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"Seventh Master, how is the situation over there?"

Following the completion of the opening ceremony was the celebration banquet. Seizing this break, Chen Ying hurriedly found Shen Qi.

Shen Qi’s complexion wasn’t very good, pallid under the sunlight, which was a significant departure from his appearance the night before...

Wei Gongcheng also glanced at him with a puzzled look.

During his time in Lyuzhou, Shen Qi had taken great care of his health, especially nourished by the Azure Bird’s Spiritual Liquid on Nan Mountain, his body and spiritual power had both returned to their peak condition.

These days, he had also been cultivating his energy quite well.

What had happened on Daqing Mountain to make his complexion so poor all of a sudden?

"Hmm... I’ve roughly understood the situation there..." Shen Qi nodded, his tone as calm as always, "Zi Yue, during this season, has a great surge of lunar power, hence the eruption of Art Energy..."

"And what about your health, Seventh Master?" Chen Ying quickly asked with concern.

"Oh, it’s nothing..." Shen Qi shook his head, "I entered the barrier to take a look and got a bit hurt by the Yin energy, but it’s okay now. That entity’s body is just unstable, it seems to have no intention of acting against us..."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ying slightly recollected and remembered that, indeed, the entity’s energy fluctuations seemed to be due to instability, but no malice had been shown. Could it be that they had been unduly alarmed?

"And you two?" Shen Qi looked at them, "How are things on your end?"

Chen Ying hurriedly replied, "We haven’t discovered anything unusual.

At the start of the ceremony, we deployed heavy guards, even having the badly wounded Weichi Feihu attend the event, ensuring strict security.

So far, no disturbances have occurred, and Mr. Wei also hasn’t seen the malevolent entity mentioned by Seventh Master! "

Shen Qi looked towards Wei Gongcheng.

Wei Gongcheng glanced at Shen Qi, whose complexion looked weak, and frowned slightly, but cooperated, saying, "I’ve been monitoring the girl named Shen Xue throughout, as per your request, but I haven’t detected any abnormalities.

No evil energy has leaked from her body, nor are there any unusual Art Energy fluctuations.

She seems quite normal today, aside from being a bit physically weak. "

"Is that so?" Shen Qi said, stroking his chin with a puzzled look: ’That shouldn’t be, could the malevolent entity have sensed us? This could be troubling...’

"Your Thousand Eyes can’t detect it at all?"

"I’ve already told you, its Illusion Technique is extremely realistic..." Shen Qi said with a wry smile, "If I could find it, would I have needed to ask you to monitor?"

Wei Gongcheng nodded, "That makes sense..."

"Let’s just take it one step at a time..." Shen Qi shook his head, "I need to go back and rest a while. The Yin energy of Zi Yue is quite intense."

"Alright..."

Watching Shen Qi walk away step by step, Wei Gongcheng stared at the direction he had left in silence for a long time.

"What’s the matter, Mr. Wei?" Chen Ying asked curiously.

"Nothing..." Wei Gongcheng shook his head and then smiled, "It’s just that today Seventh Master seems a bit different."

"Oh? In what way?" Chen Ying was startled, "Isn’t he speaking just as he always does?"

"Hmm... seems like it... Maybe I’m just overthinking, you should go to the banquet. I’ll go look around outside, maybe I’ll find some clues about that malevolent entity."

"Then I’ll leave it in your capable hands."

"It’s just part of the job..."

After Chen Ying left, Wei Gongcheng was the first to enter the netherworld realm, feeling somewhat reassured by the familiar netherworld forces.

Seventh Master...

Wei Gongcheng’s expression darkened, and he quickly began to travel through the netherworld, arriving at the foot of Daqing Mountain in about half an hour.

Just as Shen Qi had said, the barrier of Daqing Mountain had stabilized, and from the outside, it seemed almost without any problem. Wei Gongcheng glanced at it but did not approach, observing the barrier from a distance. It still looked lush and vibrant as always, yet he dared not get close.

After hesitating for a while, he began to walk around Daqing Mountain, eventually entering a thatched cottage at the foot of the mountain.

Opening the door, there was a strong smell of alcohol inside, and some unfinished meat grubs on the table.

Wei Gongcheng walked over. On the table were two wine bowls, set opposite each other, just as he had expected. With Shen Qi’s cautious nature, without external help, Heiyun was a valuable but free asset.

If Heiyun was not here, he most likely accompanied Shen Qi to Daqing Mountain. But now that Shen Qi was back, why hadn’t Heiyun returned?

Actually, he had been suspicious from the start.

Shen Qi was a very cautious person, a trait that came with his Technique that required meticulous observation to be effective.

Therefore, his observational skills were strong, often noticing extremely subtle details, just as he had detected the malevolent entity around Shen Xue.

Would such a meticulous and cautious person carelessly enter the barrier and let Zi Yue harm him?

Didn’t he fear a rampage from Zi Yue that could kill him?

After all, that was the legendary number one Magician!

And then there was his tone a moment ago, implying he couldn’t find the malevolent entity – that wasn’t something Shen Qi would normally say.

Shen Qi, seeming mild and modest, in reality had a strong competitive spirit, which was evident every time he played chess with me.

His desire to win was much stronger than Shen San and Shen Er.

A person like that, wouldn’t make that kind of statement.

We can basically conclude: either Shen Qi has run into trouble, or... that is not Shen Qi!!

But whether it’s the former or the latter, Wei Gongcheng knew that he couldn’t easily enter Daqing Mountain; otherwise, if he too disappeared like Shen Qi and Heiyun, the situation in Lyuzhou would be completely jeopardized.

This place was his lord’s stronghold; his lord had placed so much trust in him back then, and now, having benefited so much, he couldn’t afford to let this stronghold fall.

Is there a way to investigate Daqing Mountain without taking risks?

And without being too noticeable?

Wei Gongcheng thought of something and began to search around the room...

Heiyun was a very cautious fellow. When he was hiding with Chen Qing, he always duped his honest cousin Wei Gongzhan into gathering information.

He remembered that Heiyun had a long-distance Technique to contact Wei Gongzhan...

Where was it?

Given Heiyun’s vigilance, he wouldn’t carry such a location-tracking Technique on his person, because that would give others the chance to pinpoint his location.

So, the guy must have inscribed the Technique somewhere else, and would use it to get Wei Gongzhan to come down from the mountain whenever he needed to contact him.

He searched around the room and couldn’t find it, which made him anxious. But then he thought about it; it made sense that the other party wouldn’t place the Technique in such an obvious location.

Where could it be, then?

After sitting and thinking for a while, he suddenly remembered that the old guy had developed a hobby when he was here: fishing...

The river at the foot of Daqing Mountain was very wide; it was a large river.

Fish from upstream in Daqing Mountain often swam down.

These fish, imbued with Spiritual Energy, were Heiyun’s favorites and were often caught by him to accompany his drinks.

Many merchants passing by knew about this and would trade things for his fresh fish.

With this in mind, Wei Gongcheng instantly teleported to the riverbank and searched the fishing-friendly spots along the bank. Finally, he found it.

At a secluded fishing spot, there was a pulse of Art Energy. Digging aside the soil, he discovered a bloodstone with intricate Techniques inscribed on it...

This was it.

Wei Gongcheng approached with his spiritual power; this Technique was definitely a universal one, not a specialized Technique bond. Knowing that old guy’s character, he wouldn’t have established a Technique bond with Wei Gongzhan.

Sure enough, the Technique began to move, connecting to a certain direction. Wei Gongcheng watched nervously, hoping everything was just his baseless suspicion.

But the despairing situation still occurred.

On the other end... there was no response!

If his guess was correct, the other end of this contact Technique should have been inscribed on Wei Gongzhan’s body, which was why Heiyun could summon Wei Gongzhan anytime.

If this Technique had no response, then it meant that Wei Gongzhan might... have met with an accident!

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"Don’t you dare eat him!"

At the entrance of a cave, a plump and adorable little girl stood blocking the way, glaring furiously at the people outside.

Wei Gongzhan lay inside the cave, his body mangled and barely breathing more than he was exhaling...

"Little sister seems quite fierce..." Murong Yunji approached with a smile, looking at the bristled little girl and giggling!

"Alright..." A woman of incomparable beauty spoke softly from behind, "She’s young and not a good tease. If she releases the Golden Crow flames, it’s no laughing matter."

"Heh... tsk, tsk, such a child with this kind of talent really makes people envious.

" Murong Yunji shook her head and then looked back, "What should we do then? Just let that man live? Don’t forget, Chen Qing is no longer the same as before, and even if he leaves, there are many people in his powers who can threaten us. Not to mention, if the Shen Family’s Masters of the Underworld come together, they could match half of the Nine Ministers! "

"Just keep a close watch on him..." Ali was indifferent, "A mere Immortal Farmer, he can’t escape, can he?"

"As you please..." Murong Yunji shrugged, "I wouldn’t recommend it though. Any small detail sometimes can be the key to a mishap. In my opinion, it’s better to just slap him dead, and we can just give a candy to appease the little kid."

Ali glanced at the miffed Little Mink and hesitated for a while but eventually shook her head, "That girl is stubborn; a piece of candy won’t mollify her."

Seeing there was no persuading Murong Yunji, she didn’t linger on the matter and inquired about something else, "Is that thing in Lyuzhou City really reliable?"

"It’s not reliable..."

The one who spoke was a pale and feeble-looking Zi Yue, as she said to Murong Yunji, "Honestly, if it’s not absolutely necessary, I wouldn’t want to contact it at all—it’s even more dangerous than you are."

"Wow... that’s quite the high praise..."

"Let’s just hope that guy stays lowkey in Lyuzhou..." Zi Yue looked towards Lyuzhou City, "Like you said, Chen Qing’s power is no longer what it used to be. If we don’t act prudently, we’re all going to die here!"