Chapter 206

Seeing the information fed back by the system, a flash of surprise instantly crossed Zhou Qing's eyes.

Luck is this good?

He actually bet correctly!

"Let's go!" Zhou Qing was excited and stepped inside.

Yan Xiaohu immediately took out a moonstone and hurried to follow.

As the two continued deeper, they could clearly smell the pungent scent of blood permeating the air.

On the ground, spots of blood were shocking to the eye.

Recalling that day, that Demon Emperor had come out from inside clutching his bleeding wound.

"Slow down, walk slowly, watch out for traps!" Yan Xiaohu was so nervous he kept swallowing, looking left and right with every step.

The two walked back-to-back, following the bloodstains all the way to the depths of the mine.

They saw a clear circular mark on the ground with neat edges, which must have been left when Elder Feng was sitting in meditation to cultivate.

At this moment, Yan Xiaohu let out a light breath and said: "Fourth, this place is creepy. Let's go; even if there is something, they would have carried it with them, and it was all blown up over at Lingku Mountain."

Zhou Qing did not respond immediately, but frowned slightly, lost in thought.

The information fed back by the system was "left when leaving," which meant that after this Demon Emperor saw the Suanni remains through the spiritual sense mark, he had specifically left a backup plan when he came here.

Even if he ran into Xuan Yuan Shuo on the road, he wouldn't have lost the important items; such meticulous thinking was truly admirable.

And this place didn't seem to have any formations or barriers set up, but he understood that if he really had set up any measures, it would have attracted attention instead.

Subsequently, Zhou Qing closed his eyes tightly, and his spiritual sense spread out from him as the center, checking bit by bit.

Watching Zhou Qing knock on the stone walls from time to time, looking for hollow spots, Yan Xiaohu couldn't help but say: "Fourth, that was a Soul Severance cultivator, not a fool; even an ordinary person wouldn't be stupid enough to hide good things in a place like this."

The corners of Zhou Qing's mouth rose slightly, revealing a confident smile as he explained: "That is why we must do the opposite."

"He is precisely utilizing most people's way of thinking to achieve the purpose of hiding. Furthermore, besides the two of us, no one even knows he hid here."

Yan Xiaohu sighed helplessly, waved his hand, and said: "Fine, fine, then you look; I'll keep watch for you."

Saying this, he began to guard the surroundings vigilantly.

Time passed bit by bit. Not long after, Zhou Qing looked along one side and saw that the stone wall there seemed smoother than other places in the dim light, with a faint, almost imperceptible gap.

His heart stirred, and he immediately carefully permeated it with his spiritual sense.

In an instant, his face lit up with joy; without a word, he immediately took out his flying sword and began to cut along the gap.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, finally, with a "click," an ancient-looking box was dug out.

Seeing this scene, Yan Xiaohu's eyes were filled with disbelief; he hurriedly leaned in, muttering: "This actually worked? Could that Demon Emperor really be a fool?"

Zhou Qing wiped the sweat from his forehead and explained: "This thing was hidden very secretly; if my spiritual sense wasn't far beyond ordinary people, I really wouldn't have discovered it."

Zhou Qing was telling the truth, because he had already received the answer from the system in advance, which was why he had conducted the search so earnestly.

Therefore, even a Soul Transformation cultivator might not necessarily have been able to find it.

Moreover, such a powerful person wouldn't go to such great lengths to search in an abandoned mine, which was precisely the other party's cleverness.

"Hurry and see what good things are inside? No, we have to stay back; be careful of traps hidden inside..."

Before Yan Xiaohu finished speaking, the box had already been opened by Zhou Qing.

This was just an ordinary box, and he had already checked it with his spiritual sense just now.

Inside the box lay an image stone and an oval-shaped, strange token carved with the shape of a Great Peng on the edges.

After the two looked at each other, Zhou Qing gently picked up the image stone and immediately activated it.

Soon, as light flickered, a figure was projected out; it was the Demon Emperor, Elder Feng.

At this moment, he was in the same disheveled state as that day, his clothes in tatters, his body covered in blood, his face filled with exhaustion and unwillingness.

The next moment, Elder Feng spoke in a hoarse voice: "You young brats, I am Feng Feng Xuan Yi. The miserable state I am in now is all thanks to Xuan Yuan Shuo. I really didn't expect that guy to have already broken through to the mid-Soul Severance stage, causing me to suffer a huge loss."

"But this shouldn't be; the Shengwu Dynasty has only been a fourth-grade cultivation nation for a little over three thousand years. How long has it been since the old Emperor helped him break through? How could he have improved so quickly?"

Elder Feng's words were full of disbelief, and even more so, confusion.

After sighing, he continued: "You must know that compared to us demon clans, humans have cultivation bottlenecks. Unlike us, when the blood energy and spiritual power in our bodies accumulate to a certain level, we can break through naturally."

"And I have seen with my own eyes the old Emperor strike at the place where the old Old Peng Wang's bones are buried; he killed the Peng corpse with a single finger. His strength has definitely reached the late Soul Severance stage, or even the Great Completion."

"There is definitely a big problem here; I hope the younger generation will remember this and never provoke him."

Hearing this, Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu looked at each other, their faces full of shock.

For a cultivation nation that started from nothing, can one really break through so quickly in just three thousand years?

Of course, they could only look up to that realm now, but as far as the current Soul Formation stage was concerned, every step forward was truly incomparably difficult.

In the image, Elder Feng's voice sounded again.

"Of course, that is a story for another time. A few years ago, I discovered an ancient manuscript and deduced that there must be a great secret or a great opportunity hidden here in the Eastern Region of Lingyun Prefecture."

"In ancient times, when this was still just a human third-grade cultivation nation, the senior old Old Peng Wang had already sensed something unusual and came here to quietly join a small sect, lurking in secret to search."

"Besides him, even other Demon Emperors have been here: the Golden Crow, the Suanni, the old Bull Demon, the Seven-Colored Divine Sparrow, and so on."

"Therefore, I came a second time, prepared to look for the traces left by our predecessors, hoping to obtain an opportunity."

"But I didn't expect that just as I had a clue, I would be ambushed by that villain Xuan Yuan Shuo. Fortunately, I used a secret technique to escape here, but unfortunately, my storage bag and other items were taken during the battle."

"Now I have found two humans to help me find supreme-grade spirit stones to recover, and I didn't expect to discover the complete Suanni bones, which undoubtedly proves that the manuscript's records are true."

Elder Feng said this with excitement on his face.

"I am leaving here, but just in case, I will leave the Heavenly Demon Token here."

"My cave dwelling has a five-colored barrier, and the secret treasure room inside, all of which can only be opened by it."

"If you try to force your way in, everything will turn to dust; of course, you little brats wouldn't be able to break in anyway."

Elder Feng forced a smile, but soon his expression froze.

"If any accident really happens, I will leave a clue for you on the other party using the Life-Blood Curse technique; then the old monkey will understand and find this place."

"Of course, the other party is only two Soul Formation cultivators, so there shouldn't be any problem. Maybe I will come back to get it later; that is all."

The image stopped abruptly, and the two were silent for a while.

Perhaps Yan Xiaohu didn't understand very well, but Zhou Qing understood much more than him.

The Eastern Region really seemed extraordinary.

The terrifying forbidden zone within the cave, the Grand General Zhong Li Bo who passed through here in the past and left protective measures for the Yin-Yang Qi, the Corpse Wax Crow, the natural lightning pool, the Suanni bones, the old Old Peng Wang...

In the end, what could it be?

And on the other side, Yan Xiaohu, whose cultivation had been raised to the mid Soul Formation stage, although his combat was fierce, Du Kui was after all a Soul Formation Great Perfection who had comprehended the prototype of the realm of understanding.

Yan Xiaohu looked at Zhou Qing and said: "So this flat-feathered beast deliberately left a blood curse on you. Once that so-called old monkey catches you, he will definitely search your soul immediately and then come here to take the token."

Zhou Qing nodded, then looked at the token in the box and suddenly smiled.

The key to the five-colored barrier; I wonder what good things will be left in the mansion of a Soul Severance cultivator?

This is truly a great opportunity.

When the time comes, the second uncle will definitely take him to the border; maybe the two of them can take a stroll at that Taiyao Mountain then.

"Fourth, let's hurry back to the academy; haven't you heard that many demon clans have also snuck in? Who knows, maybe some of them are from Taiyao Mountain."

"After all, their own Demon Emperor is dead, so they have to come here no matter what. If they get close to you and discover something..."

Yan Xiaohu said this with a face full of worry.

Zhou Qing put away the token, let out a breath with eyes full of excitement, and said: "Okay!"

Subsequently, after the two cleared away the traces here, they rushed to Lingyun Prefecture at the fastest speed.

Stepping into the territory of Lingyun Prefecture again, the city was even more bustling and lively than before, with an imposing momentum and a surge in the number of powerful experts.

Soul Formation and Soul Transformation cultivators could be seen everywhere.

It seems that after the mansion of a Soul Severance cultivator appeared, it was about to attract people from all eight commanderies and seventy-two prefectures.

Just as the two were rushing to the central square, Yan Xiaohu's gaze was attracted by a few familiar figures ahead.

"It's Xuan Yuan Yichen and Xuan Yuan Muqian, and the few Soul Transformation guardians who came to our Taiqingmen back then!"

Yan Xiaohu pointed ahead and said.

Zhou Qing also looked over, his eyes full of confusion.

"Should we go say hello?" Yan Xiaohu asked in a low voice.

Zhou Qing shook his head, his brows slightly furrowed.

He was just curious; at the Bai Yu Tai Xu Academy, they had first visited Lu Shi Yuanzhi.

According to Lu Yaoyao, Lu Shi was very displeased to see these two royal juniors, and later they received news from Xuan Yuan Shuo and left first that very night.

Counting the time, more than half a year had passed; why were they still here?

And this guy would take out things from a fifth-grade cultivation nation at the drop of a hat; Zhou Qing felt it was better to have less contact.

Getting too involved would only bring unnecessary trouble.

The two bypassed them, had a simple meal, and after resting, headed straight for the teleportation square.

But after arriving at their destination, they were still startled by the scene before them.

They saw the central square was packed with people, dense and endless.

The light of the teleportation array flickered constantly; every time it lit up, a batch of people was teleported in, each one looking around with excitement and curiosity.

And those leaving were lining up in long queues to the side, with constant bustling noise.

Zhou Qing observed for a while and found that they only arranged for teleportation outward after every thirty batches of people came in.

"It's over; how long will we have to wait in line?" Yan Xiaohu said anxiously.

Zhou Qing said helplessly: "Now, because of the fall of the Soul Severance Demon Emperor, everyone is thinking of coming to join the fun and find opportunities; it will probably take several days before it's our turn."

Just as the two were preparing to find a spot to line up, a voice full of temptation suddenly sounded: "Yo, isn't this Yan Xiaohu?"

The two turned their heads at the sound and saw Li Shitao and Xiao Cancan walking toward them with smiles on their faces.

Especially Li Shitao; the surging waves on her chest immediately caused many people to look over one after another.

And behind the two women followed several gray-robed figures; these people had vigorous auras and emitted powerful fields of energy, and one could tell at a glance that they were all Soul Transformation experts.

"Big Brother Zhou, Big Brother Yan!" Xiao Cancan hurried over, her eyes full of surprise: "What a coincidence; I didn't expect to run into you here."

The two had no choice but to greet them with a smile.

"I heard that a Soul Severance cultivator fell over in the Eastern Region; with such a big spectacle, why aren't you going to join in, but instead thinking of leaving?" Li Shitao moved her lotus steps, walked up close, and asked curiously.

Upon hearing this, Yan Xiaohu curled his lips and said unpleasantly: "What of it? Do we have to report to you what we want to do?"

"Did you take the wrong medicine, Yan Xiaohu? Don't forget how you used to call me Sister Tao every other word back then." Upon hearing this, Li Shitao immediately put her hands on her hips and raised her willow eyebrows.

Yan Xiaohu retorted: "It's like you never called me Master Tiger."

Zhou Qing and Xiao Cancan saw that the two were about to bicker again and hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over.

Zhou Qing hurriedly explained: "We are now students of the Bai Yu Tai Xu Academy, back specifically to visit relatives, and we are just preparing to go back."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Cancan's eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands excitedly: "That's great! We are also going to Haomiao Prefecture!"

Zhou Qing was slightly stunned, then instantly reacted.

It seems they were a bit bored from staying here and were preparing to go find Zhang Wan Bao.

Whether it was the Prefect Xiao Ji or the President of the Wan Xiang Auction House, Zhang Yifu, they were now starting to slowly push the two children, whom they had protected so well, into the outside world.

"Since that's the case, let's go together; I'll go talk to them!" As Xiao Cancan said this, she grabbed Li Shitao, who still wanted to say something, and walked toward the deacon not far away.

Watching her back, Zhou Qing couldn't help but smile.

Don't say, this girl really has a couple's look with Zhang Wan Bao; the first time they went to Haomiao Prefecture, Zhang Wan Bao had cut the line for them like this, but he didn't expect it to be Xiao Cancan the second time.

Subsequently, Zhou Qing looked at Yan Xiaohu again and said: "Why are you two like cats and dogs, not getting along the moment you meet? Sister Tao has helped us many times."

Yan Xiaohu crossed his arms and said disdainfully: "Pfft, I knew her before I even joined Taiqingmen; you don't know the history... forget it, forget it, let's not mention this; just thinking about it makes me angry."

Sure enough, with the little princess of Lingyun Prefecture stepping in, the teleportation there stopped immediately, and after quickly checking the array and confirming it was intact, they directly arranged for Zhou Qing and the others to head to Haomiao Prefecture.

After the light flickered and the world spun, they opened their eyes again and were already at the Haomiao Prefecture square.

This place was also overcrowded, with noisy sounds rising one after another.

"Big Brother Zhou, Big Brother Yan, we still have to go visit Uncle Ke, the Prefect of Haomiao Prefecture; after we're done, we'll go to the academy to see you!" Xiao Cancan said happily.

Zhou Qing nodded with a smile: "Then you go ahead and get busy; we'll gather again later!"

Li Shitao glanced at Yan Xiaohu, snorted coldly, and turned away.

Yan Xiaohu made a face at her back; this childish act left Zhou Qing speechless.

After the two packed up, they headed straight for the Bai Yu Tai Xu Academy.

Just as the two were passing through a mountain range, bursts of whistling sounds suddenly came from ahead.

Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu immediately became alert, their spiritual power quietly circulating as they looked ahead.

Soon, they saw a big-bellied figure in a gray robe fleeing in panic toward the direction they were in.

"Husband!" When the big-bellied woman saw Zhou Qing, a look of disbelief instantly flashed in her originally terrified eyes, and then her voice carried a sobbing tone as she rushed over regardless of everything.

"Li Niang!"

When they saw her appearance clearly, the two were shocked; they never expected that she would actually be in Haomiao Prefecture.

In an instant, Li Niang arrived before Zhou Qing.

At this moment, she was already covered in tears, which kept sliding down her cheeks, while she muttered to herself: "You're back, you're finally back."

Saying this, she opened her arms, wanting to hug Zhou Qing tightly.

But her belly was too big, and her movements were too urgent, directly pushing Zhou Qing to retreat again and again.

Zhou Qing hurriedly raised his hands to stop her.

The two understood that Li Niang was not in her right mind and had mistaken him for someone else again, just like last time.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

The pursuers behind also flew over and surrounded them; they were one late Soul Formation cultivator and three early Soul Formation cultivators.

Judging by their attire, they should be from the same sect.

Seeing this, Li Niang immediately turned around, her whole body terrified as she said: "Husband, you guys hurry and leave; I'll hold them off."

Seeing this, Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu couldn't help but have awkward expressions.

No, do you both not know your own strength?

At this time, the leading late Soul Formation elder looked at Yan Xiaohu with a cold expression.

Then he spoke viciously: "So there was someone to receive her; sending a pregnant woman to my sect to steal spirit medicine—as a man, you are truly pathetic."

"Not daring to do it yourself, you actually came up with such a despicable method; today, neither of you will be able to leave easily!"

And the other three Soul Formation cultivators also had fierce expressions, their magic tools gripped tightly, ready to cooperate with the elder at any time.

Yan Xiaohu was stunned: "Both of us?"

"Hmph, one look and you have the face of a thief; if I'm not talking about you, who else could I be talking about!" the elder said.

Yan Xiaohu subconsciously looked at Zhou Qing.

Li Niang's body isn't that big; did she just block you like that?

Seeing Yan Xiaohu look to the side, the three subconsciously looked over, their expressions instantly changing, and they immediately retreated: "Who are you? Where did you pop out from?"

The other party's movement technique was truly strange; they had clearly formed a encirclement, yet he was able to appear without a sound.

Yan Xiaohu: "..."

A bunch of blind people!

Zhou Qing coughed dryly; listening to what they said, he probably already understood that Li Niang had caused trouble again for the sake of the child in her belly.

He originally didn't want to cause more trouble, but he also knew that Li Niang was definitely at fault first, so he had to cup his hands and say: "A few gentlemen, is there some misunderstanding between her and you?"

One of the early Soul Formation people snorted coldly and said: "Stealing my sect's spirit medicine in broad daylight; what kind of misunderstanding do you think it could be?"

And that late Soul Formation elder, after checking the "suddenly" appeared Zhou Qing, also felt relieved.

It turned out that like the round-faced, small-eyed person, he was also an early Soul Formation cultivator, so there was nothing to fear.

After hearing this, Zhou Qing's gaze slowly fell on Li Niang, who was blocking him; looking at her thin figure and her highly protruding belly, it was probably impossible for her to hand over the spirit medicine.

After all, she risked such a great danger to steal the medicine, all to delay the birth of the unborn child in her belly.

For a moment, Zhou Qing didn't know how to evaluate Li Niang.

Of course, just taking the medicine-stealing incident, Zhou Qing firmly believed that she had definitely not hurt anyone during the whole process.

She was merely urgently wanting to obtain that spirit medicine which was crucial to the child.

This point could be seen from the time with the Demon King Hou Shan, the Seventh Prince and his sister, and including the four people before him.

Now that they were in a foreign land, since they had run into it, he would just help her out.

Thinking of this, Zhou Qing moved to the side, but Li Niang hurriedly blocked him again; beneath those messy strands of hair was a face full of panic and helplessness.

Zhou Qing sighed and had no choice but to say: "How much money? We'll buy it."

That late Soul Formation elder heard this, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

"You want to buy it because you can't get it for free, right? That's a really good plan; fine, three supreme-grade spirit stones."

Upon hearing this, Yan Xiaohu was furious: "Three supreme-grade spirit stones? That's robbery!"

Zhou Qing, however, appeared very calm and said slowly: "I am speaking the truth; let's resolve this matter harmoniously; there is no need to make it so unpleasant. May I ask what medicine she specifically stole?"

The middle-aged man on the left, an early Soul Formation cultivator, heard Zhou Qing's inquiry and said impatiently: "A Dream-Eroding Grass."

Zhou Qing thought carefully and said: "The Dream-Eroding Grass has a maximum age of only two hundred years; it will wither if it exceeds this age. Even at the highest market price, it's only fifty mid-grade spirit stones."

As Zhou Qing said this, he immediately took out a superior-grade spirit stone from his storage bag and handed it over.

"The remaining half, consider it our apology for this; what do you think?" Zhou Qing's tone was peaceful.

This time, after killing the Soul Transformation cultivator Lin Jin, Zhou Qing had obtained many good things from his storage bag, and there were countless spirit stones.

But the other party had grasped a realm of understanding through poison; for the sake of safety, he had almost appraised every item with the system.

Sure enough, even the supreme-grade spirit stones were poisonous; fortunately, according to the system's prompts, he had cleared them one by one with the help of other antidotes in the storage bag.

As for the other miscellaneous things, he planned to hand them over to Zhang Wan Bao to convert into cash.

Seeing Zhou Qing take out the spirit stones readily, that late Soul Formation elder frowned, looking straight at Zhou Qing's storage bag, his eyes full of greed.

"To cultivate that Dream-Eroding Grass, our sect doesn't know how much energy we've consumed; you want to dismiss us with a mere superior-grade spirit stone?"

The elder raised his voice, his tone full of dissatisfaction.

Zhou Qing frowned and asked: "Then how much do you want?"

The elder directly held up two fingers and said: "Twenty superior-grade spirit stones!"

Before Zhou Qing could speak, Yan Xiaohu was furious again; he stepped forward directly, pointed at the elder, and roared: "Greedy and insatiable; you don't want to give face, do you!"

The four sneered and immediately surrounded them even tighter.

(End of chapter)