"uh-huh…"

The imprisoned winged people groaned a few times, and then black blood began to flow from the corners of their mouths, emitting a foul stench.

"It stinks!" Mengmeng said, covering her nose.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, these winged people have taken poison," Hei Yi said hurriedly after taking a look.

All around him, a dozen or so captured winged people were in the same situation.

“Death squad,” Li Daoyi said.

"It's a pity we didn't have time to interrogate her," Lin Xiaoxiao said with a look of regret.

“Death? Sometimes death doesn’t mean the end, much less that nothing can be found out,” Li Daoyi said slowly.

"Your Excellency, what do you mean?" Empress Linglong asked, somewhat puzzled.

Li Dao made a hand seal and then gently drew a talisman in the air.

Then Li Daoyi started muttering to himself.

"The spirits of heaven and earth, the yin and yang, if there is any disobedience, may the eighteen levels of hell be condemned. Heavenly gods and earthly spirits, hasten your decree! Black and White Impermanence, show yourselves at once!"

After he finished reciting the words, the talisman in front of Li Daoyi instantly flew into the air.

Immediately afterwards, a cold wind blew, the sky darkened in an instant, and the surrounding temperature dropped significantly.

Soon, two figures, each three zhang tall, gradually appeared in mid-air, one black and one white.

"What is this?" the Empress murmured.

"The gods of the underworld, Black and White Impermanence," Dongfang Bubai replied.

"The underworld? Gods?" The Empress and the others exchanged bewildered glances, clearly having never heard of such things before.

Black and White Impermanence slowly descended from the sky and respectfully bowed to Li Daoyi.

"Greetings, Immortal."

"I'd like to trouble you two to extract the souls of these people, and then I'd like to know their purpose," Li Daoyi said.

"Yes." The two nodded.

Then, Hei Wuchang glanced at the people around them. When he saw the Empress, a hint of interest appeared in his eyes. That look made the Linglong Empress shudder and tremble all over. At this moment, the pressure from Hei Wuchang far exceeded that of her master, the Martial Saint of the Xuan Nu Holy Land.

"No... impossible... this is the God of War..." The Empress was utterly horrified.

Fortunately, the two quickly turned their attention to the winged human corpses lying nearby.

"Get up at once!" Black and White Impermanence shouted at the same time.

On more than a dozen corpses, the souls of the winged people slowly emerged, each one dazed and confused, gently detaching from their bodies.

"This is the soul..."

Lin Xiaoxiao exclaimed in shock.

Black Impermanence stretched out his hand, and a dozen chains instantly pierced through these souls. Then he closed his eyes and began to comprehend.

A short while later, Black Impermanence opened his eyes again.

“Immortal, these winged people are looking for a girl named Lin Zhuzhu. It seems to be related to some mystery of the God of War. The one who instructed them is the eldest prince of the winged people,” said Hei Wuchang.

"Just as I thought." Li Daoyi nodded.

"Immortal, there are still several hundred winged humans lurking in the nearby cities. Do you need our help?" Bai Wuchang said, licking his lips with his long tongue.

"No need, you two are not suited to stay in the mortal realm for long. Alright, please go back." Li Daoyi waved his hand and said.

"Yes, I take my leave."

The two spoke respectfully, then pulled on the chains, dragging more than a dozen winged human souls slowly into the air, entering a black spatial gate.

With a "whoosh," the underworld passage closed, and the surroundings returned to clarity, as if nothing had ever happened.

At this moment, the Empress and the others were so frightened that they couldn't speak and stood frozen in place.

"Another wave of points," Li Daoyi thought to himself.

"Ahem..." Li Daoyi coughed, and the Empress finally came back to her senses. Her eyes were full of questions.

“Those were ghosts and spirits from the underworld. The underworld is where people go after they die. What? You haven’t heard of it?” Li Daoyi asked.

The Empress quickly shook her head.

"I... this is the first time I've heard of this. I know about souls; the Netherworld Cult specializes in using people's souls to fight, and they are extremely vicious and sinister. But I never imagined that a place like the Underworld existed," the Empress said with a wry smile.

"Your Excellency, you just said they are ghosts and gods. Are ghosts and gods powerful beings like martial gods?" Lin Xiaoxiao suddenly asked.

"Martial God? Ha... If we're going by your standards, those two have already surpassed Martial God." Li Daoyi sneered.

The Empress and her companions gasped in shock, their gazes toward Li Daoyi growing even more incredulous. This man could command even ghosts and gods; just how terrifying must he be?

"Alright, take these bastards away and deal with them," Li Daoyi said.

"Black One!" the Empress hurriedly called out.

"Yes, your subordinate will handle it immediately," Hei Yi hurriedly led his men forward and replied.

"Wait a minute." Just then, Mengmeng, who hadn't spoken until now, suddenly called out.

"Brother Taoist priest." The little guy walked up to Li Daoyi and tugged at his clothes.

"Wings, I want to eat wings," Mengmeng said, pointing to the white wings behind the winged human on the ground.

"Mengmeng." Dongfang Bubai quickly came over and pulled Mengmeng up.

"Haha, of course! Birdman's wings must be delicious." Li Daoyi laughed.

"Then I'll have to trouble you." Li Daoyi looked at Hei Yi.

Hei Yi couldn't help but shiver and quickly nodded.

"Yay... honey wings, Sister Dragon, I want to eat honey wings!" The little guy cheered excitedly.

In Li Dao's eyes, these weren't human beings, so eating their wings was no big deal.

The Empress and Lin Xiaoxiao exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with bitter smiles. If the Winged People knew that someone was treating their people like this, it would be terrible. However, considering Li Daoyi's unfathomable nature, they felt it was justified.

"You both heard what the Black and White Impermanence said, right? The mystery of the God of War? The Winged Humans are really bold, actually setting their sights on my disciple." Li Daoyi said coldly.

"I will immediately send a letter to the Mysterious Maiden Holy Land, instructing them to negotiate with the Winged Humans," the Empress said.

"No need, that's my business. Since this bird-like human race is so ungrateful, we'll find time to wipe them out," Li Daoyi said slowly.

"Haha, I'd be willing to be the vanguard then," Dan Chenzi laughed from the side.

Seeing how easily Li Daoyi decided the fate of a race, the Empress felt it was all too unreal, as if she were still in a dream.

"Alright, everyone disperse and take a rest. We'll begin the foundation-building ceremony for Zhuzhu tomorrow morning." After saying this, Li Daoyi turned and walked into the Taoist temple.

"Whoosh... Time to make chicken wings." The little guy, Mengmeng, ran in the direction that Hei Yi and the others had just left, clearly still thinking about the wings of the Winged People.

"Mengmeng, wait for me." Little Dragon Girl quickly followed.

"Your Majesty, what should we do about the winged people in Zhushan City?" Lin Xiaoxiao asked at this moment.

"Dare to trespass into my human territory? Then don't blame me for being ruthless. You immediately contact the Black God Guards and order them to arrive at Bamboo Mountain City within three days. Do not let a single birdman escape," the Empress said coldly.

"yes."

"Zhuzhu, this trip to find you has brought me so many surprises. It seems that the fate of the human race may very well be rewritten." The Empress said thoughtfully, looking at the Taoist temple.

Although Li Daoyi had instructed the Empress and others not to interfere with the people's journey to Qingzhu Mountain to dig for bamboo shoots, the roads leading into the mountain within a radius of ten miles were still blocked on this day. The reason was naturally that today was the big day for Zhuzhu's foundation building, and the Empress dared not be careless in the slightest.

At dawn, as the sun rose, everyone except Mengmeng, who was still fast asleep, appeared inside the Taoist temple.

"Zhuzhu, Grandpa believes in you, you will definitely succeed." Old man Lin Xuan said, stroking his granddaughter's little head.

"Don't worry, Grandpa, Zhuzhu will be able to cultivate true qi soon!" The little girl was very excited.

"Your Excellency, where do you plan to establish Zhuzhu's foundation? Right here?" The Empress pointed to the small house where Li Daoyi had emerged from seclusion yesterday.

"Yes, it's more suitable inside. After setting up the spirit-gathering array, the spiritual energy won't leak out randomly." Li Dao nodded.

"Well... how about we go to my place? It's bigger there," the Empress said after a moment's hesitation.

Li Daoyi shook his head without saying a word, then took Zhuzhu's little hand and walked into the Mental Time Chamber.

The empress was a little embarrassed, but she didn't say anything more.

Li Dao waved his hand, and the door to the Time Chamber slowly opened. The Empress deliberately looked inside and saw only a vast expanse of white, making it impossible to discern the size of the room. Only then did she realize that this house was no ordinary structure.

The door closed instantly after the two went inside.

Inside the Time House Plaza, Zhu Zhu sat obediently cross-legged on the ground. Around her, Li Daoyi used top-grade spirit stones to create a spirit-gathering array.

"Next, focus on your inner energy and remember the energy circulation route I've taught you. Once you sense the spiritual energy, just focus on circulating your energy and leave the rest to me. Don't worry about not having enough spiritual energy," Li Daoyi instructed.

"Yes, I understand, Master." Zhu Zhu nodded, her face full of determination.

“Okay, I’ll begin,” Li Daoyi said.

Then the formation was activated, and the spiritual energy from the top-grade spirit stone instantly spread out, forming a vortex of spiritual energy that enveloped Zhu Zhu. Li Dao waved his hand, and the spiritual energy instantly surged into Zhu Zhu's body.

The little girl felt the abundant energy within her body and quickly circulated her cultivation technique to begin absorbing spiritual energy.

"Huh, it's still not enough." Li Daoyi quickly noticed the problem. The spiritual energy of the top-grade spirit stone was being rapidly depleted, but the meridians in Zhuzhu's body were not yet fully opened.

"System, exchange ten more." Li Daoyi said without hesitation.

Soon, ten top-grade spirit stones appeared in the formation, and more spiritual energy entered Zhu Zhu's body. The little girl absorbed it frantically, and before long, her meridians were finally opened, and the spiritual energy successfully entered her dantian.

Li Daoyi's body slowly floated up and flew straight to Zhuzhu's head, where he reached out and gently placed his hand on her head.

There are many ways to build a foundation in martial arts. If you have the help of an unparalleled expert, your martial arts realm will become very high after building a foundation. Some martial apprentices can directly break through to the peak of martial master after building a foundation. However, Li Daoyi did not just want Zhuzhu to reach the level of martial master. He had higher requirements. Otherwise, how could he be worthy of the divine veins in Zhuzhu's body?

"Master..." As Li Daoyi's power entered Zhuzhu's body, a trace of discomfort appeared on Zhuzhu's face, and she couldn't help but call out.

"Hold on, and let your teacher see how far you can go," Li Daoyi said in a deep voice.

"Mmm," the little girl replied through gritted teeth.

"break…"

"Martial Master... Mid-stage Martial Master... Late-stage Martial Master... Peak Martial Master..." Soon, Zhu Zhu's realm soared directly to the peak of Martial Master.

"Hold on, keep going!" Li Daoyi shouted.

"Break again..."

Li Daoyi then intensified his efforts in instilling this power.

“Buzz…” Zhu Zhu’s body trembled, and a powerful aura emanated from her body.

Then Zhu Zhu opened her eyes, and her two pupils, one blue and one green, shone brightly.

"Martial Sect..."