"Ah Qing, you said the talisman you gave Xinghe was used?"
Wei Shanhai was taken aback.
Based on the itinerary, Wei Xinghe should have only recently arrived in the prefectural capital.
The fact that he started using the talismans given to him by Lu Qing so quickly means that he started fighting with others as soon as he entered the city.
"Senior, there's no need to worry too much. The Wei family used a concealment talisman. Perhaps he was just on his way and may not have already engaged in combat."
Lu Qing comforted her.
However, he felt somewhat heavy-hearted.
The talisman that Lu Qing gave to Wei Xinghe was personally crafted by him.
It contained a trace of his mental energy.
However, the distance is too far, so only when the talisman is destroyed will it touch his spiritual aura.
In other words, Wei Xinghe not only used the Concealing Breath Talisman in the prefecture, but it was even broken by someone.
The opponent must be no ordinary innate realm cultivator to be able to see through the power of the concealment talisman.
Could it be that Wei Xinghe has already clashed with the people from that mysterious force?
As Lu Qing's mind raced and he was deep in thought, his mind suddenly stirred again.
Because he discovered that the spirit within the sword talisman he had given to Wei Xinghe had also been touched.
This time, Lu Qing was truly surprised.
Of the three talismans he gave to Wei Xinghe, the sword talisman was the most special.
Because it was made from the leftover materials when the Spirit Gathering Tablet was forged.
The jade had been refined by him, making it purer and able to hold more power than other jade talismans.
Therefore, among the three talismans, the sword talisman contains the most powerful energy.
Lu Qing estimated that even a powerful expert at the peak of the Innate Realm would have difficulty withstanding the sharpness of the sword talisman if caught off guard.
But now, Wei Xinghe has even used the sword talisman, which clearly means he has encountered an unimaginable enemy.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to use two talismans in such a short period of time.
“Master, Elder Wei, things are not looking good. I’m afraid I need to go to the prefectural capital.”
Lu Qing turned around and looked in the direction of the prefectural capital.
Through the mental stimulation he had just experienced, he vaguely sensed a warning.
"Ah Qing, do you need me to come with you?"
Seeing this, the old doctor asked.
He could tell that Lu Qing's expression seemed a little off.
Moreover, he also had a vague feeling that a shadow was looming over him, and that the shadow was coming from the state capital.
"No need, Master. You still need to stay here in the village. I'll take Xiao Li with me."
Xiaoyan has just broken through to a higher level; she needs your guidance, Master.
After saying that, Lu Qing flashed out of the courtyard.
In another flash, the person disappeared.
"Young Master Lu..."
Wei Shanhai was surprised that Lu Qing left so quickly. He was about to call out to him when he realized that Lu Qing was nowhere to be seen.
"Old Master Wei, don't worry. With A Qing taking action, Patriarch Wei should be fine."
The old doctor didn't know exactly what had happened, so he could only offer this words of comfort.
Wei Shanhai didn't speak, but he couldn't help feeling worried.
He knew that Lu Qing must have sensed something, otherwise he wouldn't have left in such a hurry.
Unfortunately, no matter how worried he was, he could only wait for Lu Qing to return to find out what had happened.
After leaving Jiuli Village, Lu Qing held Xiao Li in his arms.
A yellow light appeared on his body, eliminating most of the earth's magnetic energy and making his body feel extremely light.
Then, a ball of light shone from the acupoint between his eyebrows, and a gentle breeze appeared out of nowhere, swirling around him.
The next moment, he exerted a little force with his feet, and with the gentle breeze enveloping him, he transformed into a streak of light and quickly headed towards the prefectural capital.
"Young master, have you discovered something?"
The sound of "Yan" echoed in Lu Qing's mind.
Yan had seen Lu Qing's expression just now; it was the first time it had ever seen Lu Qing so serious.
"Senior, do you have any knowledge about demonic cultivators?"
Lu Qing didn't answer directly, but instead asked a question.
"Demonic cultivator?"
Yan was taken aback, not expecting Lu Qing to suddenly ask this question.
However, it quickly replied: "Demonic cultivators are not easy to deal with. Those guys are treacherous and cunning, and they will stop at nothing. Even in the ancient era of cultivation, they were extremely difficult to deal with."
When it comes to evil and vicious techniques, even the Plague Old Demon is far inferior.
Young man, why did you suddenly ask about this?
"A couple of days ago, I gave Patriarch Wei a few talismans, each containing a trace of my divine soul."
Just now, I sensed that the talisman had been destroyed.
Before that wisp of divine soul energy vanished, I seemed to sense a trace of a demonic cultivator's aura.
"The aura of a demonic cultivator, young master, are you sure?"
Yan was taken aback.
What surprised it even more was that Lu Qing was able to sense the movements from a thousand miles away.
Logically speaking, this is not an ability that a Qi Refining Realm cultivator should possess.
Lu Qing's spiritual power was actually this strong.
It seems that there are still many secrets about this creature that it is unaware of.
"There's no mistake, it's the aura of a demonic cultivator. I'm not so sure as to mistake a demonic cultivator. I've encountered demonic cultivators before."
Lu Qing then recounted the demonic cultivator he had encountered in the Holy City.
"A demonic cultivator capable of performing the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique." "Yan" was even more surprised. "Anyone who knows this demonic art is no ordinary demonic cultivator."
That was in the ancient era of cultivation, and only the most authentic demonic cultivators could use this demonic technique.
Could it be that this is another old fellow who escaped the Five Signs of Decay of the Celestials and has survived until now?
"This junior does not know, but the aura I sensed just now is exactly the same as that of the demonic cultivator I encountered in the Holy City."
Even if they aren't the same person, there must be some extraordinary connection between them.
Lu Qing recalled the situation he sensed before the wisp of divine soul energy left in the talisman vanished.
Wei Xinghe seemed to be trapped somewhere, with demonic energy surging around him, and in the shadows, it seemed that many people were wailing.
Unfortunately, his soul is still not strong enough.
The power of the differentiated divine soul aura is limited.
Moreover, the distance is too far, and the things that can be sensed are very blurry.
Otherwise, there would be no need for such speculation.
The only way to find out the truth is to go to the state capital.
It's just a matter of whether Wei Xinghe can hold out until he arrives.
With this thought in mind, Lu Qing urged his thoughts forward, and the gentle breeze surrounding him became even stronger.
At the same time, his speed also increased again.
Looking down from high above, it appears as a streak of bluish-yellow light, rapidly traveling along the land towards the prefecture capital.
The prefectural city is a thousand miles away from Jiuli Village. Back when Lu Qing was still in the Acquired Realm, he once raided the Zheng family at night and killed the old woman in the Innate Realm.
His cultivation level is now more than ten times stronger than it was back then.
The speed was far beyond what it could have been back then.
Therefore, although we set off in the afternoon, the prefectural city was already in sight before nightfall.
"Um?"
However, when Lu Qing saw the prefectural city, he suddenly sensed something was wrong.
He discovered that the prefectural city, which resembled a giant beast lying prone on the earth, was now shrouded in a layer of black light.
The black light exuded an evil aura and looked quite eerie.
"This is a demonic formation. Who has the audacity to set up such a large-scale formation?"
The figure of "Yan" appeared beside Lu Qing, looking at the prefectural city in front of him with some surprise.
"It's not just a formation, but also magical artifacts."
Lu Qing stared at the black light screen, and soon, several messages floated into his field of vision.
【Ten Directions Blood-Melting Soul-Refining Array: An ancient demonic array inherited from the Black Heaven Demon Lord of the Tianyuan Great World, extremely evil and vicious.】
【Blood melting and soul refining: A mysterious demonic cultivator intends to use this formation to melt and refine the people of a city, turning them into blood food to solidify his demonic body.】
【This formation is a simplified version, arranged using demonic artifacts as its core; its power is less than one ten-millionth of the original.】
...
"Do you intend to turn the people of an entire city into blood food to refine your demonic body?"
When Lu Qing saw the information on the note, his face immediately turned ashen.
He even temporarily ignored the Black Heaven Demon Lord mentioned on the note.
No wonder his spiritual aura had previously sensed numerous wails echoing around Wei Shanhai.
He would also sense a warning from the unseen world.
It turned out that a demonic cultivator had set up a grand formation to turn all the citizens of the prefecture into blood food to refine a demonic body.
You should know that there are tens of thousands of citizens in the prefectural city.
"Young master, what did you say?" Upon hearing this, Yan was immediately horrified. "That demonic cultivator wants to refine everyone in this city. How dare he?"
"What? Didn't you say that demonic cultivators are all cruel and ruthless, treating human life like dirt? What wouldn't they dare to do?"
“This is different,” Yan said. “Although demonic cultivators are cruel and bloodthirsty, there is a limit to it.”
Such an act of melting down the entire city and its inhabitants will surely lead to heinous sins.
Even a demonic cultivator at the Nascent Soul Realm wouldn't dare to do such a thing.
Otherwise, no one could withstand the punishment that Heaven would unleash.
"Then how would you explain the current situation, senior?" Lu Qing continued forward.
"This..." Yan was speechless.
After thinking for a moment, it said, "Perhaps this formation is only meant to surround the city, and not necessarily to refine all the people in the city."
"Whether it is or not, we'll find out soon enough."
Lu Qing was not in a hurry to enter the city. The situation was unclear, and the prefectural city was trapped. If he rushed into the city, it might cause more trouble.
"Xiao Li, protect me for a moment."
Lu Qing gave a few instructions, then sat cross-legged, focused his mind, and entered a meditative state.
At this distance, he should be able to sense the divine soul aura he left on the talisman.
Sure enough, Lu Qing soon sensed an aura in the city that shared the same origin as his, appearing and disappearing intermittently.
However, due to the obstruction of the formation, it would take him some effort to connect with it.
Lu Qing immediately used his inner cultivation technique to try to connect with that wisp of divine soul aura.
Just as Lu Qing was trying to connect with the talisman.
In a small alley in the prefectural city, Wei Shanhai was clutching a broken jade sword talisman, staring at the familiar yet unfamiliar figure in front of him, filled with despair.
He never imagined that his son would turn into such a grotesque, inhuman creature.
“Father, I’ve told you, your struggles are futile.”
"It would be better to join me, follow the Demon Lord, and serve him to achieve great things."
Standing before Wei Xinghe, Wei Zihao, exuding black energy, with a black mark between his brows and a sinister expression, chuckled softly.
"Zihao, tell me, who exactly turned you into this?"
Looking at his completely unfamiliar son, Wei Xinghe felt as if his heart was being torn apart.
"What, Father, do you think I'm not good as I am now?" Wei Zihao stretched out an arm covered with strange runes. "But I think I'm very good as I am now."
Father, you just saw it too. My current cultivation level has far surpassed yours.
Even the sword energy talisman you unleashed, which you obtained from who-knows-where, couldn't harm my child in the slightest.
Seeing this, Wei Xinghe felt even more pain in his heart.
"Zihao, wake up! You've already fallen into the demonic path again. Do you really think the power you possess now is truly your own?"
"Father, you must be joking. If this power isn't mine, how could it be yours?"
However, if Father is willing to heed my advice and submit to the Demon Lord.
With your Innate Realm cultivation level, obtaining such power is not difficult.
So now, Father, please come with me to meet the Demon Lord.
The Demon Lord just said that he is very interested in the sword energy talisman you used earlier.
After saying that, Wei Zihao gently reached out his hand to Wei Xinghe.
The seemingly unintentional action caused Wei Xinghe's expression to change drastically.
Without a second thought, he immediately stepped back.
"Father, it's no use, you can't escape."
Wei Zihao smiled slightly, and the black energy in his hand transformed into two venomous snakes, which coiled around Wei Xinghe's retreating body.
The black venomous snake was extremely fast, and caught up with Wei Xinghe in the blink of an eye.
Having witnessed the power of this black energy, Wei Xinghe dared not let it touch his body in the slightest.
However, his speed was no match for this strange thing.
Left with no other choice, he gritted his teeth and activated the last talisman on his body.
The next moment, a beam of azure light appeared on Wei Xinghe's body, increasing his speed several times over.
Not only did he instantly create distance between himself and the black aura, but he also vanished from Wei Zihao's sight in a few swift movements.
Wei Zihao, who had been confident of victory and had a smile on his face, suddenly changed his expression.
To my utter surprise, even at this point, my father still had a trump card up his sleeve.
However, he soon smiled again.
"It's no use, Father. Under the cover of this great formation, you can't escape this prefecture city."
After saying that, he transformed into a black shadow and chased after the direction where Wei Xinghe had disappeared.
After escaping the alley, Wei Xinghe dared not linger for a moment.
According to what Lu Qing said when he gave him the talisman, the effect of the Light Spirit Talisman could only last for a quarter of an hour.
He had to escape the city within this timeframe.
Otherwise, not only would he perish in the city, but the entire prefecture would likely be turned into a hellish inferno.
Thinking back to the terrifying figure he had seen earlier.
Wei Xinghe knew that in the entire Cangzhou, only Lu Qing was likely capable of saving the city's inhabitants.
Of course, this is all on the premise that he can escape.
Just as Wei Xinghe was desperately fleeing, a wisp of divine soul fluctuation suddenly emanated from his body.
"Patriarch Wei, can you sense my words?"
"Young Master Lu?!"
Upon hearing this voice, Wei Xinghe abruptly stopped, his face lighting up with ecstasy.
