Chapter 1111: Yunmen Qianfan

Chapter 1116: Yunmen Qianfan

Three days passed in a flash.

Inside the formation on the Ninth Peak of the Yunmen Clan.

After a year of recovery, aided by the abundant spiritual energy and the power of the purple crystal, Xu Qing completely healed his internal Dao injuries.

The moment he opened his eyes, his previously pale complexion regained a healthy rosiness. All traces of his former sickly appearance vanished. The cough that had plagued him for a year finally ceased. The clarity he felt with each breath brought a long-lost sharpness back to Xu Qing's eyes.

Accompanying this was a surge of cultivation within him, along with the profound insights into his own Dao gained over the past year. He had changed significantly from a year ago. If Xu Qing a year ago was a sharp dagger, then after a year of healing and refinement, he had transformed into a heavy sword. And he now had a sheath! He could conceal his edge.

"It's time to leave."

Xu Qing looked up, gazing at the sky in the distance. Everything was as usual; the three cultivators outside the formation were still meditating. During these last three days, there was no coincidental sudden outbreak of a decisive battle between the two clans, nor did any powerful experts suddenly appear. In Xu Qing's perception, the Yunmen Clan's old ancestor was still barely clinging to life. As for his true combat strength and the fact that he possessed a token, neither had been exposed.

"The purple crystal's aid was indeed immense for me," Xu Qing murmured to himself, sensing the purple crystal.

During his recovery period in the mud pit, he had attempted to use the purple crystal to block external scrutiny of his Quasi-Immortal Capital Token. In fact, he had tried this many times after integrating with the Quasi-Immortal Capital Token, but all attempts failed. The two seemed to repel each other. The material of the Quasi-Immortal Capital Token was extremely peculiar, seemingly having an inexplicable connection with this Fifth Stellar Ring.

Eventually, within the mud pit, Xu Qing devised a makeshift method. The principle was based on the relationship between Little Shadow and the purple crystal. He transformed Little Shadow into a thin film, covering his skin, and then unleashed the suppressing power of the purple crystal. Suppressing Little Shadow also meant suppressing himself. Through continuous suppression, he indirectly achieved the shielding effect.

However, there were drawbacks. For one, Little Shadow constantly emitted crying and whimpering emotional fluctuations. Secondly, there was the consumption. Continuous activation heavily depleted Xu Qing's soul. If the opponent's token range was inferior to his own, Xu Qing could still bear this consumption. But if the opponent's range surpassed his, it would be difficult to accomplish; a forced concealment would instantaneously drain Xu Qing beyond his endurance, and Little Shadow also couldn't withstand it. Ultimately, it was still too weak.

Fortunately, Xu Qing's current token range was considerable. While there were those who could surpass it, in this laid-back western region, most would not approach each other unless a battle was inevitable. After all, it wasn't yet the intense phase of the second stage. As for the Yunmen and Earth Spirit clans, their token holders' ranges were inferior to Xu Qing's. Thus, under Xu Qing's shielding, they couldn't detect such an individual near them.

It was for this reason that Xu Qing ultimately chose to join the Yunmen Clan when they were recruiting outsiders. The war between the two clans also led to fewer outsiders in the area, most of whom avoided it. This provided Xu Qing with a relatively safe period. Today, his Dao injuries were finally completely healed.

"However, although these three days passed without incident, a mission arrived from within the Yunmen Clan..." Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, withdrawing his gaze from the sky and focusing it on a jade slip before him. This jade slip had arrived yesterday. It assigned a specific task to Xu Qing: escort a Yunmen clan member to Black Cloud City, departing as soon as possible.

"At this moment, with the Yunmen Clan's decisive battle about to erupt, this mission..." Xu Qing pondered. "This is bait." "However, the conditions offered are quite good." Xu Qing's divine sense scanned the jade slip. It clearly stated that the reward for completing this mission was precisely the spatial-energy-containing soil he had been searching for all year. Such a coincidence naturally implied a pre-existing plan. Clearly, the clan's merchant caravan hadn't just found clues about this item; they had already located it, but simply hadn't informed Xu Qing. Had his injuries not recovered, even if Xu Qing strongly desired that item, he still wouldn't have accepted this mission. But now...

Xu Qing considered it, then raised a hand and pointed at the jade slip. As the jade slip glowed, half an hour later, a long rainbow streaked from the Yunmen Clan's core mountain range, whistling towards the Ninth Peak. Its speed was swift, emanating cultivation fluctuations of the Void Return Third Stage. Soon, it arrived at the summit of the Ninth Peak. The three cultivators sitting cross-legged there looked somewhat peculiar, gazing towards it.

The newcomer was a woman. She wore white robes, simple and elegant, with faint grey patterns on them that exuded array-restraining power. Her appearance was quite beautiful, clearly radiating freshness, like a flower petal touched by the morning dew. A gentle aura emanated from her brows, and her seemingly eloquent eyes held a myriad of unspoken words. As she moved with light, swaying steps, she gained an added sense of agility. Upon reaching the Ninth Peak, she quickly took a few steps and respectfully bowed to Xu Qing inside the formation.

"Yunmen Qianfan greets Senior Yan Xuanzi."

"You are the person I need to escort?" Inside the formation, Xu Qing's gaze, sharp as lightning, fell upon the woman as he spoke calmly.

Under Xu Qing's gaze, the woman felt a surge of nervousness. "I trouble you, Senior."

Xu Qing's expression remained neutral. He was about to withdraw his gaze, but the next instant, his eyes narrowed as he looked at the woman's chest. "Interesting. Come in for a moment." Xu Qing raised a hand and waved, opening a slit in the formation.

Hearing this, the woman grew even more nervous, but knowing this concerned her future life and death, she took a deep breath and stepped towards the formation. Passing through the opening, she entered the formation and came before Xu Qing. Gazing at the middle-aged man before her, the woman's mind recalled all the information about him she had gathered over the past year. She sighed inwardly, wondering if her choice was right or wrong.

According to the clan's arrangements, there were three escorts she could choose from for this mission, and she had ultimately forgone the other two, selecting Yan Xuanzi before her. The reason for this was her unique constitution; she had practiced divination since childhood. Ever since she learned what she would face, she had repeatedly attempted to divine for herself, seeking a path to survival. Ultimately, she divined only a faint chance of life, pointing to the person before her. However, this faint chance would sometimes appear and sometimes vanish.

But she was also a decisive person. Thinking to herself that since she had already made her choice, then... her eyes showed determination. Gritting her teeth, she bowed to Xu Qing without waiting for him to ask, and spoke rapidly. "Senior, Qianfan has something important to tell you. This mission from my Yunmen Clan was not given solely to you. In fact, a total of fourteen such missions were issued! Each mission assigned a clan guest elder to escort a core clan member to a different city. The reason for this is that one among us carries a secret key, obtained through a special method, which is crucial for the future rise of our clan. However, its exact location is unknown even to ourselves. It might be with me, or with someone else, or perhaps with none of us. Regardless, apart from the one truly carrying the secret key, everyone else is bait to attract the Earth Spirit Clan."

After speaking, Yunmen Qianfan let out a long breath. She knew she was taking a gamble, and since she was gambling, she had to go all in. So, she raised her hand and retrieved a box from where Xu Qing had looked earlier. She opened it. Inside the box was clearly a fist-sized clump of soil! Waves of spatial energy emanated from within, distorting the surroundings. This was precisely what Xu Qing desired. According to the jade slip's mission, he would only receive it after completing the task. But now, the other party had produced it in advance, and Xu Qing also discerned that the item was currently unsealed. However, there were traces of a past seal; it must have been recently unsealed, and there was some blood, suggesting that the method of unsealing involved blood.

"This spatial soil is what Senior has been seeking for the past year. After I obtained it from the clan, it was originally sealed, and this seal was bound to my life and death. It could only be opened willingly by me, using my own primal blood. After much thought, I was unwilling to use this method to coerce Senior, so I have already unsealed it."

Having said this, Yunmen Qianfan respectfully offered it, then lowered her head and knelt. At this moment, she had revealed everything that was not meant to be said, effectively destroying the arrangements her clan had made to ensure her survival. Without any concealment or defenses, both inwardly and outwardly, she was completely open in her prostration, allowing Xu Qing to examine her as he wished.

Xu Qing's expression remained unchanged. His gaze swept over the soil, and after confirming it was correct, he raised his hand and put it away. Then he glanced at the kneeling woman. He spoke calmly. "A person of normal thinking would not act as you have."

Yunmen Qianfan took a deep breath and replied softly. "Junior has a unique constitution and cultivates the path of divination. However, I did not attempt to divine Senior, nor would I dare. Instead, I divined the source of my own desires, and the divination result pointed to 'Nine'."

Xu Qing's eyes darkened. "What do you seek?"

"Junior wishes... to survive, to reach Black Cloud City alive." The woman raised her head and spoke softly.

Xu Qing did not immediately reply. After a moment of thought, he slowly rose and walked towards the outside of the formation. With each step he took, the formation rippled. Yunmen Qianfan, still kneeling there, felt her heart pound with trepidation, her head bowed in uncertainty, as Xu Qing walked past her.

"Follow."

As the voice reached Yunmen Qianfan's ears, her entire being trembled. She immediately rose and followed behind Xu Qing. The entire Ninth Peak suddenly trembled. Amidst the rippling formation and the respectful gazes of the three cultivators, Xu Qing stepped out of the array. His first step landed in the void, creating circular ripples that resonated in all directions. His second step took him into the sky, striding towards the distant horizon.

Yunmen Qianfan followed behind, like a maidservant. This was how she positioned herself for the journey ahead. For her, everything had been staked as a gamble. At this moment, she could only place her hope in Yan Xuanzi, the one guided by her divination.