Qi Guze's confidants acted quickly. Those who could become his confidants were all capable. He devised a way to evade the old men's investigation and sent someone to deliver the message to the lower realm. The message was on a slip of paper, and no one except him knew what was written on it. Moreover, it was to be burned after being read.

In order to prevent others from discovering Xu Yuehuai's existence, Qi Guze claimed that he was cultivating the Path of Ruthlessness to refuse the girls that the old men were trying to give him. Most of those girls were the old men's own daughters. He couldn't refuse them openly, so he could only use this method to dispel their thoughts.

Even so, it's impossible to guard against everything. There will always be one or two old men who don't believe him and send their daughters to test his strength. The girl who came to find Qi Guze just now was one of them.

...

The old valley master and his group traveled without hindrance. Since they were leaving before Xu Yuehuai and the others, they traveled at breakneck speed in their spirit boat. What would have been a five-day journey was reduced to three days. After getting off the spirit boat, Nangong Yu jumped up and down on the ground a couple of times. "We've finally arrived. I don't know who's been controlling the spirit boat these past few days. It's been running around like crazy, and it almost made me throw up."

Nangong Yu exaggeratedly bent over and vomited twice.

The old valley master wheeled himself off the spirit boat, a smile on his face. "Young man, you still need to train your body more. Develop immunity to these things as soon as possible, and you won't feel like you're moving too fast in the future."

Nangong Yu gave a thumbs up, wondering why the old valley master, who looked so frail, could maintain such a speed and composure. "Senior is indeed someone who has experienced great things. You were able to complete the entire journey without any ripples in such a situation."

Nangong Yu was about to vomit, while Shi Mu had actually vomited. He was lying on the edge of the spirit boat, vomiting violently, even bringing up bile. Xuan Chi was watching from the side, and went over to pat him on the back to soothe his nausea.

Shi Mu had rarely ridden on a spirit boat before and never knew it could go so fast, so it was normal for him to feel a little dizzy.

Fu Ziyi and Baili Xiuwen came down from upstairs as if nothing had happened. Needless to say, one of these two must be the culprit in this matter!

"Stop chatting here. We've received word that the sect leader is already waiting for us," Fu Ziyi interrupted, seeing that Nangong Yu wasn't in a hurry to leave and was preparing to continue chatting.

Xu Yuehuai is still missing. He used to respond to the messages he sent her these past few days, but later he stopped responding altogether. He hasn't received a reply yet, which makes him feel uneasy and extremely irritable.

Baili Xiuwen pushed the old Valley Master away from behind. When the group arrived at the entrance of Qingtao Valley, Zi Sangyi was already waiting there. When he saw the old Valley Master, a look of surprise flashed across his eyes, as if he didn't recognize his old friend. His hands trembled as he stepped forward and grabbed the old Valley Master's arms, looking him up and down. His voice was slightly choked with emotion as he said, "I didn't expect to see you, old man, for so long. You've gotten yourself into this state! You're really something!"

Zisangyi's voice was choked with sobs, and tears welled up in her eyes as if they might fall at any moment.

The old valley master looked at Zi Sangyi in front of him and sighed, "It's been so long since I've seen you. You look much more energetic. It seems like a lot of good things have happened to you recently. You've even taken on such a good disciple. Why didn't you say anything? Are you keeping it a secret because you're worried that others will find out and try to take him away from you?"

The old valley master's joke instantly eased the tense atmosphere, and Zi Sangyi smiled, "You're such a smooth talker!"

The group chatted and laughed as they walked up the mountain. The old valley master's wheelchair was handed over to Zi Sangyi, so Shi Mu had to take a step back and walk alongside Fu Ziyi. He glanced at him and noticed that Fu Ziyi's expression was not good. He asked quietly, "Senior brother, what's wrong? Are you seasick too? Do you want to eat some candy? It will make you feel better."

As she spoke, Shi Mu opened her palm, revealing two pieces of candy wrapped in kraft paper.

Fu Ziyi glanced down and, seeing Shi Muchun's innocent eyes, decided to say a few more words, "No, I'm worried about Xu Yuehuai."

Shi Mu knew that Fu Ziyi and Xu Yuehuai had known each other before, so he didn't mind that Fu Ziyi called his senior sister by her name. "Oh, senior brother, don't worry. Senior sister is very capable. Besides, isn't Brother Linghu with her? Brother Linghu is very powerful. They will definitely come back safely."

"Linghu Zhou is such a wretched guy, he's not even as good as Xu Yuehuai. He'd probably need Xu Yuehuai to protect him in a fight. What a weakling." Fu Ziyi disliked Linghu Zhou. He always acted superior and looked down on everyone, but he only acted like he was very familiar with Xu Yuehuai.

Baili Xiuwen chuckled and chimed in, "Alright, just ignore him. That's just his personality. The less you talk to him, the longer you'll live."

Baili Xiuwen couldn't help but tease Fu Ziyi, but Fu Ziyi didn't even bother to glance at his friend. Shi Mu, on the other hand, approached Baili Xiuwen like a curious child, her eyes blinking, "Senior Brother Baili, how long have you two known each other?"

"Many years," Baili Xiuwen replied dismissively.

Shi Mu wanted to ask something more, but an unexpected incident suddenly occurred ahead.

Another man in black arrived, landing in front of Zi Sangyi and the others. Nangong Yu and the others immediately became alert. Ji Yaocen, who had also come down this time, all looked warily at the man in black in front of them, especially Fu Ziyi and the others who had experienced the attack by the man in black. "Who goes there?"

The man in black stretched out a hand, holding a piece of paper between his fingers. His face was covered, so his features could not be seen, but his eyes gleamed with a bloodthirsty light. "This is from my master."

These words were spoken to Zi Sangyi. Upon hearing the title "Your Excellency," a cold and aloof figure flashed through his mind. He released the wheelchair, handed it to the Second Elder behind him, and stepped forward alone.

The others were extremely nervous, worried that there might be some conspiracy involved. However, nothing unexpected happened when Zisangyi received the letter. The man in black, with his cold and sharp black eyes, warily looked at everyone present, preventing them from getting close. If anyone made the slightest move or even considered taking a step forward, Fu Ziyi believed that the man in black would immediately kill them with his blade.

After reading the contents of the letter, Zisangyi swayed slightly, his expression suddenly turning extremely ugly. The next second, the letter vanished from his hand as if it had never existed. "My master has given an order: if anything happens to her, the person you want to save will never see again in this lifetime."