Chapter 23

As Luo Hengzhi watched Long Bao's clown face become more and more wrinkled and ugly, she didn't expose the clumsy lies that Long Bao was spouting with his darting eyes and winking.

Luo Hengzhi had read about the Dragon Clan in a book. As the number one divine race in the world, the Dragon Clan was favored by the Heavenly Dao from birth. Not only were they blessed with purple luck, but they also received the Dragon Clan's unique inheritance, which allowed them to foresee future fortune and misfortune.

Longbao stammered, perhaps he had seen something he couldn't say.

Longbao healed Luo Hengzhi's leg, and Luo Hengzhi will continue to take care of Longbao. As for Longbao's cultivation level, well, if it has no cultivation, then so be it. As its master, he doesn't expect a baby dragon to fight for him; he'll just treat it as a little pet.

Luo Hengzhi didn't ask any more questions. She opened the cultivation technique and began to guide the Qi into her body.

Long Bao realized that Luo Hengzhi was trying to draw qi into her body, so he flew forward to remind her, "Master, if you want to draw qi into your body, you should find a place with abundant spiritual energy. The spiritual energy here is too thin."

Before Long Bao could finish speaking, the airflow in the room changed, and a large amount of spiritual energy gathered into the room, causing a faint spiritual light to surround Luo Hengzhi.

"That works! That's it!"

Long Bao was dumbfounded. It was the first time he had ever seen such a scene. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth was so cheap that it was being used by one person!

Long Bao couldn't help but marvel at how extraordinary his master was; his talent was beyond heaven-defying!

So what if the spiritual energy is scarce? As long as his master needs it, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth will automatically condense and be used by his master.

If a fight breaks out, Luo Heng Zhi only needs to stand still and steal spiritual energy, leaving the opponent without any spiritual energy, and eventually causing them to die from exhaustion of spiritual power!

Furthermore, Luo Hengzhi's speed in drawing Qi into her body means her cultivation will surely advance by leaps and bounds in the future, unmatched by anyone else!

Long Bao circled around Luo Hengzhi, also curious about his master's constitution, which was simply too amazing!

However, it makes sense, otherwise his master would be able to go to the divine realm that even immortals find difficult to enter in the future!

Long Bao understood: Luo Hengzhi was the chosen one for cultivation!

At this moment, Longbao wanted to roar to the sky. His eyes were resolute. He had followed a good master, and the good days he had been looking forward to, when one person attains enlightenment and all his relatives and friends benefit, were just around the corner!

Li Family Old House

"Master???"

Ye Zi chased after them to the back of the Li family's residence, only to find her master, who was at the Nascent Soul stage, trapped in a formation.

Ye Zi had to look at the Li family with new respect. This Li family was quite something, they even had a formation that could trap his master for so long.

With his disciple's arrival, Master Yunqing finally broke free of the formation and emerged, his clothes and hair somewhat disheveled.

"Haha, Master, how did you get trapped!" It was rare to see her master in such a disheveled state, and Ye Zi couldn't help but burst out laughing.

But seeing Master Yunqing's sharp clothes, she looked at him with concern and tidied his hair, asking, "Master, are you alright?"

"You're still making fun of your master." Master Yunqing tapped Ye Zi's head hard. "It's nothing, I was just not paying attention for a moment and it took a while."

Master Yunqing raised his hand and gently stroked the disheveled clothes, restoring them to their original neatness.

“Master, you should stay at Lingju Temple and cultivate diligently from now on. I'll take care of making money. Look at you, you go down the mountain every day to earn money and raise the kids, and your cultivation has even regressed,” Ye Zi teased her master.

Master Yunqing: "This ruler hasn't been used in a long time."

"No, no, disciple was wrong." Ye Zi quickly admitted her mistake, taking a closer look at the formation. She had never seen it before. "What kind of formation is this? It can even trap you!"

After being teased by his disciple, Master Yunqing couldn't help but laugh. He had really been caught off guard.

Master Yunqing shook his head: "It should be a level nine formation, but it has been modified to look like a level three formation. Master was careless and underestimated the formation."

Ye Zi: "A level nine formation? How could such a high-level formation suddenly appear, especially within the Li family? Who in the mortal realm could set up such a formation?"

Master Yunqing held a book in his hand with the words "Borrowing Immortality" written on it: "This is the tampered 'Art of Immortality'. There is no trace of its original aura left on it, so we have no way of knowing where the Li family obtained it."

"This cultivation technique actually states the price of sacrificing one's lifespan right from the beginning. How dare the Li family still practice it?" Ye Zi opened it and took a look.

Master Yunqing took the cultivation manual back from Ye Zi and burned it.

"The book also states that only by putting oneself in a life-or-death situation and giving up one's remaining lifespan can one obtain immortality."

"It is evident that the person who wrote the cultivation method must have understood Li Nao's temperament. He knew that Li Nao was suspicious and that if he gave it to him for free, he would be worried that there was a trap. But if he was asked to sacrifice his lifespan to gain more, he would believe it, because Li Nao believed that wealth and honor are found in danger."

"The Li family's business was built by Li Nao alone. He is bold and willing to take risks. When he was young, Li Nao was considered brave and resourceful. However, he later became too powerful and lost his mind. His methods became more and more ruthless and unscrupulous."

Ye Zi: "Master, there's something very strange. What was the purpose of the person who altered the cultivation method? If it was to go to great lengths to take away someone's lifespan, but Li Nao is already old, if they wanted to extend his lifespan, why didn't they choose someone younger, but instead chose Li Nao?"

"And there's another point, just as strange as the Huo family's. If this person can tamper with cultivation techniques and set up a level nine formation that should be passable, then he must be someone with extraordinary abilities. Taking the lives of mortals would be a matter of minutes for him. Why would he go to such lengths and make something so simple so complicated?"

Master Yunqing pondered silently and decided to perform a divination with his fingers. As a result, he spat out a mouthful of blood and suffered a backlash.

"Master!" Ye Zi exclaimed in alarm as she helped up Yun Qing Zhenren and poured spiritual energy into him to calm him down.

"It's nothing." Master Yunqing sat down on the spot. "Master, please take a moment to adjust your breathing."

Ye Zi formed hand seals and set up a protective barrier for her master.

Another person that the master couldn't predict, just like the Huo family.

Ye Zi was certain that the person behind it was highly skilled but had little lifespan, which explained why that person could only hide in the shadows and manipulate things from the dark.

In addition, powerful beings with extraordinary cultivation levels are suppressed by the rules of the Heavenly Dao and have a common weakness: if they are injured in battle, their lifespan will be shortened. Therefore, the higher the cultivation level of a powerful being, the less likely they are to take action, and they may not even show themselves at all!

Master Yunqing recovered and stood up: "I'm afraid he's the same person as the Huo family."

Sure enough, Master had the same idea.

Ye Zi: "Master, since that person's lifespan is limited and he doesn't dare to show himself easily, let's give him time to investigate similar incidents and then resolve them one by one, cutting off his path to steal lifespan."

Master Yunqing nodded in agreement: "We need to consider this further."

Ye Zi recalled the fleeing phantom: "Master, did you see a charming woman around 30 years old? I chased her to the backyard, but she escaped."

"It was that fox that took the opportunity to escape." Master Yunqing was trapped in the formation at the time and had no time to pay attention.

"Disciple didn't recognize her true form at all." Ye Zi had no idea that the person was a fox in disguise.

Could it be another highly skilled cultivator? Why are so many powerful figures suddenly appearing lately? Ye Zi felt pressured to accelerate her cultivation.

“This is not your fault. It’s a ten-thousand-year-old fox,” said Master Yunqing. “That fox has Jiang Mo’s blessing token on it and took the Yin Soul Pearl from the back residence. These two items are beneficial to demon cultivators.”

Ye Zi: "This fox has been hiding in the Li family for a long time. My disciple saw it last time."

Master Yunqing explained: "This fox has merit protecting it. When demon cultivators have merit, the Heavenly Dao allows them to appear in the world in human form. As long as they do not cause trouble in the human world, they can remain undetected by humans. Logically speaking, this fox should have already attained enlightenment."

Ye Zi snorted coldly: "The Heavenly Dao is quite magnanimous towards demon cultivators."

"We've gone back. Master is getting old; it's time for him to return to the mountain to cultivate properly." Master Yunqing glanced at the Li family, found nothing, and said with a self-deprecating smile.

"Master is in his prime, the perfect age for striving. He just accidentally fell into a trap this time," Ye Zi tried to comfort her master.

Master Yunqing was pleased by his disciple's coaxing and was about to take Ye Zi back to Lingju Temple when he saw the spiritual energy in the deep mountains rushing towards a certain place.

Ye Zi glanced at the location and exclaimed with delight, "Master, it's Luo Hengzhi guiding Qi into her body!"

The moment Luo Hengzhi guided Qi into her body, Ye Zi, as her Daoist partner, also sensed it.

Master Yunqing looked at the strange phenomenon of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth automatically gathering in one direction and sighed, "Little Yezi, you're going to have some pressure. Luo Hengzhi has an extraordinary physique, and his cultivation will probably catch up with yours very soon."

Ye Zi looked in that direction and smiled slightly: "Then this disciple will wait and see him radiate brilliance and shine with boundless glory!"

Master Yunqing stroked his beard and smiled: "Aren't you going to see Luo Hengzhi? You're going back with your master?"

"If I don't go back with my master, where else can I go?" Ye Zi said, then flew towards Lingju Temple without looking back.

Master Yunqing smiled. These two children...

As soon as Ye Zi and Master Yun Qing returned to Lingju Temple, Jiang Yuzhi and Xiao Shenmu ran up to them with joy and excitement.

Little Shenmu: "Master, Senior Sister, a very handsome older brother has come to our Taoist temple."

Ye Zi pinched Xiao Shenmu's little face: "How handsome is he that makes you so happy?"

Jiang Yuzhi: "He's not that good-looking. He's nowhere near as good-looking as my senior brother-in-law. It's just that he brought some delicious food, and Xiao Shenmu ate the candy that he gave him, which is why his mouth is so sweet."

Xiao Shenmu pouted, unconvinced: "Senior brother, you just praised him to his face. Besides, you were happy eating ice cream too."

Jiang Yuzhi turned her head and argued, "I was just being polite because I was indebted to them. Anyway, I didn't praise them in front of Master and Senior Sister."

Yan Yan greeted Ye Zi and Yun Qing Zhenren without speaking, but used a telepathic technique to say, "Master, Senior Sister, the person who came is a celestial being!"

Master Yunqing was taken aback. The elder brother his little disciple spoke of was also a celestial being descended to earth, yet he had no idea.

Master Yunqing transmitted his voice and asked, "Do you know his age?"

“I’m two years older than Senior Sister!” Yan Yan replied cautiously.

This is impossible. Master Yunqing and Ye Zi exchanged a glance. Could it be...?

When Yunqing Zhenren and Ye Zi entered Lingju Temple, they saw a person sitting in the courtyard. He was indeed surrounded by the special spiritual energy of an immortal body, so he was undoubtedly an immortal body. Moreover, this person's cultivation was at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage!

The person was dressed in all black, the clothes made of some light and flowing material that should have been comfortable and relaxed. However, due to the person's overly prim and upright posture, the clothes appeared dignified yet somewhat strange.

Upon seeing the approaching Master Yunqing, the man rose and performed a very solemn bow: "I am Yu Jun, paying my respects to Master Yunqing."

Seeing that Yu Yun's every move exuded the demeanor of an ancient person, without any modern habits, Master Yunqing guessed that this person was either a survivor of the catastrophe a thousand years ago, just like himself.

Master Yunqing asked, "May I ask which school or sect you belong to, young friend?"

Yu Jun smiled calmly, his face sunny and handsome: "Master is joking. Yu Jun comes from the Yu family of Yanshui City. I have come to Lingju Temple to become your disciple."

As Yu Yun spoke, he took a step back, knelt down, and performed the apprenticeship ceremony to Master Yun Qing: "Please accept me as your disciple, Master."

Master Yunqing looked at Yu Yun, who was lying on the ground, tapped her fingertip lightly, frowned slightly, and then quickly returned to normal!