Chapter 205: Do you still remember a question I asked you before leaving?

The next moment, ancient runes faintly appeared in the golden flames all over Zhou Qing's body at this moment.

As the runes flickered, Lin Jin, who was controlling the nine-headed snake to attack, couldn't help but shiver.

An inexplicable fear surged from the bottom of his heart.

At this moment, he seemed full of regret, gradually slowed down his attack speed, and even gave birth to a desire to surrender and submit.

The nine-headed snake became even more limp, and its originally fierce attack became powerless.

"What's going on?" Lin Jin was shocked.

And this feeling was getting stronger and stronger. In a trance, he seemed to have returned to the scene when he first joined the sect and was taught by his master.

At that time, he was full of awe for his master, dared not resist, and didn't want to resist.

Now, this familiar feeling surged into his heart again, making his will gradually collapse.

"Not good!"

Lin Jin's expression changed suddenly. He turned his head back fiercely, but it was already too late to block.

A broken sword arrived instantly, carrying sharp sword qi, and directly pierced through his abdomen.

The tearing pain made him spit out a mouthful of blood, and his face became abnormally ugly.

Swish swish!

Seeing that the Tetanus Sword had injured the other party, Zhou Qing flew up rapidly again, and two golden feathers exploded from his wings.

Like two golden lightnings, they accurately hit Du Kui, who had also lost the heart to attack under the Emperor's Might, causing him heavy injuries.

This was still the experience he had exchanged for with countless headshots from that Corpse Wax Crow.

At this moment, outside the formation, Yan Xiaohu was holding a big knife, full of anxiety, constantly slapping the barrier: "Let me in, Fourth Brother, let me in, I am your Shixiong, not a waste..."

The next moment, the barrier rippled. Yan Xiaohu was caught off guard and fell directly into a dog-eating mud.

He hurriedly climbed up, his expression changed instantly. Emerald poisonous fog permeated all around, and the pungent smell made him almost suffocate.

Without a word, he hurriedly took out a large amount of detoxification pills from his storage ring and swallowed them all in one go.

"Third Shixiong, Du Kui is handed to you!" Zhou Qing whistled past him.

Now that Du Kui was heavily injured, he would let Third Shixiong contain him first, and he would deal with Lin Jin wholeheartedly.

Yan Xiaohu looked at Du Kui angrily: "I'm going to break your legs and make you kneel in front of Luo Xue Shijie to repent."

As the words fell, a touch of sword qi descended across the sky, and he rushed over directly...

At this moment, Lin Jin looked at the majestic Golden Winged Great Peng opposite, only feeling an invisible pressure coming toward him.

Especially those eyes that were like two burning suns, making his heart couldn't help but feel a chill, and his expression began to become solemn.

That feeling that almost made him lose the heart to resist just now was too terrifying, he needed to be careful, careful, and careful.

Lin Jin dared not have the slightest slack, and without a word, he immediately activated his unique mental method, trying to heal the shocking wound on his abdomen quickly.

"Hmph, no matter how heaven-defying your means are, can the chasm between the Soul Formation realm and the Divine Transformation realm be easily crossed by you?"

But soon, he discovered in horror that the area of the wound on his abdomen kept bleeding, and no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't stop at all.

"Poisoned?" This was his first reaction.

He hurriedly concentrated his spirit and looked at the wound carefully.

But what shocked him was that he couldn't find any trace of poison at all.

You know, he entered the realm of understanding with poison. He could discover and resolve the poison Du Kui gave him earlier at the first time.

"This damn Taiqingmen, how come they are all such people." Lin Jin cursed in his heart.

He hurriedly took a large amount of secret detoxification pills and swallowed them, but the result was still of no use at all.

"You actually poisoned this old man!" Lin Jin widened his eyes and roared at Zhou Qing.

Zhou Qing snorted coldly, flapped his wings, and had already bullied himself up.

So what if it's Divine Transformation realm? As long as you are injured by the Tetanus Sword, you have to bleed half your blood first.

Not to mention such a big wound, and what I need now is for you to accelerate the consumption of spiritual power.

Lin Jin only felt a flash of golden light before his eyes, and immediately condensed a layer of ink-green spiritual power shield in front of him, while the nine-headed snake entangled from the side.

But the next second, that strange feeling came again, making his heart tremble. In this short moment of hesitation, Zhou Qing, like a surging torrent, rushed up directly.

With a loud "Boom", as the two sides collided suddenly, the powerful impact force made Lin Jin's body retreat uncontrollably.

The shield that had just formed trembled violently, and cracks appeared on the surface directly, as if it would shatter at any time.

And his own throat felt sweet, and the blood in his abdomen also sprayed out like a fountain.

This made his face change in horror, and he hurriedly performed body techniques, retreating rapidly, trying to pull away the distance between the two sides.

At the same time, the poisonous snakes around were like black tides, rushing toward Zhou Qing.

Rumble!

At this moment, a deep blue Suanni phantom suddenly transformed and appeared.

Surrounded by thunder light, it roared up to the sky.

Immediately after, bolts of thunder descended with a roar, as if heaven's punishment had arrived, carrying the momentum of destroying heaven and earth, directly splitting those rushing poisonous snakes into coke.

A pungent burnt smell instantly permeated.

"Too much bullying!" Lin Jin's eyes were red, full of bloodshot eyes.

For so many years, he had never been so miserable, and what made him unacceptable was that the opponent was just a junior in the Soul Formation realm.

He pointed fiercely at his brow. In an instant, a majestic aura that made people suffocate surged out from his body.

The surrounding space vibrated violently under the impact of this aura, like a broken drum being knocked by a heavy hammer, making a buzzing wail.

Immediately after, in the void, Lin Jin's hundred-foot primordial spirit condensed rapidly, surrounded by ink-green fog, and then looked down at the Golden Winged Great Peng, his eyes full of killing intent.

The primordial spirit of the Divine Transformation realm, in a life-and-death battle, can have a certain degree of amplification on the basis of itself, and the attack is even stronger.

"Come on!" Lin Jin's primordial spirit looked at Zhou Qing, and an ink-green long sword appeared in his hand directly.

Poison fog permeated the long sword, and it slashed down toward Zhou Qing directly.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing's expression was calm, and he immediately replenished the spiritual power and blood qi stored in the golden petals rapidly.

In an instant, his aura climbed again, the golden flames all over his body became increasingly vigorous, and he rushed up directly against that huge long sword.

"Today, I, Zhou Qing, will slaughter a god for you to see!"

Boom boom boom!

The two sides directly launched the final fight.

On the other side, although Yan Xiaohu, whose cultivation had reached the mid-Soul Formation stage, was fierce in battle, Du Kui was, after all, a peak Soul Formation cultivator who had grasped the rudiments of a realm of understanding.

Even if heavily injured by Zhou Qing, he was still evenly matched with Yan Xiaohu at this moment.

Time passed bit by bit. Not long after, Lin Jin's primordial spirit began to appear to a certain degree of illusion.

That was caused by excessive blood loss from the main body.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing's expression was full of joy, and he increased his offensive again. The golden flames all over his body instantly soared by several feet, his momentum like a rainbow.

The Jin Wu and Suanni phantoms came out together, the two cooperated with each other and rushed toward Lin Jin.

Seeing this, Lin Jin couldn't help but surge with a strong panic in his heart.

Because at this moment, his spiritual sense also began to become trance-like, and the scene before his eyes became blurred.

He never imagined that the poison Zhou Qing applied to the broken sword was so powerful, not only making his wound unable to heal but also constantly eroding his spiritual power and vitality.

And, that feeling that occasionally released and made him feel submissive was like a ghost lingering in his heart.

Every attack was interfered with by this feeling, and his power was greatly reduced.

Keep the green hills, don't worry about no firewood!

"Lad, you wait! Today's hatred, this old man will definitely pay back a hundredfold!" Lin Jin left a harsh word, his heart already having the intention to retreat.

If this drags on, he will definitely die here.

And being in a foreign land, he was not very familiar with the geography of the Eastern Region, and now he was poisoned. If he was taken advantage of by others to be the fisherman, he would lose a lot.

Since he had made a decision, Lin Jin's heart moved, his primordial spirit quickly transformed back into his main body, and he turned and fled toward the distance.

"Want to run! Not that easy!"

Take advantage of his illness to kill him. A Divine Transformation realm who had killing intent toward him, how could Zhou Qing let him go easily.

If he escaped, there would be endless trouble in the future, especially since he had seen his 【Di Huang Jing】.

Zhou Qing flapped his wings fiercely and chased after him at the fastest speed.

"Cang Lei Sword Art Fourth Style: Execution!"

A thunder dragon roared up to the sky. Wherever it passed, space was hard-torn into black cracks.

Seeing this, Lin Jin's expression changed drastically, he bit the tip of his tongue fiercely, spat out a mouthful of essence blood, and his speed suddenly increased by a few points.

But with excessive blood loss and a trance in his spirit, the thunder dragon blasted directly onto him.

Lin Jin screamed, his body fell toward the ground like a kite with a broken string. As Zhou Qing approached, the other party soared into the sky again.

Zhou Qing followed closely, and the Jin Wu fire in the sky, wrapped in thunder arcs, launched a carpet bombing.

Looking at the fleeing Lin Jin, Yan Xiaohu was full of excitement.

"Du Kui, see that? Your helper ran away, why don't you surrender!"

Du Kui's face had long been pale as paper, without a trace of blood, his eyes full of despair and unwillingness.

Years of planning, just like this, turned into a bubble?

At this moment, his heart was full of bitterness and confusion.

He couldn't figure it out no matter what. A Zhou Qing who was only in the late Soul Formation realm, clearly first suffered his poison dark calculation, then was trapped in a carefully arranged formation, and had a Divine Transformation realm Lin Jin to back him up, how did things develop like this?

Less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, a violent wind-breaking sound came from the sky.

Immediately after, he saw the Golden Winged Great Peng transformed by Zhou Qing returning, and in those huge claws, it was tightly clutching a bloody corpse.

The whole corpse was hanging softly, fresh blood kept dripping along the limbs. As Zhou Qing flicked his claws fiercely, the corpse was thrown down heavily, "bang" hitting the ground, splashing large pieces of dust.

And Zhou Qing's body began to shrink rapidly. In the flickering light, he transformed into his main body.

At this moment, he was panting, bean-sized sweat beads kept sliding down his cheeks, and the spiritual power in his body was almost exhausted.

Swaying, two supreme-grade spirit stones were held in his palm, and the 【Yin Yang Jue】 operated rapidly to recover.

Inside the formation, the battle between Yan Xiaohu and Du Kui had long entered the white-hot stage. When seeing Zhou Qing return safely, Du Kui's heart suddenly thumped.

Especially seeing that corpse of Lin Jin thrown on the ground, his pupils shrank suddenly, and his whole person was stunned on the spot, his eyes full of disbelief.

"Dead, dead?"

An old-brand Divine Transformation realm powerhouse, in a short time, just died in Zhou Qing's hands?

That was the Divine Transformation realm. Even if he couldn't beat him, escaping should be more than enough.

But in the time he was stunned, Yan Xiaohu's sharp knife wind fell down. Du Kui, who couldn't react in time, subconsciously dodged to the side, but with a "crack", his right arm was directly cut off.

Fresh blood sprayed, Du Kui gritted his teeth and said nothing, his body staggered back a few steps, and finally knelt on one knee with his left hand supporting the sword.

Looking at everything in front of him, Du Kui felt a strong bitterness in his heart, and then actually laughed out loud.

That laughter was full of despair and self-mockery, echoing on this empty battlefield, appearing particularly desolate.

Even the Divine Transformation realm Lin Jin was killed by Zhou Qing. It could be seen that he would never have a chance to kill him in this life.

And if he couldn't kill Zhou Qing, it meant he couldn't complete the final pain and would never be able to reach Divine Transformation.

Originally thought he had the victory in hand, and even told them the matter of his master being an inside agent.

Knowing that his master was an inside agent of the Cangyan Dao Palace but not reporting it, harming the sect, watching his beloved die, and even returning evil for good to his Shidi.

Now he had become a cripple, his state of mind was broken, and the path of cultivation was completely cut off.

At this moment, he suddenly felt a bit relieved.

As if the huge stone that had been pressing on his heart for a long time finally landed, a sense of relief surged into his heart.

He no longer had to pretend to others with a smile every day. The long-term pain and entanglement had long made him physically and mentally exhausted.

"I want to leave decently, can I?" Du Kui raised his head, looked at Zhou Qing, and said hoarsely.

Zhou Qing looked at him, his expression complex. After a moment of silence, he finally nodded.

Du Kui was full of gratitude. After hesitation, he said: "Do you still remember a question I asked you before leaving?"

Zhou Qing didn't answer, only feeling blocked in his heart.

"Taiqingmen is my home, Zhou Shidi, do you think I can ever come back?"

"Taiqingmen is also my home. No matter how far we go in the future, we can come back at any time, because there is a group of cute old men and old ladies waiting for us here."

This was the conversation between the two that day.

But now—

"Can I, still go back?" Du Kui's voice trembled, as if asking Zhou Qing, and as if questioning himself.

Zhou Qing remained silent, a trace of struggle flashing in his eyes.

Looking at Zhou Qing's reaction, Du Kui already knew the answer, and a miserable smile and sadness appeared on his face.

He was really shameless enough.

Zhou Qing looked at him and asked softly: "Regret it?"

Du Kui shook his head slowly, his voice low: "Can't talk about any regret, it's just that the path chosen is different. Now that I've reached this step, I don't blame anyone."

Du Kui said to this point, his primordial spirit slowly floated out from his body.

Looking at his appearance, Zhou Qing suddenly spoke.

"In the Five Sects War, you killed countless enemies. You are the pride of Taiqingmen and the Chief Eldest Shixiong of Jinyang Peak."

"I will take you back, but I won't let you be buried with Luo Xue Shijie, because you are not worthy."

"As for the cause of death, it is this person!" Zhou Qing pointed to the Divine Transformation realm corpse at his feet.

"You, just had bad luck!"

Du Kui heard this, his eyes full of disbelief. 【205-1

He had originally thought he would be condemned by everyone, but he never expected Zhou Qing to arrange such a dignified ending for him.

Upon hearing this, Yan Xiaohu immediately grew anxious and wanted to say something, but was stopped by Zhou Qing raising his hand.

Zhou Qing looked at Du Kui and said calmly: "This is for the sake of you saving me back then; from now on, we are even."

A glimmer of tears welled up in Du Kui's eyes; he suddenly knelt on both knees and silently kowtowed three times to Zhou Qing.

Then he smiled happily: "I won't cultivate immortality in the next life; I'll be a mortal, play chess and drink wine with a few friends, find a good partner, walk through the human world hand in hand, and see the scenery of all four seasons. Even if we return to dust after a hundred years, it is still better than this path of immortality filled with schemes and pain."

As he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his hand and slapped his own Soul Formation; the Soul Formation immediately cracked, then slowly dissipated, turning into specks of light that vanished between heaven and earth.

Seeing this scene, the two of them sighed long and hard.

"Go in peace!" Zhou Qing still chose to bow once.

Taiqingmen!

Behind the Jin Yang Peak!

Zhou Qing, in a plain robe, stood quietly before the grave of Luo Xue, his eyes filled with sorrow, remaining silent for a long time.

I do not know how much time passed before a light sound of footsteps came from behind; Gao Xuan's eyes revealed a trace of exhaustion and sorrow.

He came to Zhou Qing's side, stood shoulder to shoulder with him, and his gaze also fell upon Luo Xue's tombstone.

After a long while, Gao Xuan spoke softly, his voice low as he asked: "Did he suffer when he died?"

Zhou Qing shook his head slowly, his voice calm yet revealing a trace of complexity that was hard to detect: "No."

Gao Xuan nodded slightly, a flash of gratitude appearing in his eyes: "Thank you, Zhou Qing."

Zhou Qing was slightly stunned, a flash of confusion crossing his eyes.

Gao Xuan took a deep breath and said slowly: "That child Du Kui left an image stone in his room containing the whole truth. He said that if he didn't return, or if he was killed by you in self-defense, it was his own fault, and he hoped I wouldn't blame you."

Zhou Qing's hands tightened.

"Thank you for giving him dignity!" Gao Xuan said with a sigh, "At the very least, that child can be buried in the mausoleum with the other disciples who sacrificed themselves in the Five Sects War."

A flash of conflict crossed Zhou Qing's eyes: "Shibo, actually, I..."

Zhou Qing stopped mid-sentence, not knowing what else to say.

Gao Xuan seemed to see through his thoughts, patted his shoulder, and said earnestly: "Do not have any psychological burden; the Great Dao is heartless, and all living beings are merely struggling within this heartless Great Dao."

"None of you were wrong; perhaps the only thing wrong is the arrangement of fate. Everyone has their own choices, and no one knows where they will head in the next moment. It is precisely because of this that we are filled with longing and curiosity for the road ahead."

Zhou Qing was lost in thought; his originally heavy heart gradually eased, and he turned to bow silently.

Upon returning to Xiao Ling Peak, Yan Xiaohu had already told Mo Xingjian the whole story from beginning to end.

Mo Xingjian looked at the dejected Zhou Qing, his eyes full of concern, and hurriedly stepped forward to ask gently: "Are you alright?"

Zhou Qing shook his head slowly, forcing a reluctant smile onto his face: "I'm fine, Master."

Mo Xingjian sighed, his eyes full of heartache.

Since the start of the Five Sects War, the cruel things this child has experienced along the way have truly been too many.

But the path of immortality is inherently filled with thorns.

Every tribulation, every scar, is actually a mark of your growth.

On the long immortal path, you will face countless choices and struggles in the future; we old fellows were no different, stumbling our way through it back then.

And these are things others cannot help you with; you must cross them on your own.

Five days later, Zhou Qing seemed to have completely thought things through; he returned to normal, and after bidding farewell to his master, he once again set foot on the road to Lingyun Prefecture.

Seven days later, the two arrived back on the main road of Lingyun Prefecture. Looking at the shadowy Beimang Mine in the distance, Zhou Qing suddenly stopped, a strange light flashing in his eyes as if he had thought of something.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing this, Yan Xiaohu immediately controlled his flying blade to stop, his body instantly tensing up as he looked around with full vigilance.

The two incidents encountered on this round trip had already tortured him into a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow.

Zhou Qing withdrew his gaze, looked at Yan Xiaohu, and said seriously: "Third Shixiong, how about we go into the depths of the mine to take a look?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Xiaohu's expression changed, and he shook his head repeatedly, saying: "Let's forget it; what if that Prince Xuan Yuan Shuo is also seriously injured inside?"

After the previous incident, Yan Xiaohu now had deep psychological trauma regarding all large caves.

Zhou Qing said: "Aren't you curious why two Soul Severance cultivators suddenly chose to fight? Was it for some object or some secret?"

Yan Xiaohu's eyes lit up upon hearing this, but he soon shook his head again, his expression somewhat nervous as he lowered his voice: "Forget it; the less one knows about some things, the better. There's no need to add trouble to one's own life."

Zhou Qing, however, remained unmoved, his expression serious: "Now that the mark in my sea of consciousness is still there, I can't just bear the karma of Elder Feng for nothing. Some things are not just about getting to the truth, but also about giving oneself an explanation."

He did not want to be hunted down by the demon race with the Peng clan's bloodline in the future without knowing why.

"Let's go take a look!" After saying this, Zhou Qing immediately controlled his flying sword and headed toward the Beimang Mine.

Yan Xiaohu called out several times, but seeing that Zhou Qing had no intention of turning back, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow.

"Heaven bless us, I hope nothing else goes wrong this time."

Not long after, the two appeared in Mine No. 9 again.

Looking at the familiar scene before him, Yan Xiaohu held his large saber, his eyes scanning the surroundings vigilantly.

"Is anyone here? If there is, make a sound," Yan Xiaohu whispered toward the mine.

"Squeak—"

The next moment, a sound really did come from the depths of the mine, and Yan Xiaohu's face instantly turned deathly pale.

Immediately after, several large rats were seen jumping down from the mine wall and then quickly burrowing into the deeper parts.

"Damn it!" Seeing this, Yan Xiaohu clutched his pounding heart and couldn't help but curse.

Zhou Qing was also made somewhat nervous by him and couldn't help but comfort him: "Don't worry, it's fine. Even if our luck is bad, it won't be so bad that we run into another one."

Although he said this, looking at the rusted iron frame to the side and the pitch-black mine that seemed to have no end before him, Zhou Qing's expression was still somewhat solemn.

For the sake of safety, he decided to appraise it.

【Mine: This is an abandoned ordinary mine. It once yielded the priceless Chaos Xuanjin, but now, in the deeper parts of the mine, a seriously injured Demon Emperor buried a massive opportunity before leaving.】

(End of chapter)