Chapter 148: 146: Another Encounter with Qiong Qi! [Medium Cup]

The sensation of observing the external world through someone else's six senses is truly marvelous. Wu Wang sat in a wooden chair behind the long hall table, stealing a moment amidst his busy schedule, using the two bundles of Transformation Qi left by Senior Shen Nong to take a glimpse at Yang Wudi's current actions.

This situation was somewhat like Wu Wang from his previous life doing indoor simulated battlefield training, yet it was clearer and more realistic than those devices.

When Qiong Qi controlled a cultivator's Primordial Spirit, it probably had a similar perspective.

Unfortunately, he couldn't look any longer at this time, as he had guests by his side.

By the side of the long table, Ling Xiaolan sat upright in another wooden chair.

She picked up her tea and, using the jade straw Wu Wang had once given her, gently sipped.

Wu Wang opened his eyes and continued chatting with Ling Xiaolan.

"Where did the Fairy Immortal leave off just now?"

"I've already passed on two sets of the Xuan Nu Sect's Cultivation Techniques to Le Yao Daoist," Ling Xiaolan said softly. "Although I don't fancy the people from the Demonic Sect, this is ultimately for Brother Ji's benefit; Le Yao has also sworn not to spread the word."

"Speaking of which, Fairy Immortal, did you go to Brother Ji's wedding?"

"I didn't appear in person that time."

Ling Xiaolan sighed softly, a slight weariness evident in her slightly narrowed almond eyes.

She complained somewhat discontentedly, "It's better now, but in the past few years, there's always been someone coming to the Xuan Nu Sect to propose marriage, each boasting grandly and always managing to anger my master into drawing her sword and slashing at them."

Wu Wang laughed and said, "The reputation of the Tianyan Saintess really doesn't come with many benefits."

"That can't be entirely true."

Ling Xiaolan laughed softly, surrounded by a gentle glow that made Wu Wang unconsciously take a few more glances.

She said, "The Sect has given me not only the kindness of imparting techniques, but also believes that being the Tianyan Saintess is a good thing, so as a disciple, I naturally have to cooperate."

"The sense of belonging you have to your Sect is pretty good," Wu Wang commented.

"What about you, Wu Wang? Do you feel a sense of belonging to the Annihilation Sect?"

Wu Wang laughed and said, "Of course, there is a sense of belonging, but since I've only been the Sect Master of the Annihilation Sect for a short time, this feeling isn't very strong."

Ling Xiaolan blinked, as if asking Wu Wang something.

Wu Wang picked up the tea that Suqing had just brought, blew away the tea leaves on top, and guzzled a couple of gulps, GLUG GLUG. He laughed and said, "At first, I was also very repelled by the word 'Demonic Sect,' preemptively thinking that the Demonic Sect was filled with Demonic Cultivators who kill without blinking an eye. But after some contact, I found that due to the pressure from outside the Human Domain, the essence of the Immortal Sect and Demonic Sect boils down to a difference in Cultivation Techniques. The Annihilation Sect is a mid-sized Sect; before I got there, it didn't have any industries at all, and it was actually the merger of three declining Sects, with its ranking continuing to fall. Clearly, this Sect with a lengthy name is finding it hard to keep up with the overall development of the Human Domain."

Ling Xiaolan reflected thoughtfully and said softly, "Looking at the matters of the Sect from such a perspective is indeed quite novel."

Wu Wang continued, "Why can't they keep up with the development of the Human Domain? Actually, it's because they haven't changed; they still follow the ancient rules handed down in the Human Domain, when the purpose of a Sect's existence was just to train enough Immortal Soldiers for the borderlands to protect the Human Domain. In fact, today's Sects in the Human Domain, with the continued reduction of external pressures, have begun to establish their own territories and emphasize lineage. The sense of belonging to the Sect among its members squeezes out some of the sense of belonging to the Human Domain. This is also a problem that the Human Domain is currently facing. If the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion doesn't start reforming in time, the entire Human Domain will inevitably begin to suffer from internal strife."

Ling Xiaolan asked seriously, "Is there a way to avoid this?"

"Overall, there are only two feasible paths," said Wu Wang, "one is to declare war directly on Heaven Palace, and the other is for a new model to emerge to replace the single model of Sects granting the Dao, increasing other ways to train Immortal Soldiers."

Ling Xiaolan: ...

Her cheeks turned slightly red as she said in a quiet voice, "Brother Wu Wang, I'm a little confused now."

Wu Wang put down his teacup and laughed, "Then let's talk about poetry and calligraphy... Fairy Immortal, please wait for me a while, I have some matters to attend to."

Upon saying this, he immersed his spiritual mind into his Spirit Platform, taking a near-defenseless stance toward Ling Xiaolan.

Wu Wang wrapped his Divine Thought around the 'Shen Nong Transformation Qi,' watching the environment around Yang Wudi outside.

Ling Xiaolan turned her head to look at the side, her lips puffing slightly in determination—she resolved to quickly make up for her lack of knowledge about the Human Domain cultivation patterns and developmental environment!

Does he think I know too little? she wondered, sneaking a glance at Wu Wang, who was meditating. She immediately took out a message-transmitting Jade Talisman wrapped in a handkerchief, but thinking it was not secure enough, she quietly got up and floated out of the great hall.

She was determined, the next time such a topic came up, to be able to talk more with Brother Wu Wang.

「Meanwhile.」

Through Yang Wudi's perspective, Wu Wang observed the environment inside and outside this Ten Evils Hall hideout.

It was in a desolate valley, with several small Sects within a few hundred miles; from the outside, the valley only appeared to have two abandoned ancestral temples.

Scattered crows, hollow deadwood, broken bells and drums, the sun setting in the west.

Yang Wudi and his group of five arrived here, lurked in the valley for a good part of half a day to ensure there were no pursuers, and then entered a broken temple, removing two stone slabs from a corner to squeeze into a downward earthen tunnel.

The Ten Evils Hall hideout, it seemed, was indeed well concealed.

Yang Wudi followed the twists and turns in the tunnel, bypassed two disguised Formations, and successfully reached a hundred zhang deep underground.

The scale of this underground lair was not small, with passageways branching out in all directions; within it were several main corridors, with narrow passages extending from the main corridors, and at the end of those passages were round dwellings for people.

The overall layout resembled an upside-down crown of a fruit tree.

Yang Wudi and his party headed straight for the largest of these round chambers, but halfway there, they were surrounded by a group of figures in black.

"You are... Take them down!"

Dozens of people attacked at once. The four people behind Yang Wudi instinctively wanted to fight back but were stopped by Yang Wudi's loud shout.

"Hold your fire! Stop! Don't fight your own people!"

Wu Wang watched closely and noticed that Yang Wudi was not the least bit flustered, and there was no flash of Immortal Light in the God's Mansion where his Primordial Spirit resided.

True serenity amidst chaos.

Yang Wudi stood with his hands clasped behind his back and shouted loudly, "I am Yang Wudi! A high-ranking officer accountable to the Elders! What is the meaning of this?"

"Wasn't Lord Yang Wudi captured!"

The few people behind Yang Wudi immediately said:

"We escaped."

"Thanks to Lord Yang Wudi, we narrowly escaped death and managed to get here."

"They planned to escort us to the Main Hall of the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion, but luckily Lord Yang Wudi was clever and courageous. He retained a trick up his sleeve and led us to break out halfway."

"The others... it's too horrific to look at! They fell into the hands of that extremely cruel Punishment Hall Master, their lives are worse than death!"

The four evil-doers who escaped with Yang Wudi continually shouted, swiftly recounting the many details of their harrowing escape.

Yang Wudi intentionally showed signs of fatigue and weakness, his body covered in scars from a brutal beating.

It was nothing more than a trick to feign suffering.

The attitudes of these evil-doers in this place quickly changed.hought was by no means comparable to the simulation combat equipment from his previous life.

No wonder Qiong Qi was so immersed in it back then.

In the meantime, Wu Wang began to ponder the aura that had been on his Spirit Platform for some time.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the methods of Senior Shen Nong were diverse and always came up with something new.

Wu Wang unfurled the aura and 'grabbed' a thread of it within his Nascent Soul, closely examining and comprehending it.

This substance was neither Mana, Divine Power, thought power, nor Spiritual Power, nor seemed to be something that Divine Skills could produce. But ultimately, it was a product of the old senior's Divine Skills.

In the Cultivation methods of the Human Domain, there were techniques that could incorporate 'physical' things like divine fire and poison water into the body for nurturing and flinging at enemies during Duels with remarkably effective results.

This gray aura must be such a Divine Skill nurtured by Senior Shen Nong.

Its essence was Wood Essence, containing the rules of several Great Daos, similar in 'concept' to the Heavenly Tribulation bestowed by Heaven Palace.

Clearly, whether it be Emperor Fuxi or Senior Shen Nong, they had always been striving to explore capabilities beyond the Dao of Fire.

Not an easy feat.

This time around, it seemed he had reaped the benefits without much effort.

At that moment, he suddenly heard Yang Wudi's Primordial Spirit calling out, "Sect Master, can I go out now? It's really uncomfortable in here."

Wu Wang said, "You can improvise. This aura was only meant to find their main hall's location after your six senses were obscured."

"Ah, yes."

Yang Wudi responded, leapt out of the Blood Pool, casually seized a few of the Ten Evils Hall's villains, and started praising the Divine Power bestowed by their fathers.

Wu Wang listened for a while and nearly laughed out loud multiple times.

This thick-browed, big-eyed Yang Wudi! When he gets back, I'll make him create a 50,000-word 'inscription' to praise the old Sect Master and erect a circle of steles around the old Sect Master's colorful grave!

An hour later.

A Heavenly Immortal's pressure pervaded every corner of the earthen cave, making both Wu Wang and Yang Wudi immediately perk up.

According to Wu Wang's calculations, the greatest obstacle to Yang Wudi's return to the Ten Evils Hall was about to arrive!

Shortly after, an emaciated old man in a blue-green robe appeared in front of Yang Wudi; he frowned at Yang Wudi, gathered the other four escapees, and repeatedly questioned them.

Without a single lie, Yang Wudi detailed step by step how they had managed to escape back.

The several Ten Evils Hall villains also spoke up, each recounting their experiences, corroborating each other's stories without discrepancies, matching Yang Wudi's account.

——This was why it was important to escape with others.

The eyes of the Heavenly Immortal old man had held killing intent.

As the five of them showed their injuries, his expression gradually relaxed, and in the end, he simply said, "You all stay here and heal. I will report this matter to the Elders. You have all suffered this time, and the Elders will not be stingy with your rewards. Especially you, Wudi, rest well here."

"Thank you for your understanding!"

Yang Wudi thanked him repeatedly. Next, he would essentially be under house arrest here.

After the old villain left, Yang Wudi found a place to stay and bunkered down to sleep, his Primordial Spirit hurriedly seeking out the gray aura to converse.

"Sect Master, what should your subordinate do next?"

"You just sleep, recuperate, and pray to those fathers of yours every day."

"Sigh, those fathers are just extraneous bits, mere show for the occasion; please don't take them seriously."

"Just rest easy. I'll handle the next steps."

Wu Wang gave Yang Wudi a few more pointers on how to act out his role and then withdrew his Divine Thought.

He opened his eyes behind the long table and looked at Ling Xiaolan beside him, who was immersed in reading, and gently said, "Fairy Immortal, you should go rest at Suqing's place. I need to attend to some official business."

"Oh, okay," Ling Xiaolan immediately stood up, looking a bit awkward as she said, "I forgot you had work to do. Busy yourself."

After Ling Xiaolan left the great hall, Wu Wang's smile at the corner of his mouth faded, and Xiao Jian Daoist and the Grand Elder appeared on either side of Wu Wang.

Xiao Jian Daoist said, "Hall Master, just give the orders directly."

"Announce publicly about the escape of five villains. Suspend the Immortal Soldier captain who was responsible for escorting them to the Main Hall, and then have this captain go out and get drunk once, saying some words of complaint about this matter."

Wu Wang pondered carefully, afraid of overdoing things and missing the mark.

"Put up the portraits of Yang Wudi and the other four, and later vindicate Wudi."

"Yes!"

Xiao Jian Daoist complied, stepped back two paces, and immediately disappeared.

——This was him addressing Wu Wang in the capacity of someone subordinate to the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion.

The Grand Elder asked, "Sect Master, is there anything else we of the Annihilation Sect need to do?"

"The fact that Wudi originates from the Annihilation Sect might not be known to the Ten Evils Hall," Wu Wang said, "It's best to do as little as possible and let everyone cultivate in peace. As long as we don't mention Yang Wudi and Zhang Moshan, it should be fine."

"Understood."

The Grand Elder softly uttered the word and quietly vanished, leaving only Wu Wang sitting alone in the great hall.

For the following half-month, both Wu Wang and Yang Wudi waited anxiously.

Yang Wudi was interrogated by the Ten Evils Hall six times, one after another.

Because the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion had posted portraits of Yang Wudi and his companions, launching a comprehensive search for Yang Wudi's whereabouts, the Ten Evils Hall increasingly valued him; their tone became more and more courteous with each visit.

Yang Wudi overheard some rumors that the matter had alarmed the highest echelons of the Ten Evils Hall, where a Chief Elder intended to recommend him to a certain distinguished figure.

Finally, during the sixth interrogation, Yang Wudi heard those words:

"Lord Wudi, please come with us. The Chief Elder wishes to see you."

Yang Wudi immediately became spirited, his Primordial Spirit calling out 'Sect Master' twice; Wu Wang promptly focused intently, keeping close watch on the situation here.

Before the sturdy man who stood nine feet tall could even start to speak, he was stuffed into a sack by two Heavenly Immortals.

The same old procedure.

With his six senses sealed, Yang Wudi couldn't help feeling somewhat anxious.

Wu Wang also had no way of clearly seeing the environment surrounding Yang Wudi and could only offer words of comfort, "Don't worry, there are no flaws."

"Yes, your servant doesn't worry. With the Sect Master here, your servant isn't worried at all," said Yang Wudi's Primordial Spirit as he forced an ugly smile.

Wu Wang sensitively perceived that the sack containing Yang Wudi was flying swiftly, seemingly in the southwest direction; after about an hour, the connection between the two clumps of grey energy was severed, then quickly restored.

The location where Yang Wudi found himself had suddenly become northeast of Wu Wang!

Clearly, Yang Wudi had just passed through a Teleportation Array.

The destination of the Teleportation Array must be inside the fourth main hall.

There, Wu Wang was not certain what Formation had been laid out, and could only approximate the specific location of that clump of grey energy within a ten-thousand-mile radius on the map of the Human Domain.

Moreover, because of the interference from the grand Formation, Wu Wang could only vaguely see the environment around Yang Wudi at this moment.

It was as if it were obscured by frosted glass.

Fortunately, the situation inside Yang Wudi's God's Mansion was still clearly visible to Wu Wang; he could also hear the conversations between Yang Wudi and others distinctly.

The old predecessor's Divine Skills lacked some interference resistance.

One person praised, saying, "Yang Wudi, you've performed very well this time; the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion is in an uproar! Hahaha, just as the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion has that Wu Wangzi, our Ten Gods Hall also has a talent like you!"

Yang Wudi's heart trembled, and he hurriedly said, "You overpraise me, truly you do."

"Hahaha, quite modest eh? It's rare, rare indeed."

Chuckling a few times, the shadowy figure guiding Yang Wudi through the underground hall whispered, "This isn't your first time going to see the Chief Elder. Remember my previous admonitions to you - what you should say and what you shouldn't. Keep it in mind. You're quite clever, and your methods are sufficient. If we help each other in the future, we can certainly gain quite a bit."

"Thank you for your promotion, sir. Your servant is willing to work like a dog or horse for you."

Wu Wang: ...

Before he could even comment on Yang Wudi's attitude, he felt a sudden tightness inside; that familiar scent passed through Yang Wudi's nose and was sensed by Wu Wang synchronously!

Just then, Yang Wudi pushed open two stone doors and entered a cave dwelling, bowing his head.

Within the stone doors, an elderly woman clad in splendid attire knelt on the ground while the female Heavenly Immortal with her hat tilted slightly back, glanced towards Yang Wudi.

Qiong Qi!

Wu Wang instantly recognized the identity of this female Heavenly Immortal.

Like Xue Kailong, a Human Domain cultivator controlled by a strand of Qiong Qi's Divine Soul!

Could Yang Wudi handle it?

Wu Wang and Yang Wudi had already considered such a scenario, which was the risk Yang Wudi had decided to take on.

One cannot catch the tiger's cub without entering the tiger's den.

Dividing his attention, Wu Wang kept his eye on the map of the Human Domain in front of him, narrowing down the approximate area where Yang Wudi was located as much as possible.

"Are you Yang Wudi?"

The Qiong Qi, in the form of a female Heavenly Immortal, asked softly as the stone doors behind Yang Wudi slowly closed.

Then and there, the female Heavenly Immortal removed her hat, revealing a beautiful face, and beckoned to Yang Wudi with her fingers.

The thought that this female Heavenly Immortal was merely a mask and within was an Evil God uncle who lived for who knows how many years made Wu Wang immediately feel all kinds of discomfort.

Yang Wudi, swallowing his nerves, moved forward, knelt on one knee and called out, "I pay respect to the great one!"

The female Heavenly Immortal stepped forward, her feet gliding atop faint Immortal Light, until she was beside Yang Wudi.

Yang Wudi shuddered.

Was it about to start again? My dark history, repeatedly coveted by the Ten Evils Hall, was it about to unfold once more? Under normal circumstances, that wouldn't be a problem, but now the Sect Master himself is watching! Wouldn't this sully the Sect Master's eyes?

As the female Heavenly Immortal leaned down, Yang Wudi, rather nervous, closed his eyes tightly, frantically searching his mind for a way to deal with her.

Without warning, the female Heavenly Immortal suddenly struck down with a palm, her five fingers clamping down on Yang Wudi's head like an iron hoop!

A wisp of black Qi flowed from her palm into the top of Yang Wudi's head and surged straight into the God's Mansion where his Primordial Spirit dwelt!

The black Qi coalesced into the shadowy figure of Qiong Qi inside Yang Wudi's God's Mansion. This shadow started to revolve slowly around the tiny figure of Yang Wudi's Primordial Spirit, emitting gleeful, wicked laughter.

Wu Wang: ...

Yang Wudi: ...

Danger.