he didn't want to say more, Li Li Daoxuan didn't press further, just nodded with a smile and continued to take everyone around.

That night, Zhou Qing was cultivating with his eyes closed, while Yan Xiao was holding the old hen, staring blankly at Zhou Qing.

"Chicken, is your master about to become an immortal? Li Zhou Shixiong has been taking us around these two days, and I always can't find him, but he is clearly right by my side!"

Yan Xiao muttered to himself while stroking the old hen's head, full of confusion.

But at the very next moment, Zhou Qing opened his eyes abruptly, a sharp light flashing in them.

He glanced at Yan Xiao indifferently, then stood up and headed outside the cave dwelling.

Yan Xiao seemed to have sensed something too and hurriedly followed, holding the old hen.

Under the moonlight, a white-robed figure was seen standing quietly atop a tall tree canopy in the distance.

Seeing this, Yan Xiao was suddenly furious.

But he forcibly restrained himself. Previously, he only thought the other party was a white-robed outer court disciple and could still clamor wantonly, but after Zhou Qing told him the other party was in the Divine Transformation realm, he became wary.

Zhou Qing did not speak but watched him quietly, his gaze like a torch, tightly locked onto the white-robed figure, his aura quietly condensing, his heart extremely vigilant.

During the three days when the 【Bad Luck Post】 was in effect, he was probably the only one who knew about the unlucky things the other party encountered.

And this person had killed so many Divine Transformation realm experts while injured; now it seemed he had already recovered, and his aura was even more powerful than before, faintly exuding a sense of oppression.

At this moment, the moonlight outlined his cold-lined profile, and then he spoke indifferently, "If you can't solve the problem, then solve the person who created the problem."

Hearing this, Zhou Qing's heart tightened, but he remained calm on the surface, only letting out a light snort.

"It seems your Excellency has come specifically for me this time? As a Divine Transformation realm powerhouse with extraordinary strength, why hide your head and show your tail when dealing with a junior like me?"

"Since you've come, show your true face openly. Is hiding and dodging what a powerhouse does?"

Zhou Qing's gaze was like lightning, looking straight at the white-robed figure on the tree canopy, not showing any weakness in his words.

This was the inner court of the White Jade Taixu Academy, with eight instructors and two Soul Severance realm experts; he didn't believe the other party dared to make a move.

Facing Zhou Qing's words, the other party was silent for a while.

Zhou Qing then teased, "It seems your Excellency has thin skin. Since you don't want to know what I planted in your body, then forget it. The night is deep, and I still need to sleep, so I won't keep you company!"

Zhou Qing yawned as he spoke and turned to leave.

The white-robed figure suddenly coughed and said, "What thing?"

Seeing this, a trace of imperceptible triumph flashed in Zhou Qing's eyes, and the smile at the corner of his mouth grew thicker.

Yan Xiao was confused, but he reacted quickly.

He originally thought that the fourth one didn't catch up to this beast last time, but he didn't expect the other party to have fallen into the fourth one's trap.

Haha, let you be arrogant.

Watching the other party being manipulated by the fourth one, Yan Xiao felt extremely satisfied.

"That is naturally a good thing." Zhou Qing deliberately drew out his tone, "But why should I tell you?"

"What do you want?" The white-robed man was silent for a moment before speaking again.

"First, apologize to my third senior brother." Zhou Qing did not hesitate and directly made his demand.

Hearing this, Yan Xiao immediately straightened his chest.

However, the white-robed man fell into silence again, and then he turned around abruptly and left directly.

This scene left the two of them stunned.

A senior is a senior; their self-esteem is indeed strong.

But Zhou Qing didn't care. Since the other party chose to come, they wouldn't give up easily. Tonight's confrontation was just the beginning.

"Fourth one, you are too amazing!" At this moment, Yan Xiao was full of admiration for Zhou Qing.

"Still need to be a little careful." Zhou Qing's expression turned serious, his tone carrying a bit of worry, "He won't just let it go like this; he will definitely come again."

Yan Xiao nodded heavily, indicating he understood.

He also had to hurry up and improve his cultivation. After all, Instructor Lu Lu Yuanzhi had guaranteed that she could raise Lu Lu Yaoyao to the Divine Transformation realm within fifty years.

No matter what, he was also a senior brother, and that white-robed beast had strong self-esteem; he was actually about the same.

And Zhou Qing looked at the curriculum, confirmed that there were instructors teaching in the next two days, and then hurried to rest.

Soon, several more days passed.

He didn't see the white-robed man again, and whether it was in the classroom or at the Asking Dao Platform, he didn't refresh many points.

It seemed it still wasn't stimulating enough, plus 【Lowering Presence】 had been upgraded to level five, increasing the difficulty of refreshing.

As for the 【Random Post】, no posts came out either.

After all, it was random; everything was uncertain.

However, Zhou Qing planned to go into the Divine Ruins Tiangong to look around today.

A few days ago in class, Instructor Lin took out six array discs named 【Giant Strength Amplification Array】 and handed them to several outstanding disciples, asking them to dismantle and try to replicate them.

Zhou Qing was naturally one of them.

For Zhou Qing, who had already condensed sixty-six spiritual seals and could already make array discs that were well-versed in the basics, such array discs were not a difficult task at all.

Not only did he finish analyzing it, but he also upgraded it into a one-color array on this basis.

So, he wanted to use this array to see if he could push open a coffin.

Subsequently, he injected thirty mid-grade spirit stones into it, and his spiritual sense soon appeared in the Divine Ruins Tiangong.

Just as he was preparing to go in, a flash of light appeared to the side, and the number six blue ball appeared.

"Number One!" Zhou Qing subconsciously wanted to slip away, but was stopped by the urgent call of the number six blue ball.

Zhou Qing was helpless and had to stop with a bitter smile, "Number Six, what a coincidence, you came in today too?"

The number six blue ball said straightforwardly, "It's not a coincidence. I've been guarding the token. Seeing you come online, I hurried in."

Zhou Qing: "..."

"That, I plan to go in first..."

"I know, no rush. Actually, I just wanted to thank you for your help last time. That, I mean if, if you have time..."

The number six blue ball stammered, wanting to say something but stopping, and then added, "That thing in the forbidden area is especially important to me. If you can help me find it, I will definitely reward you heavily."

"Number Six, that forbidden area of yours is too dangerous. The three of us couldn't break through it together. Aren't you giving Number One a difficult problem!"

As soon as the words fell, two more light spots condensed and appeared; who else could it be but the number four green ball and the number five cyan ball.

The number six blue ball stared quietly at Zhou Qing, wanting to say something but stopping, and finally chose silence.

A calm smile hung on Zhou Qing's face, and he said softly, "Then you all go ahead, I'll go in and take a look first."

As soon as the words fell, his figure merged into the mysterious scene before him.

Fortunately, his luck was good this time; no more wandering souls came out in the gravity zone.

But that strange feeling of being watched in secret did not diminish in the slightest, like a layer of cold frost, tightly attached to his back.

Zhou Qing carried the pressure and moved forward bit by bit until he returned to the passage.

Then he let out a long breath and jumped into the blood river without hesitation.

The cold, bone-chilling blood water instantly submerged him, and the pungent fishy smell rushed to his brain. Zhou Qing couldn't care about this, swimming desperately to the other side, and then hurriedly climbed ashore.

After arriving at the first coffin, he quickly inserted the array flags of the 【Buddha-Slaying Array】 around the coffin, his movements skillful and neat.

Immediately after, he began to focus all his attention on setting up the 【Giant Strength Amplification Array】.

As the array was activated, powerful spiritual power fluctuations instantly spread out like ripples, directly enveloping Zhou Qing.

Zhou Qing could clearly feel his strength growing rapidly, his muscles tense, and his sense of power exploding.

Unable to care about anything else, his whole body's spiritual power surged, he let out a low shout, his hands steadily pressed against the coffin, and he began to exert force to push.

Soon, the coffin lid made a teeth-grinding friction sound and began to move bit by bit.

"It's working!"

Seeing this scene, Zhou Qing was overjoyed, gritted his teeth, the veins on his forehead bulging, and used all his strength to push.

After a while, the coffin lid was pushed open by a narrow gap.

"This array thing is really wonderful!" Zhou Qing couldn't help but grin.

You know, for such a long time, this was the first time he had opened a gap with his own strength; this was undoubtedly a huge breakthrough.

Pausing slightly, adjusting his breathing, he exerted force again, striving to push the coffin lid open a bit more.

However, good times didn't last long; a gloomy aura suddenly came from the darkness on the other side of the river, and that corpse-wax crow rushed over like a black lightning bolt.

Fortunately, the 【Buddha-Slaying Array】 played its role in time, temporarily trapping the corpse-wax crow.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing immediately increased his spiritual power output, trying to take this opportunity to push the coffin open completely.

Unfortunately, things went against his wishes.

Towards the end, the coffin lid seemed to be tightly locked by an invisible and powerful force; no matter how Zhou Qing exerted force, it didn't move at all.

Zhou Qing's chest heaved violently, gasping for breath, full of unwillingness.

"This 【Giant Strength Amplification Array】 is effective, but the improvement is still not thorough. If it could become a two-color restriction, perhaps I could push it open in one go, at least giving me a chance to jump down."

Soon, the corpse-wax crow broke free from the shackles of the 【Buddha-Slaying Array】 and blew Zhou Qing's head off.

"Number One!" Just as he turned into a light ball, the voice of the number six blue ball sounded from the side.

Zhou Qing was truly between laughter and tears.

Now that number four and number five have each entered their own forbidden areas, you are the only one still waiting for me.

No, in reality, you are a Soul Severance realm expert who is sparing of words, a level four array master; this contrast is really not ordinary.

Forget it, for the sake of the jade slip breaking the restriction in the Battle of Canglan Mountain, I'll go with you one more time.

Subsequently, Zhou Qing looked at the number six blue ball and pretended to hesitate, "In reality, my identity has had some problems, and I cannot use spiritual power. If there is danger, please help look after me a little."

Hearing this, a look of surprise flashed in the eyes of the number six blue ball, and she nodded repeatedly, saying urgently, "Thank you, you don't need to worry about anything, I'm here!"

Zhou Qing said, "Let's go!"

With a flash of light, Zhou Qing appeared under that jujube tree again.

It was covered with pale paper money, and a peach wood sword full of mottled traces hung on the branch.

Looking into the distance, there were still huge ancient ships, as if sailing from ancient times, moving silently in the sand.

"Number One, thank you!" The number six blue ball was hazy, bowing and saluting at this moment.

After all, outside just now, everyone was a light ball, and some actions were really difficult to perform.

Zhou Qing waved his hand and said, "You're welcome, whether I can help or not is another matter."

"Please don't say that. Last time, because of your help, I was able to accurately determine the location of the real key, thereby successfully passing through the ancient ship and entering that mining area. The things I obtained were of great help to me."

The number six blue ball explained hurriedly.

Before, to pass the first level, it really relied entirely on luck. Even if she invited number four and number five to help together, it was possible that all three chances would be folded here.

It was hard to pass, and even if she found good things, she didn't dare to easily venture deeper.

But last time, the two of them sang love songs under the jujube tree and received the guidance of the jujube tree; only she herself knew the benefits obtained.

Hearing number six say this, Zhou Qing nodded.

"Then let's begin!" Zhou Qing said.

Number Six said softly, "Is it the same love song as last time?"

The corner of Zhou Qing's mouth rose slightly, revealing a teasing smile, and he said, "Anyway, I don't have any other songs. If you have others, I can learn them on the spot."

The earlobes of number six instantly dyed a touch of crimson. Fortunately, her whole body was hazy, cleverly covering up this shy detail, which Zhou Qing did not notice.

Seeing her silence, Zhou Qing didn't know why his heart felt secretly satisfied.

Ask yourself, in reality, who would dare to tease a Soul Severance realm powerhouse like this?

At this moment, he deliberately coughed, cleared his throat, and put on a serious look.

"Then it's the same as before, I'll start."

After speaking, Zhou Qing gently closed his eyes and began to sing softly, "God, can you let me feel it, seeing that we are both worried about each other..."

Number Six, who had come back to her senses, also hurriedly followed, singing along with Zhou Qing.

After the song was finished, it was exactly the same as last time; the pale paper money under the jujube tree actually flew automatically without wind, as if controlled by an invisible force.

Immediately after, these paper money gradually gathered, forming a small path paved entirely with paper money, constantly extending towards one of the ghost ships.

Until on that ship, a candle flame slowly lit up, the dim yellow light swaying in the darkness, as if it would be swallowed by the darkness at any time.

"Let's go!" Seeing this, Zhou Qing put his hands behind his back, his demeanor leisurely, walking steadily along the paper money path.

Number Six followed closely.

When they passed through that oasis again, Zhou Qing couldn't help but curiously peek inside.

Then he sighed, only to see that on the reflection of the water surface, on the necks of the two, there was still a pale child lying on each, tightly strangling them, looking particularly strange.

"When did this thing start getting on us?" Zhou Qing frowned, a trace of doubt flashing in his eyes.

Number Six explained softly, "It started the moment we left the jujube tree, or more accurately, once we leave that sanctuary, these things are like smelling the prey, entangling us."

Zhou Qing nodded thoughtfully and didn't say anything more.

Soon, they arrived at the ancient ship with the lit candle.

Only to see a token quietly placed on the table in the cabin; presumably, this was the key number six mentioned.

At this time, because of the swaying candle flame, rustling sounds kept coming from the darkness around.

Zhou Qing looked calm on the surface, but his heart couldn't help feeling a bit hairy.

After all, number six had said before that it was because of these things that she had been injured many times and had to hide under the jujube tree to heal.

He was only in the late Soul Formation realm now; once contaminated by these strange things, the consequences would be unimaginable.

A layer of ice crystals quietly permeated like mist, finally turning into an ice hand exuding a cold chill, steadily picking up the token.

"This is the key to the ancient mine behind; only by activating it can we enter it!" Number Six explained.

After speaking, as spiritual power was injected, the token bloomed with dazzling light and constantly spread to the surroundings.

In an instant, the scene before them turned upside down; the original ancient ship and the dark surroundings disappeared instantly, replaced by a vast and boundless ancient mine.

Rich spiritual energy rushed towards them, but these spiritual energies were mixed with traces of blood and decay, making people feel cold and their spines chill upon smelling it.

Zhou Qing looked around, and countless mine caves appeared before his eyes like a honeycomb.

At this time, the sky was still dark, without the slightest change, giving people an extremely gloomy feeling.

Coupled with those mine caves hidden in the depths of the darkness, deep and dark, like the mouths of giant beasts waiting to devour people, making people feel as if even the air had become viscous.

Zhou Qing let out a long breath, which slowed down the feeling of oppression in his chest.

"This is the second level of this forbidden area. There are no less than 100,000 mine caves here. Of course, no one has counted exactly how many there are. Besides that, there are large areas of strange plains."

"It is full of dangers. Even those at the Great Perfection of the Soul Severance realm are not few in number who have fallen inside!" Number Six continued.

Hearing this, Zhou Qing felt his scalp tingle, and a sense of indescribable fear surged in his heart.

Even the Great Perfection of the Soul Severance realm could fall; was this forbidden area so terrifying?

However, from this point, Zhou Qing was also more certain that number six definitely did not come from the level four cultivation country he was in, and was highly likely from a surrounding level four, or even a higher-level level five cultivation country.

Zhou Qing stopped speaking, the shock in his heart making him not know how to respond for a while.

He suddenly moved, his gaze sharply looking to the other side.

Only to see two figures jumping rapidly there. After a while, one of them pointed to a mine cave, and the two entered without the slightest hesitation.

"It seems that others have come too." Zhou Qing said in a low voice, his gaze tightly locked on the direction where the two disappeared.

It seemed these two should also be in the Soul Severance realm.

After all, when he was simulating, the Second Granduncle had appeared before; it was just that they were in different dimensions, so the other party could not discover them.

It was precisely because of this that he discovered the secret of the blood river crows in the cave heaven, so he could successfully reach the other side.

"Don't you want to follow and take a look? Anyway, they can't see us," Zhou Qing suggested.

In case these two had unique experience in entering the mine, they could save a lot of trouble and take fewer detours.

Hearing this, number six couldn't help but hesitate.

To be honest, although Soul Severance realm powerhouses often came to this forbidden area to explore, the probability of meeting each other was minimal.

Especially since they were currently in a visual advantage that was almost like cheating, even if they unfortunately died, it was only a matter of losing thirty mid-grade spirit stones.

But after thinking about it, forget it.

Most of the mine caves here had bred countless strange things.

Even if those two opened the way in front, the dangers they would encounter would still be the same.

After catching up, who knew where those two would go.

And this time, she had finally invited Number One, and she didn't want to cause extra trouble by tracking those two.

"Forget it!" Number Six shook her head, then said, "Number One, there is a mine cave that might need your help."

After speaking, she moved forward.

Zhou Qing didn't care; good things or bad things, it wasn't his turn anyway.

He didn't even know where this place was.

Even if he knew, with his current cultivation, do you think he would dare to take risks?

So, he hurriedly lifted his feet to follow...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 196 =====