Chapter 121

"Take a sword from me."

Li Chi spat out four words. A scorching white light flowed from the long sword at his waist. His left hand lifted slightly, and the north wind above Yishan City suddenly calmed, leaving everything above and below in a vast whiteness.

Deng Qiuzhi pressed the precious sword at his waist, his heart surging. He was also a sword user; although his cultivation was not high, he understood the brilliance of this sword.

"Moon Palace Sword Intent... Brother Chi has always been good at hiding his light, not liking to show off in front of others. Now that he has reached a dead end, he finally no longer hides it!"

The white light flowed like moonlight, hitting Chi Jiuyun's red light screen slowly but quickly, like piercing through a layer of window paper. Layers of talisman protective golden light lit up on Chi Jiuyun's body, but they shattered in vain. Seeing that his neck was cold, Chi Jiuyun had no choice but to shout with a pale face:

"Ancestor, save me!"

A look of realization flashed in Li Chi's eyes. The white light brushed across Chi Jiuyun's face like moonlight, without causing any damage. Chi Jiuyun stood there stupidly for a moment and said:

"Sword Intent?!"

Li Chi cupped his hands, as if he hadn't heard, and just replied:

"Senior Brother Chi, you have conceded."

"Good!"

Chi Jiuyun shouted, his face still pale, and asked again:

"What is this sword intent?"

"Moon Palace Sword Intent."

Li Chi nodded lightly and answered him, but he didn't expect Chi Jiuyun's expression to be complex as he muttered:

"A pity! What a pity!"

"Clang!"

Only then did the sound of a precious sword hitting the ground come from the ground, waking everyone up. There was an immediate burst of whispering. Due to Chi Jiuyun's background, they didn't dare to discuss it much, but everyone's eyes were full of shock.

Li Chi landed back in the mountains. Xiao Yuansi was already looking at him in a daze, asking in disbelief:

"You almost killed Chi Jiuyun?"

"I wouldn't dare."

Li Chi sheathed his sword, looked at Xiao Yuansi's stunned appearance, and shook his head:

"If I had killed him, the others in the Chi family wouldn't have done anything to me due to the needs of that Zifu True Person, but it would have been inevitable that they would strike at my family. I was just teaching him a lesson."

"Are you not afraid that he will hold a grudge and cause trouble for your family?"

Xiao Yuansi asked curiously, one question after another.

"Chi Jiuyun is proud and arrogant; he won't use such methods. I have been dealing with him for so many years, and we understand each other."

Li Chi smiled, stretched, and saw a person walking out from outside the cave, respectfully saying:

"Senior, someone from the sect has come, saying they are inviting you to depart."

Xiao Yuansi paused. Having not been angry for over ten years, his expression turned annoyed. His sleeves moved without wind, and he said sternly:

"Are they so impatient!"

The person lowered his head in terror. Xiao Yuansi suddenly felt he had lost his composure and apologized gently. He saw Li Chi nod and say in a deep voice:

"Take me there."

"Chi'er!"

Xiao Yuansi called out. Li Chi unbuckled the sword at his waist, handed it to Xiao Yuansi, and whispered:

"Take care, Senior Brother."

After speaking, he went out the door, rode the wind, and landed on the mountain peak, leaving Xiao Yuansi clutching the jade slip in the wind, his expression complex, as if he had made some determination, staring blankly at the horizon.

"Master... forgive me for not being able to stay in the sect..."

————

Li Chi entered the great hall on the peak. In the center, where Chi Jiuyun's seat should have been, sat a man in green robes, his face blurred. Chi Jiuyun stood to the side, respectfully lowering his head.

Kneeling below was a person, none other than Deng Qiuzhi, who was lowering his head, not knowing what he was thinking.

"Greetings, True Person."

Li Chi looked at the man's posture and knew he was likely a Zifu cultivator. He immediately bowed, raised his head, and stared at him, as if trying to see through the mist on his face and see the true face of this Zifu cultivator.

"Bold!"

Chi Jiuyun was shocked and said repeatedly. The Zifu cultivator waved his hand and replied:

"No matter."

The green-robed Zifu cultivator looked down for a while and suddenly asked:

"How long have you cultivated the Moon Palace Sword Intent?"

"Over five years."

The Zifu cultivator muttered for a while, stepped forward to look at his brow, and confirmed there was no crescent mark that made him tremble with fear, only then saying:

"I have never supported Senior Brother Chi Wei's approach, sending the sect's geniuses to their deaths one by one to pave the way for him alone. It's a pity that the old thing back then liked his style. Now that he is the Sect Master and has high cultivation, I can only obey orders."

Chi Jiuyun to the side hurriedly closed his eyes, pretending not to hear this. The green-robed Zifu cultivator glanced at him and continued:

"Get up."

Li Chi stood up. The Zifu cultivator lifted him lightly, took a step forward, and in the blink of an eye, the two of them were above the sea of clouds.

The brilliant morning sun was rising. The Zifu cultivator took him all the way south, crossing the flat wasteland outside Yishan City, and deep into the boundless Southern Frontier.

"So fast!"

The scenery beside him flashed by like lightning, the jungle beneath his feet blurred into a patch of green, and the distant mountains approached at a speed visible to the naked eye. Li Chi laughed low and said:

"A Zifu cultivator is truly gratifying!"

The green-robed cultivator looked at him in surprise, maintained the speed for Li Chi and Deng Qiuzhi with magic, nodded approvingly, and replied:

"Not gratifying! Zifu also has its own embarrassments, but most of the time, at least one doesn't have to act as a pawn."

"You."

The green-robed cultivator looked at him again, laughed, and said softly:

"You really suit my temperament. If things hadn't reached this point, I would have liked to take you as a disciple and teach you well. As it stands, you have to die. Even if that great dragon fails to refine the elixir, I must see you turn to ash with my own eyes before I can leave in peace."

Li Chi was caught between laughter and tears. Li Mutian's appearance suddenly surfaced in his mind. Calculating the years, Li Mutian had likely passed away. Having lost contact in Yishan City, he didn't know how his family was doing now.

Deng Qiuzhi looked gray, staring blankly at the morning sun on the horizon. His cheeks were stung by the north wind in the sky, but he was lost and unaware.

Before long, the two landed in the forest. In front of them was a bottomless pool. The water in the pool was as green as jade, and not a single ripple stirred.

To the side sat a youth of about ten years old, draped in a black robe that shimmered like scales, leaning against a large tree and napping. The green-robed cultivator cupped his hands and said respectfully:

"Senior, the people have been brought."

The youth suddenly opened his eyes, revealing a pair of green, snake-like vertical pupils. He stared at the green-robed cultivator and said in a thin, soft voice:

"Why is it you? Where is Chi Wei!"

"The Sect Master is in seclusion to maintain his vitality, just waiting for this elixir of yours."

The youth shook his head, sneered, and hissed:

"I think it's that old ghost who is afraid of me and doesn't dare to come to my Southern Frontier, so he had to entrust you to come instead!"

Li Chi was unable to speak due to the pressure of the two. Looking at the youth's green vertical pupils, he secretly thought:

"This must be the great dragon the Zifu cultivator spoke of!"

The great dragon took Li Chi, who was unable to move under their pressure, looked at him, and smiled:

"Dao foundation 'Lake Moon Autumn', it meets the requirements... You just wait!"

He grabbed Deng Qiuzhi with his other hand, looked at him carefully, and nodded:

"As per the usual practice, this is a Qi Refining cultivator who has practiced secret techniques, under thirty years old. The medicinal age is just right."

He grabbed Li Chi and Deng Qiuzhi and fell into the water. Li Chi's vision went black, and he landed in a cave dwelling full of green jade—jade tables, jade chairs, jade platforms, and jade shelves, all brilliant with green jade. In the center sat a large golden furnace that five people could embrace, with black-red flames burning beneath it.

The great dragon patted his head, looked at his arms, pinched a spell in his hand, and giggled:

"You are truly delicious. If I hadn't promised the old ghost Chi, I would really like to eat you."

After speaking, he threw Li Chi into the furnace, grabbed Deng Qiuzhi, held him above the furnace, and slashed his chest and abdomen with his hand. Blood immediately gushed out, and Deng Qiuzhi groaned and passed out, only to be thrown fiercely into the furnace.

Li Chi was still unable to speak or move. He sighed slightly at the sight of the tragic Deng Qiuzhi, watching the blood flow out bit by bit.

Various spiritual objects fell onto his body. Li Chi thought quietly in his heart:

"I didn't even get to see my father before he died, and now I'm being accounted for in this remote Southern Frontier. When I reach the underworld, my eldest brother will likely nag me again!"

It was already scorching hot beside him. Li Chi thought to himself:

"I only hope my second and third brothers can look after the younger generation in the family and see through the true face of the Qingchi Sect sooner!"

Many people have caught the virus... I've been especially busy these past few days, so it's a bit late~

(End of chapter)