Chapter 658

Upon hearing Li Li Xuanyi's request, Song Song Qingming was slightly stunned. He had assumed that since she knew she was on the verge of a desperate situation, she had something to entrust to him. After a moment of contemplation, he nodded at her with a calm expression.

"Fellow Daoist Li, neither of us is guaranteed to escape this place today. If you have anything to say, just say it. I promise that whatever you ask, I will do my utmost!"

"Then I must trouble you, Fellow Daoist, to keep this safe for me first. Remember, you must return it to me later!"

Seeing Song Song Qingming agree without hesitation, a hint of relief appeared on Li Li Xuanyi's face. She then handed a square jade pendant, which she had already prepared in her hand, to Song Song Qingming.

Looking at the jade pendant in his hand, Song Song Qingming still wore a look of confusion. However, before he could ask, Li Li Xuanyi had already proactively jumped off the "Phantom Boat" and charged directly toward Duan Longshan, who was pursuing them from behind.

Seeing this, Song Song Qingming was greatly shocked. He could not understand why she would choose to fight the enemy head-on instead of fleeing.

One must know that although Li Li Xuanyi's injuries had stabilized, she was not in a condition to engage in combat. At this moment, the strength she could exert was likely at most fifty percent of her peak.

Even in her prime, Li Li Xuanyi was far from being a match for Duan Longshan, let alone now, when her strength was severely compromised by her grave injuries.

In Song Song Qingming's eyes, this move by Li Li Xuanyi seemed more like a deliberate act of suicide to buy time for him, which left him utterly shaken.

In the world of cultivation, cultivators who were willing to sacrifice themselves for others did so only for their sect or their family and loved ones. Li Li Xuanyi and Song Song Qingming had only just shared a single ordeal; there was absolutely no motive for her to make such a choice.

If it were Song Song Qingming himself, even if trapped in such a desperate situation, he would never make this choice until the very last moment.

It was not just Song Song Qingming who was caught off guard; even Duan Longshan, who was flying toward them from a distance, wore a look of surprise.

Although Li Li Xuanyi had previously relied on the Black Demon Crow to escape his pursuit, she had been severely injured, and a significant amount of Duan Longshan's Profound Ice True Qi still remained within her body.

It was precisely for this reason that they had been able to track Song Song Qingming and his companion so quickly and accurately this time.

Just as Song Song Qingming thought, in Duan Longshan's eyes, Li Li Xuanyi's choice was no different from throwing her life away.

If Li Li Xuanyi had been intent on fleeing, Duan Longshan would likely have needed to expend some effort and techniques to finish her off. Now that she had delivered herself to his doorstep for a direct confrontation, it saved him a great deal of trouble.

"Hehe! You have guts. Since you are so eager to die, I will have no choice but to grant your wish!"

Watching Li Li Xuanyi draw closer, Duan Longshan let out a hearty laugh of satisfaction before immediately casting a spell to unleash two beams of spiritual light.

Immediately following this, a "Silver-Armored Corpse Puppet" with cultivation at the late Jin Dan stage appeared beside him. Its strength was not only in no way inferior to the "Black-Armored Corpse Puppet" of Chen Chen Zifeng that Song Song Qingming had previously dealt with, but it also appeared to be a cut above.

As soon as this late Jin Dan "Silver-Armored Corpse Puppet" appeared, it transformed into a streak of silver light under Duan Longshan's command, charging aggressively toward Li Li Xuanyi, who was rushing toward him.

While commanding the "Silver-Armored Corpse Puppet" to attack, Duan Longshan produced another magic treasure: a Grade 3 superior-quality Jade Gourd.

This powerful Grade 3 superior magic treasure, also under Duan Longshan's control, instantly expanded dozens of times in size, spewing out transparent ice arrows that headed straight for Li Li Xuanyi's position.

To ensure a quick victory without any mishaps, Duan Longshan did not intend to hold anything back this time. He unleashed his most formidable "Corpse Puppet" and magic treasure right from the start, not wanting to give Li Li Xuanyi another chance to escape.

Seeing Duan Longshan unleash such powerful means the moment he attacked, both Song Song Qingming and Chen Chen Zifeng, who were not far away, wore expressions of realization. In their eyes, Li Li Xuanyi's fate seemed already sealed.

However, facing Duan Longshan's fierce assault, Li Li Xuanyi's expression remained unexpectedly unchanged. Instead, she shot a cold, icy glare at Duan Longshan, who was about to kill her.

Just as the "Silver-Armored Corpse Puppet" was less than a hundred feet away, Li Li Xuanyi finally stopped her advance. Standing in mid-air, she gently raised her jade hand and pointed at Duan Longshan in the distance.

A moment later, a shocking white spiritual light suddenly appeared on Li Li Xuanyi's fingertip. This white light then transformed into a sharp arrow, flying straight toward Duan Longshan, who was in front of her.

This sudden turn of events was something Duan Longshan had not anticipated. While he was still contemplating, the late Jin Dan "Silver-Armored Corpse Puppet" leading the charge was struck by the white sword light Li Li Xuanyi had unleashed.

In an instant, a bowl-sized hole was pierced through it, and it was knocked out of the sky, falling from mid-air. The white sword light, however, showed no signs of slowing down; it shattered the incoming transparent ice arrows and continued straight toward Duan Longshan.

Seeing that the white sword light was so powerful that it could instantly break through the defenses of his "Silver-Armored Corpse Puppet," Duan Longshan's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly summoned a defensive magic treasure to protect himself, forming two additional protective barriers.

However, to his surprise, these two defenses, which he considered quite formidable, were like paper before the white sword light, which pierced through them instantly and flew off into the sky.

"You... you, how is this possible?"

Standing where he was, Duan Longshan stared with wide, disbelieving eyes at the large hole in his chest. After trembling and spitting out these few words, he fell completely silent and plummeted from mid-air.

Song Song Qingming, who was still intent on fleeing not far away, and Chen Chen Zifeng, who had just arrived near the battlefield, were both stunned by this shocking scene, unable to believe what had just happened before their eyes.

Under normal circumstances, for two Jin Dan cultivators, even if one had the ability to kill the other, it was not something that could be achieved in a single move.

No one could have imagined that Duan Longshan, a powerful expert at the ninth level of the Jin Dan stage, would be easily killed in a single encounter by a bizarre strike from Li Li Xuanyi, who was already severely injured! If he hadn't seen Duan Longshan's lifeless body falling from the air nearby with his own eyes, Song Song Qingming would have surely thought he was dreaming or caught in an illusion.

"How could this be possible? Could she be a Nascent Soul cultivator hiding her true cultivation?"

Chen Chen Zifeng, who was closer to Li Li Xuanyi, reacted as if he had seen a ghost. After casting a terrified glance at Li Li Xuanyi, who was still standing in mid-air, he immediately turned around and fled for his life, as if he had forgotten everything else.

In his eyes, the cold-faced Li Li Xuanyi had clearly become a terrifying existence on par with a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Strangely, however, seeing Chen Chen Zifeng flee from before her, Li Li Xuanyi remained standing in place without any movement, showing no intention of pursuing him.

Seeing this, Song Song Qingming, who had arrived not far from Li Li Xuanyi, hurriedly reminded her: "Fellow Daoist Li, should we pursue him?"

The flying boat under Chen Chen Zifeng's feet was originally Duan Longshan's, and its quality and speed were no less than the "Phantom Boat" Song Song Qingming possessed. Relying on himself alone, Song Song Qingming had little confidence in catching up to him, so he could only see if Li Li Xuanyi had any other methods.

However, just as Song Song Qingming waited expectantly for her reply, Li Li Xuanyi, standing in mid-air, suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. Her entire body then plummeted from the air, falling straight toward the ground.

"Fellow Daoist Li, what is wrong with you!" This sudden situation was beyond the expectations of Song Song Qingming, who had been feeling happy. He hurriedly turned his flying boat around to catch her.

Upon seeing Li Li Xuanyi at close range, Song Song Qingming discovered that she had lost consciousness again. Her entire being had fallen into a coma, and her state this time seemed even worse; the aura on her body was now extremely weak.

"No way! This is trouble."

After a helpless sigh, Song Song Qingming immediately began to cast spells to carefully check Li Li Xuanyi's condition, sensing that the spiritual energy within her body was in complete disarray.

It seemed that the shocking strike she had just unleashed to kill Duan Longshan had consumed too much of her magic power, causing a backlash to her own primordial essence, which was why she had suddenly collapsed.

After a moment of contemplation, Song Song Qingming hurriedly flew forward to snatch the storage bag from Duan Longshan's body in mid-air, along with the Jade Gourd magic treasure that had fallen to the side, and then quickly transformed into a streak of light to flee the area.

After flying at full speed for half a day, seeing that the flying boat beneath his feet had finally crossed the border of the "Demon-Sealing Valley," Song Song Qingming finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, Chen Chen Zifeng had been scared out of his wits and did not dare to continue the pursuit; otherwise, it would not have been easy for him to shake off the enemy while carrying someone who was severely injured and unconscious.

Taking a glance at Li Li Xuanyi, who was still lying on the flying boat with a pale face and remained unconscious, Song Song Qingming gritted his teeth and took out a green porcelain bottle, from which he poured out a blue elixir filled with spiritual energy.

This Grade 3 inferior "Green Origin Pill," used for healing, was something Song Song Qingming had obtained decades ago while traveling in the East Sea cultivation world, and he had treasured it for a long time.

Seeing that Li Li Xuanyi's aura was growing weaker, Song Song Qingming could no longer care about such worldly possessions and decisively used his magic power to send the "Green Origin Pill" into Li Li Xuanyi's mouth.

After the elixir entered her body, as the medicinal power of the "Green Origin Pill" was slowly refined, Li Li Xuanyi's aura finally began to stabilize, no longer as incredibly weak as before.

Seeing that the elixir had taken effect, Song Song Qingming finally relaxed, a hint of satisfaction appearing on his face. After all, it was something that had cost him over seven thousand spirit stones; this expenditure was finally not in vain.

After maneuvering the flying boat far away from the "Demon-Sealing Valley," Song Song Qingming did not dare to stop. Carrying the still-unconscious Li Li Xuanyi, he continued to head north, wanting to get as far away from the Demon-Sealing Valley as possible to prevent anyone from the "Heavenly Puppet Sect" from using any secret techniques to track them. —— Half a month later, in a large marketplace in the northern part of Qingzhou.

Song Song Qingming, who was sitting on the second floor of a shop selling elixirs, took a sip of the spirit tea on the table and then took out a red spirit fruit, tossing it to the "Ice-Fire Flood Dragon" that was moving incessantly on his shoulder.

The "Ice-Fire Flood Dragon," which had followed Song Song Qingming for many years, had been at the Foundation Establishment realm for nearly twenty years. Although its cultivation speed had slowed down significantly after advancing to the second level, unlike its previous monstrous pace, its cultivation had still improved quite rapidly over these twenty years under Song Song Qingming's careful cultivation. Now, it was not far from the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage.

Just as Song Song Qingming was sipping tea and teasing the "Ice-Fire Flood Dragon" on his shoulder, he suddenly sensed footsteps coming from outside the door and hurriedly waved his hand to put the "Ice-Fire Flood Dragon" directly into the spirit beast bag at his waist.

A moment later, a knock on the door sounded. After Song Song Qingming responded, a middle-aged man of relatively short stature pushed the door open with a smiling face.

"This senior, this junior is Zhang Yuan, the manager of Yufeng Hall and a Grade 3 inferior alchemist. I just heard from the shopkeeper that you have some high-grade elixirs to sell, so I came over to help you check the quality of the elixirs first."

"Hmm! These elixirs were all looted from a bandit cultivator two years ago. You take a look first. If the price is right, I'll sell them all to you, which will save me from having to run to a second shop!"

After Song Song Qingming finished speaking, a flash of spiritual light appeared in his hand, and four small jade bottles of different colors immediately appeared, which he casually placed on the table to the side.

"Hehe! Please rest assured, senior. The prices for purchasing elixirs at our shop have always been the most fair in the marketplace. We would never dare to deceive you."

After Zhang Yuan finished speaking, he immediately smiled and stepped forward to pick up the jade bottles on the table, opening them one by one to examine them carefully.

After a long while, Zhang Yuan took out one of the jade bottles, placed it aside, and said to Song Song Qingming with a respectful expression:

"Senior, this bottle of elixirs seems to be used for cultivating corpse puppets and refined corpses. They are not easy to sell on the market, and our shop has rules against purchasing them. I hope you will forgive me.

I have checked the other three bottles of elixirs, and there are no major problems. I estimate their value at fifteen thousand spirit stones. Senior, are you satisfied with this?"

After Song Song Qingming heard this, he was silent for a moment before laughing softly: "That's fine, let's go with what you said. However, I don't want those scattered inferior spirit stones; you must exchange them all into medium-grade spirit stones for me. You should be able to do that, right!"

"Uh, this... this junior is afraid that the shop does not have so many medium-grade spirit stones right now. Senior, could you possibly...!"

"If it's not convenient today, it doesn't matter. I'll come back another day!" Seeing the difficult expression on the other party's face, Song Song Qingming's expression turned cold. He picked up the porcelain bottles on the table and stood up, ready to leave.

"Senior, please wait a moment. Could you give this junior a little more time? I will go and discuss it with the shopkeeper, and I will give you an answer immediately." Seeing that Song Song Qingming was about to leave, Zhang Yuan hurriedly stepped forward to stop him and said anxiously.

Seeing this, Song Song Qingming looked at him with a calm expression and nodded slightly: "Alright then! I will wait for you for another cup of tea's time."

After the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, Song Song Qingming finally walked out of "Yufeng Hall" with a satisfied expression.

"These elixirs have been successfully sold. It's time to leave this place!"

After walking around the street again, Song Song Qingming arrived outside an inn on the east side of the marketplace and walked straight in.

"Guest, you are back." As soon as he entered the door, the inn waiter saw Song Song Qingming and immediately stepped forward to greet him.

Song Song Qingming nodded slightly and asked: "I just left; no one has been upstairs looking for me, have they?"

"No, please rest assured. I have been in the shop all day today, and absolutely no one has been to your room."

"Hmm! I will check out and leave in a while. Please calculate the spirit stones for me; I will be down in a moment!" After speaking, Song Song Qingming went straight to the second floor.

After arriving at the innermost guest room of the inn, Song Song Qingming first carefully checked the restrictions he had set up at the door. Seeing that there was nothing unusual, he pushed the door open and walked in.

Taking a glance at Li Li Xuanyi, who was lying on the bed and still unconscious, Song Song Qingming turned around to tidy up the things in the room before coming to her side.

"It's been more than ten days; why hasn't she woken up yet?"

Standing by the bed, Song Song Qingming muttered to himself before taking out the square jade pendant that Li Li Xuanyi had given him, falling into deep thought.

After escaping from the "Demon-Sealing Valley" with Li Li Xuanyi that day, Song Song Qingming headed north all the way until he entered the territory of another sect that was not on good terms with the "Heavenly Puppet Sect," at which point he stopped and hid in this marketplace.

During these days, Song Song Qingming had also gone out many times to purchase a large number of high-grade healing elixirs in the marketplace to treat Li Li Xuanyi's injuries.

Although he had stabilized her weak aura and helped her recover much of her primordial essence, for some reason, Li Li Xuanyi still showed no signs of waking up, which left Song Song Qingming, who had been taking care of her for more than ten days, feeling quite helpless.

Regardless, he had promised her that he would return this item to her in person. But now that Li Li Xuanyi was slow to wake up, Song Song Qingming had no other choice but to patiently treat her and wait for her to wake up.

After waving his hand to take out a jade bottle, Song Song Qingming poured out two golden pills and sent them into Li Li Xuanyi's mouth, beginning to channel magic power into her body to help her refine the elixirs.

Fortunately, because Li Li Xuanyi had previously displayed great power and killed Duan Longshan, Song Song Qingming, who had obtained the storage magic treasure on his body, had unexpectedly made a fortune, having sufficient spirit stones to help Li Li Xuanyi purchase these healing elixirs.

The elixirs he had just sold at "Yufeng Hall" were actually found by Song Song Qingming in Duan Longshan's storage magic treasure.

These elixirs were not used by Jin Dan cultivators for daily cultivation, and Song Song Qingming had no use for them, so he took them to the marketplace to exchange for spirit stones, just happening to exchange them for some healing elixirs.

As an elder of a major Nascent Soul sect like the "Heavenly Puppet Sect," Duan Longshan's storage magic treasure, of course, did not contain only these things.

When he first opened Duan Longshan's storage magic treasure two days ago, Song Song Qingming was immediately surprised by the piles of spirit stones and various high-grade spiritual items before his eyes.

On Duan Longshan's person alone, there were nearly sixty thousand spirit stones, as well as various high-grade elixirs, spirit talismans, magic treasures, and cultivation manuals, which were too numerous to count, truly leaving Song Song Qingming shocked for quite a while.

After a rough estimate, Song Song Qingming felt that it all added up to at least two hundred thousand spirit stones, which was much more than the legacy he had found on Zhao Zhao Jibai in the Feng Tianyuan Sea area years ago, absolutely befitting the status of a peak Jin Dan cultivator from a major sect.

In addition to this, Song Song Qingming also found a very familiar "Flame Spirit Water" on Duan Longshan, as well as the secret technique Li Li Xuanyi had previously given them, and a white whisk magic treasure.

These were all things Song Song Qingming had seen before, belonging to the old Daoist Cui Ping.

Seeing these items appear on Duan Longshan, it was not hard for Song Song Qingming to guess that after the old Daoist Cui parted ways with them, he ultimately failed to escape and fell into the hands of the "Heavenly Puppet Sect" cultivators, and in all likelihood, he had long since perished.

In the world of cultivation, it was a common and unremarkable occurrence for cultivators venturing out to seek treasures to encounter such incidents of murder and robbery. In the many years Song Song Qingming had been practicing the Dao, he had encountered this more than once.

Ultimately, who could profit and survive was nothing more than a matter of personal luck and ability.

This time, if Li Li Xuanyi had not directly slain Duan Longshan at the last moment, whether Song Song Qingming could have escaped the pursuit of the "Heavenly Puppet Sect" cultivators would also have been an unknown matter.

Seeing the legacy left by the old Daoist Cui, besides secretly sighing that the other party was truly unlucky, Song Song Qingming felt no great waves in his heart.

Even though Song Song Qingming and his companion had temporarily escaped danger, having slain a ninth-level Jin Dan elder of the "Heavenly Puppet Sect," it was impossible for the other party not to take action. Song Song Qingming still needed to hurry away from Qingzhou before they could track them down here.

After the time of a cup of tea, Song Song Qingming finally helped Li Li Xuanyi refine the two healing elixirs in her body and raised his hand to withdraw his magic power.

Just as he rested for a moment and was preparing to help Li Li Xuanyi up to take her away from here, he did not expect that Li Li Xuanyi, who had not shown any movement for more than half a month, would suddenly have a burst of emerald-green spiritual light surge up and cover her body, forming a protective barrier.

"Eh! Could this be... the Profound Light Armor?"

Seeing this somewhat familiar emerald-green spiritual light, a feeling of déjà vu immediately arose in Song Song Qingming's heart.

However, just as he stood there with his brows tightly furrowed and a face full of confusion, Li Li Xuanyi, who was lying on the bed, suddenly let out a soft moan and slowly opened her tightly closed eyes.

Seeing that Li Li Xuanyi had finally woken up, Song Song Qingming was overjoyed and, without thinking about other matters, hurriedly raised his hand to release several formation flags and insert them around the room.

After quickly casting a spell to set up a relatively low-grade hidden formation to isolate the sound and scene in the room, Song Song Qingming walked quickly to the bedside with a happy expression.

Seeing Li Li Xuanyi, who had already opened her eyes and was looking at him with a smile, Song Song Qingming finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Fairy Li Xuanyi, that's great, you have finally woken up!" (End of chapter)