"Lord City Lord, what did you say?"
Everyone stared in astonishment at the Azure Dragon City Lord.
I wanted to see if there was any sign of him joking on his face.
Are you kidding me? Is there any existence in this world that even a sacred mountain wouldn't dare to provoke?
Even the legendary four secret lands are at most on par with the Holy Mountain.
It's far from being so bad that even the sacred mountain wouldn't dare to provoke it.
"Don't think I'm joking. Do you know what this young master Lu did in the Holy City not long ago?"
The Lord of Azure Dragon City sighed.
"What major event has occurred in the Holy City?"
A thought struck everyone as they recalled what the city lord had said earlier.
They all knew that there was a mysterious magic array in the city lord's mansion.
It enables seamless communication and rapid message transmission with the holy city thousands of miles away.
It seems that the city lord has received some very important information.
"Just a few days ago, on the day when the Dao of Heaven and Earth resounded again, this young master Lu, in the Holy City, triggered a calamity cloud with his physical body."
He survived nine tribulations of lightning, becoming the first person in the world to undergo tribulation since the changes in heaven and earth and the revival of spiritual energy.
After overcoming his tribulation, he forcefully killed many eminent monks from the Suspended Mountain lineage.
Even when the Third Holy Lord tried to stop him, he was defeated by his blade.
It intimidated the entire holy city, and no one dared to challenge its might.
Ultimately, the authorities at Mount Sheng did not punish him.
"Do you think our Azure Dragon City can afford to offend such an existence?"
The first person to transcend tribulation since the beginning of the world's transformation!
He slew the eminent monks of the Suspended Mountain lineage and defeated the Third Holy Lord!
Every word spoken by the Azure Dragon City Lord sent shivers down the spines of the assembled Innate Realm experts.
The fact that he defeated the Third Holy Lord, in particular, shocked everyone.
Because, in their hearts, the three Holy Lords on the Holy Mountain were practically invincible.
Now they're saying one of them was defeated by a teenager.
How could anyone not find this unbelievable?
"Lord City Lord, is what you're saying true? That young man is just a teenager, yet he possesses such terrifying power?"
Someone asked in disbelief.
"Didn't you all see it just now? The eldest son of the Qi family is just as powerful as any of you."
But in the blink of an eye, he was crushed into a meat patty.
"With such methods, who among you can withstand them?"
Recalling the bizarre methods Lu Qing had just used, everyone fell silent.
Forget about resisting, they didn't even understand what kind of power Lu Qing was using.
"Furthermore, not to mention Young Master Lu, even his master, that old man from earlier, is no ordinary person."
On the sacred mountain, he once unleashed a sword energy domain.
Its power was so great that even the top experts from the four secret realms were amazed.
It is said that below the level of perfect innate cultivation, there is few who can rival him!
Sword Qi Domain...
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent once again.
That's a realm they can only dream of.
In some ways, those who possess a domain in the Innate Realm are even rarer than those who have reached the Perfect Innate Realm.
And the realm of swordsmanship is arguably the most lethal among all fields.
That unassuming old man from before was actually such a terrifyingly powerful expert?
Only then did the group of powerful figures understand why the city lord had been so humble earlier.
Faced with such an extraordinary and monstrous talent that defies all reason, one cannot help but be humble.
If the other party dared to kill even the people of Suspended Mountain, how could they possibly take him, the lord of Azure Dragon City, seriously?
If they get angry, none of them here will be able to escape.
Upon realizing this, the slight disdain that everyone had previously held for the Azure Dragon City Lord vanished instantly.
A feeling of gratitude even arose within them.
Fortunately, this person managed to calm the young man down; otherwise, those who were unaware of the situation would probably have already offended him.
"Lord City Lord, what should we do now?"
At that moment, someone asked.
"Let's investigate the Qi family's affairs first," the Azure Dragon City Lord sneered.
"The plague in Fengzhou has raised questions on the side of Shengshan. They felt that the outbreak was too strange and came without any warning."
Now it seems there really was someone pulling the strings in the shadows!
Everyone looked at the Qi family's Xiantian members who were already dead on the spot, and understood that with the city lord's order, the Qi family was completely finished.
Regardless of whether the Qi family was responsible, they have already offended that person.
To quell that person's anger, the city lord will not let them off easily.
"Master Ji, that Hu Laosan said that your young master has evidence that the Qi family started the plague."
Please go and retrieve the evidence. The rest of you, come with me to the Qi family's house first.
"Take control of the rest of the Qi family first."
The Lord of Azure Dragon City was a decisive person. After making a decision in his mind, he immediately gave the order.
"Yes, we understand."
At this moment, the crowd naturally wouldn't disagree with him and immediately agreed in unison.
Those powerful individuals who already had disagreements with the Qi family, in particular, revealed excitement in their eyes.
The Qi family, relying on their large number of members at the Innate Realm and their immense power, has always acted arrogantly and domineeringly in the city.
Many factions in the city have had conflicts with them.
Now that the Qi family is about to be destroyed, how could he not be excited?
Immediately, the Ji family patriarch, along with the family's Innate Realm experts, went to fetch his youngest son, following the note left by Hu Laosan.
The others followed the Azure Dragon City Lord and headed towards the Qi family in a grand procession.
...
"...At that time, Young Master Ji was probably being targeted by the Qi family. He said he had been marked with some kind of miasma mark."
Once inside the city, there is not only the possibility of being discovered, but there is also the possibility of bringing miasma into the city and harming the citizens, so the only option is to hide outside the city.
I was on duty at the city gate when a child suddenly handed me a letter.
Unexpectedly, the Qi family still discovered the clues.
Just as he got home and finished reading the letter, Qi Wenzheng led his men in and stormed in.
It's strange, really. I was being very careful at the time, and I don't know where I slipped up.
Just as many people at the Innate Realm were heading to the Qi family, Lu Qing and the others were also heading towards the city gate.
Along the way, Hu Laosan recounted what had happened before Lu Qing and the others arrived.
After taking the medicine prescribed by the old doctor, his injuries had mostly healed and he was basically fine.
“Miasma...” Lu Qing fell into thought.
After a while, he said, "The fact that the Qi family discovered something about you should have nothing to do with you. The problem probably lies with that letter."
"A letter?" Old Hu asked, puzzled.
"That's right. If that Third Young Master Ji really was afflicted by the miasma mark, everything he came into contact with would have a trace of miasma."
Although it's very faint, if the Qi family possesses the corresponding magical artifacts or techniques, they should be able to sense it at a close enough distance.
"A magical artifact?" Old Hu was even more puzzled.
"You can think of it as some kind of artifact with special power, but that magical artifact shouldn't be very powerful, otherwise, the Qi family member wouldn't have not used it earlier."
Lu Qing offered a brief explanation, but he also fell into thought.
According to what Hu Laosan said, the situation of that third young master of the Ji family is probably not good.
The miasma mark—this is no ordinary thing.
Only those who have successfully cultivated evil methods can leave such a mark.
Previously, he had only learned from the note on the eldest son of the Qi family that the Qi family was causing a plague in Fengzhou.
However, the specific methods they used are unknown.
Hearing what Hu Laosan said, he immediately realized that something was wrong.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but call out, "Master Ma, stop the car for a moment."
Magu stopped the carriage.
"Aqing, what's wrong?" the old doctor asked.
“Master, if the third young master of the Ji family is afflicted with the miasma mark, then things may not be so simple,” Lu Qing said with a grave expression.
"Only true evil cultivators can cultivate this miasma mark."
Such heretical practices often represent disaster and misfortune, and it is common for them to cause deaths wherever they go.
In severe cases, widespread death toll and rampant plagues are quite normal.
"You're calling him an evil cultivator!"
The old doctor's expression also changed.
He had seen the information jade slip that Lu Qing had inscribed for him, which contained simple information about many ancient cultivation schools.
Among them are those concerning heretical practices.
Therefore, we know just how terrifying true heretical cultivation can be.
"Ah Qing, do you mean that the evil cultivator is in the Qi family?"
The old doctor looked rather unwell.
If this is true, the presence of an evil cultivator hiding in a densely populated city would pose a tremendous crisis to the citizens of Qinglong City.
“He shouldn’t be there. If there were any evil cultivators hiding in the city, he couldn’t have escaped my senses.” Lu Qing shook his head.
He was quite confident about this.
After the runes reached the Innate Realm, the Divine Soul Talisman transformed into a 【Yang Talisman】.
Lu Qing's spiritual power has become so strong that it is enough to make all those in the Innate Realm look up to him.
If there were evil cultivators in the city, they couldn't have hidden themselves so perfectly that even he couldn't detect a single clue.
Moreover, evil cultivators who practice the path of miasma and poison are themselves destined for misfortune.
One should not linger in crowded places, otherwise one's aura will be leaked, spreading the plague and easily attracting attention.
With so many experts at the Innate Realm in the city, it would be extremely easy to expose one's identity.
Therefore, it is unlikely that the evil cultivator is hiding in the city.
Most likely, he is hiding somewhere outside the city, cultivating in seclusion.
Thinking of this, Lu Qing suddenly said, "Uncle Hu, do you still remember where the third young master of the Ji family is hiding?"
Hu Laosan was taken aback: "Of course I remember, but I already told Patriarch Ji about that place."
"It's too late. Let's go find him first. If we wait any longer, I'm afraid that Young Master Ji's life will be in danger."
"Then let's hurry over there!"
Upon hearing this, Old Hu San quickly replied.
He was still very concerned about the safety of the Third Young Master Ji.
After all, the two of them had stood guard at the city gate together for so long.
Although Young Master Ji went there to experience life, a friendship was still formed between the two.
"Once we're outside the city gate, just tell me the direction."
Lu Qing immediately had Ma Gu start the carriage, and after they left the city gate, Hu Laosan pointed out the direction.
A gentle breeze arose, and the carriage transformed into a streak of blue light, speeding forward at breakneck speed.
When had Hu Laosan ever seen such a spectacle?
His face turned pale as he watched the scenery rushing past the car window, blurred by the rushing light.
It's hard to imagine just how fast the carriage could go.
At the extreme speed of the magic array chariot, Lu Qing and his group arrived at the place Hu Laosan had mentioned in no time.
It was a small, desolate mountain village, with broken walls and ruins everywhere, looking as if it had been abandoned for a long time.
As everyone got off the bus, Hu Laosan looked dazed.
It should be noted that the place he was referring to was dozens of miles away from Qinglong City.
But just now, they had only been out of Qinglong City for less than a quarter of an hour, and they had already arrived here.
That speed is absolutely terrifying.
"Uncle Hu, this is the place you're talking about, right?" Lu Qing asked.
Hu Laosan came to his senses and nodded quickly: "That's right, this used to be a plague village. There was an outbreak of leprosy here, and many people died."
I came here once before, along with the city lord and his entourage.
Lu Qing nodded; he had already sensed a faint presence in the village.
Clearly, there are still people hiding inside, living their lives.
One of the auras was quite strong, much stronger than that of an ordinary person, clearly belonging to a martial artist.
Furthermore, he recognized the aura; it was the aura of the third young master of the Ji family.
However, the situation regarding this aura is not good either.
Its strength fluctuated, and its life force was extremely weak, as if it had encountered a serious illness.
He immediately said, "I can already sense the presence of that Young Master Ji. Let's go in."
The small village was full of ruins, making it difficult for horse-drawn carriages to travel.
So Ma Gu and Wei Zi'an stayed behind to guard the carriage, while Lu Qing and the others entered the village.
As they walked through the village, Lu Qing and his companions sensed that someone was spying on them from the dilapidated houses on either side.
When they looked over, those gazes immediately averted.
Lu Qing paid no attention to any of this and went straight to the location where he sensed the presence of the third young master of the Ji family.
It was a dilapidated thatched hut. When Lu Qing pushed the door open, a gasp came from inside, but it was a somewhat childish girl's voice.
"Little sister, don't be afraid, we're here to rescue this young master."
The light inside the thatched hut was dim, but it posed no obstacle for Lu Qing, who had night vision.
He immediately saw that there was a girl of about ten years old in the room, holding a wooden stick and looking at them very warily.
Behind her, on a wooden bed, a figure was sleeping.
However, despite Lu Qing's gentle tone, the girl clearly did not believe him.
She still gripped the wooden stick tightly in her hand, staring intently at Lu Qing and the others, refusing to budge an inch.
Just then, the sound of footsteps could be heard outside.
A group of ragged people, armed with wooden sticks and iron forks, slowly surrounded Lu Qing and his group.
Lu Qing naturally didn't take these physically weak villagers seriously.
However, he didn't make any unnecessary movements. Instead, he called out to the inside, "Young Master Ji, are you still awake? We're here to help you."
At this moment, Hu Laosan also shouted, "Young Master Ji, it's me, Lao Hu! I've brought men to rescue you!"
Upon hearing Hu Laosan's voice, the person lying inside finally stirred.
A weak voice rang out: "Xiaorou, don't be afraid, step back first. They are my friends, they are here to help us."
Upon hearing this sound, Xiaorou slowly retreated to the side of the wooden bed.
The group of ragged villagers outside also stopped in their tracks.
Only then were Lu Qing and the others able to enter the house.
When they finally saw what the Third Young Master Ji looked like, they couldn't help but shudder slightly.
