Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In the valley, Xiao Li's figure flickered around Lu Qing.
Every now and then, it would slash at him with its claw, tearing through the air to form blades of energy that attacked Lu Qing.
Lu Qing held a thousand-times-forged sword and with a slight flick of his wrist, easily shattered the wind blades.
That's right, Lu Qing is sparring with Xiao Li.
At the same time, in order to test the upper limit of Xiao Li's strength, he also allowed him to attack freely without worrying about whether he would get injured.
But it seems the little guy still isn't quite open enough.
"Xiao Li, you can't do anything to me with just these wind blades. Show me your real skills," Lu Qing said with a smile.
Whoosh!
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Li suddenly appeared to Lu Qing's left, waving her claws and flashing several cold lights that stung Lu Qing's skin.
It looked like Xiao Li's claws were about to scratch Lu Qing.
At the critical moment, Lu Qing's longsword traced a mysterious trajectory, arriving first despite being behind, and narrowly blocked Xiao Li's claws.
Whoosh!
Without any suspense, Lu Qing's thousand-times-refined sword was instantly severed by Xiao Li's incomparably sharp claws.
Despite this slight obstruction, Lu Qing used his movement technique to nimbly retreat backward.
However, just when he thought he had escaped Xiao Li's attack range, he saw Xiao Li's figure flash once again and disappear into the air.
When it reappeared, it was already less than a foot {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} away from him. Then it gently slashed at his neck, cutting off a strand of his hair, before retreating and standing on a branch of a large tree, no longer attacking.
"sharp!"
Lu Qing caught the strand of hair that was falling down and couldn't help but praise it.
Xiao Li's speed is indeed astonishing.
Combined with its elusive and unpredictable innate abilities, even he, without using his trump cards, was no match for it.
"Aww~"
Xiao Li let out a soft cry, raised her head and puffed out her chest, looking smug.
“You...” Lu Qing shook his head and chuckled, “But Xiao Li, although your speed and claws are formidable, you are not invincible. There are still some extraordinary skills and techniques in this world that can limit you. You must not be too complacent or careless.”
"Huh?"
Xiao Li looked at Lu Qing with suspicion, seemingly not quite believing his words.
"You don't believe me? Fine, then attack me again." Lu Qing smiled.
Whoosh!
Xiao Li disappeared again, entering stealth mode, and pounced on Lu Qing.
Lu Qing's smile remained unchanged, but as Xiao Li disappeared, a yellow light flashed around his body.
The next moment, a claw appeared in front of him and slashed toward his shoulder.
But as soon as it appeared, it was frozen in the air and could not move forward an inch.
Immediately afterwards, Xiao Li's figure gradually appeared in the air and hovered in mid-air.
His eyes were filled with shock and confusion.
They seemed not to understand how Lu Qing had managed to catch it.
"See?" Lu Qing tapped Xiao Li's head with his finger. "Your speed is fast, but your strength is a bit lacking, only about the same as the most ordinary beginner innate realm."
If I were to encounter a truly powerful Innate Realm expert, such as someone like me who possesses extraordinary abilities, or a top expert like my master who has comprehended the Innate Realm, I would be able to achieve great things.
As long as you set up an aura around yourself in advance, you will not be afraid of me, and I may even be able to control you.
Even though your claws are incredibly sharp and capable of cutting through anything, they aren't powerful enough to easily tear apart such an invisible force field.
Lu Qing withdrew the magnetic field around him, and Xiao Li's body gently landed, but a thoughtful look appeared in her eyes.
Seeing this, Lu Qing didn't disturb it.
Although Xiao Li is highly intelligent, she is simple-minded and lacks experience in combat.
This time, let's teach it a small lesson so that it doesn't get too cocky because of its increased strength.
After all, this is a time of great change for the world, and who knows what kind of monsters or evil creatures might appear in the future.
We still need to be vigilant.
Xiao Li lowered her head and thought for a while, then suddenly raised her head and tugged at Lu Qing's trouser leg.
Lu Qing understood the meaning in its eyes: "You want to spar with me in the future and practice your combat skills?"
Xiao Li nodded.
"Alright, actually, Xiao Li, your innate supernatural power is really amazing. If you can use it well, my magnetic field might not be able to trap you."
Lu Qing readily agreed and gave Xiao Li a lot of encouragement.
However, he wasn't just saying that to comfort Xiao Li.
Rather, it is Xiao Li's innate supernatural abilities that truly have unlimited potential to be explored.
After all, this involves a spatial innate ability, and in Lu Qing's understanding, nothing related to space is simple.
"Aww~"
Hearing Lu Qing's encouragement, Xiao Li, who had just suffered a setback, felt much better and immediately jumped onto his shoulder.
"Alright, let's go back. Master Ma should have finished making breakfast. After we eat, we still need to set off."
As Lu Qing led Xiao Li toward the carriage, he was also deep in thought.
After sparring with Xiao Li, he had a better understanding of Xiao Li's current strength.
After advancing to the Innate Level Spirit Beast, Xiao Li's strength was greatly enhanced.
Both its speed and the sharpness of its claws have been greatly enhanced.
In particular, the transformation of her innate divine power is extremely profound. After it is used, ordinary people at the Innate Realm cannot detect Xiao Li's movements at all.
Only someone like him, who has condensed a soul talisman, possesses extremely strong soul perception, and has a rare treasure like the Earth Spirit Pearl to guard his soul, could barely sense the spatial fluctuations when Xiao Li moved.
Otherwise, even a powerful expert at the peak of the Innate Realm would probably find it difficult to see through Xiao Li's supernatural abilities.
It can be said that as long as Xiao Li uses its innate supernatural powers properly, it will become the most terrifying killer in the world.
Even a top expert who has reached the Great Perfection of the Innate Realm might not be able to escape Xiao Li's sneak attack if they haven't comprehended the Innate Domain.
Therefore, in the days to come, he will have to put in a lot of effort to help Xiao Li learn how to use its innate supernatural powers.
When Lu Qing brought Xiao Li back to the woods, Ma Gu had just finished preparing breakfast, and Xiao Yan had just finished practicing her breathing techniques and was finishing her exercises.
After breakfast, everyone tidied up and set off again.
They are now in a strange, large state called Hongzhou.
Once they cross one more major state, they will be able to officially enter the Central State.
Based on the map Lu Qing and his companions possessed, and the speed of the carriage, they estimated that they would reach the edge of Zhongzhou in three days at most.
After Xiao Li woke up, everyone had no more worries and began to focus wholeheartedly on their journey.
Along the way, they had almost no contact with anyone else.
Because of the special nature of the carriage, they even chose to stay in the wilderness instead of entering cities or towns.
However, even so, since they were traveling on the official road, they would inevitably encounter other pedestrians.
When faced with this situation, Magu would often flick his whip, causing the carriage to speed up as the blue aura flowed, allowing him to overtake the other horse in an instant.
Everyone who witnessed this scene was speechless with astonishment.
As a result, a legend of a wind-riding chariot began to circulate in the places Lu Qing and his companions passed through.
Lu Qing and his companions were completely unaware of what was happening behind them.
On this day, after a long journey, they finally stopped and stared blankly at the scene ahead.
At that moment, in the distance, a majestic, towering mountain range, resembling a giant dragon, lay sprawled on the earth.
Above the mountain range, waterfalls hang down, creating a spectacular sight.
"Master, is that Zhongzhou?"
Wei Zian stared in awe at the massive, winding mountain range ahead, his mouth agape as he asked.
"How would I know? I've never been to Zhongzhou."
Magu was equally shocked and murmured.
He simply followed the directions indicated on the map, driving the carriage along the official road.
Who would have thought that we would witness such a breathtaking scene?
"It should be right, this should be the border of Zhongzhou."
The old doctor breathed a sigh of relief and said softly.
When he was young, he had thought about traveling and making his way in the Central Plains.
However, due to various reasons, this wish was ultimately not fulfilled.
Unexpectedly, in his old age, he was able to come to Zhongzhou.
Looking at the massive mountain range ahead, Lu Qing was also somewhat shaken.
The mountain range before us is far more imposing than the Ten Thousand Mountains behind Jiuli Village.
Standing here, Lu Qing could feel that the spiritual energy in the surrounding world was much richer than that in the great states they had passed through before.
"As expected of the most prosperous and spiritually rich place in the world, even before officially entering the Central Plains, the concentration of spiritual energy has almost doubled just by getting close."
I can't even imagine how dense the spiritual energy must be in the heart of that Central Plains.
Lu Qing felt somewhat relieved.
Fortunately, Master had a premonition and made the decision to come to Zhongzhou.
Otherwise, without experiencing it firsthand, how could he have imagined that the spiritual energy in Zhongzhou was so abundant?
In comparison, the spiritual energy of the several large states they had previously encountered was practically barren.
Nourished by such abundant spiritual energy, it is bound to give birth to unimaginable geniuses and all sorts of rare and precious materials.
The top martial artists who are in this environment will surely make rapid progress in their cultivation.
If they hadn't come this time, in a few more days, they might have completely fallen behind the pace of the world's recovery, becoming like frogs in a well, unaware of the world's progress.
The group stood on the road, gazing at the majestic mountains in the distance, savoring their grandeur and atmosphere.
In the end, Lu Qing was the first to come to her senses.
“Master, now that we have seen this giant mountain range, according to the map, we should have reached Qinglong Pass. If we continue forward, we will be able to reach Qinglong City.”
The map that Lu Qing and the others had was given to them by Wei Shanhai.
When Wei Shanhai was young, he traveled extensively and even visited the Central Plains, so he naturally had the corresponding maps.
However, Lu Qing did not expect that Qinglong Pass, one of the checkpoints marked on the map for entering Zhongzhou, would be so grand, majestic and awe-inspiring.
"Then let's continue on our way and get into Azure Dragon City as soon as possible." The old doctor nodded.
So everyone boarded the carriage again and set off.
As the saying goes, "Looking at a mountain makes you feel like you're running yourself to death," the majestic mountain range ahead of Qinglong Pass, though not far away, was actually a hundred miles away from Lu Qing and his group.
Even at the speed of the carriage engraved with the magic array, it took a full half hour before the base of the mountain range could be faintly seen.
At the same time, we also saw the huge city at the foot of the mountain.
"That should be Azure Dragon City, Master Ma, slow down."
Lu Qing said after seeing the city.
At the same time, with a thought, he temporarily stopped the formation on the carriage.
The array on the carriage was personally engraved by him, although he had set it to be able to activate on its own.
But if he wanted to control it, it would only take a single thought.
The array-shaped chariot is unusual and quite extraordinary.
As a gateway city to Zhongzhou, Qinglong City must be full of hidden talents and experts.
Before they understand the situation inside, they should keep a low profile.
After the formation was stopped, the carriage suddenly became much heavier, and both horses seemed a little unaccustomed to it, snorting several times.
Fortunately, the Magus had already slowed down, so they only became a little restless at first, but then quieted down and slowly trotted forward.
Rumble, rumble...
When they were still several miles away from Qinglong City, Lu Qing and his group heard a faint rumbling sound.
As you lift the curtain of the carriage, a fresh, moist mist rushes towards you.
It was the sound of the waterfall they had seen from afar, hanging on the mountain that resembled an ancient dragon, crashing down.
"At the foot of this giant dragon mountain range, there is actually a turbulent river that meanders along."
Upon hearing the sound of water, Lu Qing had a vague idea in his mind.
Through the carriage window, he watched the approaching Azure Dragon City, and the spiritual power in his brow acupoint surged slightly.
He could sense that there were many powerful auras within Azure Dragon City.
Several of them possessed an aura that was no less powerful than that of the two Supreme Elders of the Flowing Cloud Sect.
As for whether there is an even more powerful being, he had no idea.
Once a cultivator at the Innate Realm reaches a certain level, they can conceal their aura.
Just like the master, after comprehending the innate domain, he was able to perfectly conceal his aura.
Even Lu Qing would find it difficult to perceive his master's innate spiritual essence using only his spiritual sense.
This Azure Dragon City is so magnificent, even more imposing than any other prefecture city he has ever seen. It's hard to guarantee that there isn't a powerful figure residing there.
The carriage moved slowly, and soon arrived at the gates of Qinglong City.
"Is this Azure Dragon City?"
Lu Qing and the others stepped off the carriage.
Looking at the three large, elegantly carved characters on the towering city gate, a powerful and domineering aura emanates from it.
Lu Qing felt a slight chill run down his spine.
He could tell that the person who carved those three words was an exceptional master.
He was at least much stronger than any martial artist he had ever seen.
Even my current master would probably pale in comparison.
Out of curiosity, he activated his supernatural ability and looked at the three words.
