Chapter 50: The Bloodstained Stone That Terrified Zhou Qing

Not long after, the true disciples who had gone out to survey all returned and pointed out the direction.

“Let’s go, there’s still important business to attend to!” Yan Xiao Hu called out.

Soon after, the group headed toward the western mountains.

Along the way, they followed the traces left by the Cangyan Dao Palace, and at night they lit campfires to rest.

Until two days later, they completely lost all traces of where the Cangyan Dao Palace had passed.

“Senior Brother, we’ve found a cave ahead—there are signs of a fight!”

The true disciple sent on reconnaissance quickly relayed the message.

The group immediately rose to their feet.

Not long after, a partially collapsed cave appeared before them.

At the cave entrance, vines grew wildly, entwined together, and sunlight filtered through layers of leaves, casting mottled shadows on the ground, adding a sense of quiet eeriness to the cave.

“Look over here—”

Lu Yaoyao pointed to the cave walls; only then did the others notice the walls covered in knife marks of varying depths, and the ground littered with broken rocks.

Clearly, a fierce battle had once taken place here.

Li Daoxuan stepped forward, bent down, and examined closely.

“These marks look old—not recent.”

After speaking, he stood up and stared at the dark cave ahead, his powerful spiritual sense suddenly probing inside.

He quickly retracted it.

“Don’t worry, there’s no one inside, and this cave has been abandoned for a long time,” Li Daoxuan said.

Hearing this, the group lowered their guard.

“I’ll go in and take a look,” Yan Xiao Hu stepped into the cave first, followed closely by Zhou Qing.

The entire cave felt damp, and inside were numerous shocking traces.

It seemed the battle here had been fierce indeed.

Yan Xiao Hu slashed down the spiderwebs before him with his long blade, looking disappointed: “I was thinking of using this as our campsite tonight—what a pity.”

Zhou Qing scanned around and soon noticed several stones among the rubble that looked unusual.

He knelt down and gently wiped away a bit of moss on them.

A faint, sweet fragrance entered his nose; Lu Yaoyao had appeared beside him without notice, studying them closely.

“It’s blood—dried and blackened, nearly imperceptible. Senior Brother is right; the battle here happened long ago, unrelated to the Qingyu Immortal Sect and others.”

Lu Yaoyao said seriously.

Li Daoxuan stood behind Lu Yaoyao, looking proud: “Of course—this is my experience.”

“Of course! Who do you think is the top disciple of Shen Yue Peak? Senior Brother Li, we’re counting on you this trip.”

Yan Xiao Hu smoothly added flattery—he knew that keeping this free fighter happy would save them considerable effort.

Zhou Qing paused to think: over the past two days, he’d been identifying mountains and rivers anyway—might as well use his ability.

With a thought, the stone’s information appeared before him:

【Bloody Stone: This is an ordinary stone that gained slight spiritual properties from the blood of Gao Xuan, peak master of Taiqingmen, spilled upon it at his death—though its overall value is negligible.】

When he read the words, Zhou Qing froze.

He quickly reread it carefully, eyes filled with confusion.

“Gao Xuan? Isn’t that the peak master of Jin Yang Peak?”

Zhou Qing frowned, seemingly unable to grasp the meaning of the information.

All thirteen peak masters of Taiqingmen were alive; just recently, when Lu Yaoyao became a disciple, he had accompanied all core disciples to offer congratulations.

Yet this said Gao Xuan’s blood was spilled at his death…

The moment this thought crossed Zhou Qing’s mind, his pupils shrank and his heart lurched.

He read it again.

He felt a sudden dryness in his mouth and throat.

Peak Master Gao Xuan dead?

Then who is the one currently in Taiqingmen?

How long has he been there?

What is his purpose?

Oh god—the last time he and Third Senior Brother visited him, the man was so kind.

Now he recalled it, and his scalp prickled.

For so long, not a single person had discovered his true identity.

“Come on, snap out of it!”

The next moment, Yan Xiao Hu slapped Zhou Qing’s shoulder, jolting him awake.

Coming to his senses, he realized everyone else had already left the cave, preparing to find a campsite for the night.

Zhou Qing felt his heart pound—he was vaguely aware of a vast conspiracy hidden within Taiqingmen.

But how could he tell anyone?

Like he’d smelled the Ling Ao fluid?

Who would believe him?

He might even alert the enemy and get himself silenced first.

Stay calm. Stay calm.

Zhou Qing’s mind raced—he decided to tell no one for now.

He quickly opened his personal panel.

【Name: Zhou Qing】

【Age: Nineteen】

【Cultivation Base: Foundation Establishment Late Stage】

【Cultivation Technique: Taiqing Xuan Qi Jue】

【Talent Skill: One Appraisal Per Day,

Heart-View Vision—LV2 (139/200),

Reduced Presence—LV3 (3/100)】

【Skill Fragments: 0/3 (Unobtainable)】

His talent skill, Heart-View Vision, was about to reach Level 3—when it did, the number of bound targets would definitely increase.

If all else fails, bind one to Senior Brother Gao Xuan first—test the waters.

“Watch your step—why are you so dazed after coming out? What are you thinking about?”

Yan Xiao Hu suddenly called out; Zhou Qing snapped back to reality just in time to avoid tripping over a rock.

Zhou Qing hurriedly replied: “N-nothing—I was just wondering where the Qingyu Immortal Sect people went.”

Yan Xiao Hu chuckled: “They’re hard to find anyway—take it one step at a time. Maybe the other peaks have already found something.”

Li Daoxuan checked his token, then shook his head.

“No progress from any peak yet, but the sect has issued a secret order: everyone must be on guard against Cangyan Dao Palace members. Any leads must be shared.”

After speaking, Li Daoxuan unconsciously glanced at Zhou Qing.

It seemed his discovery of the Ling Ao fluid on the jade pendant given by Yin Xiao of Cangyan Dao Palace to Cui Yingying had drawn high attention from the sect.

He hadn’t even found the person yet, but somehow he’d already earned credit.

【Heart-View Points +5】

Hearing the sudden notification, Zhou Qing turned and noticed Li Daoxuan’s head annotation, 【Sticky, lecherous patch】—visible to the naked eye, it had changed to 【Keen-Smelling Lecher】.

Heh—

Thanks for your updated opinion of me!

That night, the group stopped advancing and found a sheltered spot to set up camp.

After arranging the tent, Lu Yaoyao looked at Zhou Qing, who remained gloomy, and walked over.

“Senior Brother Zhou, what’s wrong? Do you have something on your mind? If you trust me, tell me—I’ll help you analyze it!” Lu Yaoyao said softly.

Zhou Qing shook his head: “I don’t trust you.”

Lu Yaoyao: “...”

Seeing the junior sister rebuffed, Li Daoxuan sighed.

I just don’t get what you’re after.

If it’s him—he’s a peeping tom who learned bad habits from his senior brother, not worth it.

And you keep mismatching him with the Xuan You Immortal.

If it’s nothing, why do you keep seeking him out, yet he’s always annoyed?

Now that you’ve achieved Heavenly Foundation Establishment, your future is limitless—you should distance yourself from people like him and build your own circle.

Just as Li Daoxuan stepped forward to lead the rejected junior sister back to reason, he suddenly looked up toward the distant darkness, rushed forward, and extinguished every campfire.

Before anyone could react, Li Daoxuan immediately stood before Lu Yaoyao, face grim.

“Shh—someone’s here!”

The group instantly hid among the surrounding woods, on guard.

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(End of Chapter)