Seven days have passed since the battle at Eagle Beak Cliff, and the Huo family is still shrouded in gloom and despair because of Qi Qi's departure.
Upon hearing the news, Madam Ji collapsed and fainted. Ji Chengfeng immediately brought several children from Jiangcheng to come over.
Huo Yuwei and Huo Yusen knelt before Ji Chengfeng, repenting for their failure to protect Qiqi.
Although Ji Chengfeng knew that they were not to blame for this, he still couldn't help but beat them up to vent his anger.
Then he took Madam Ji back and said that no matter what the cost, he would definitely save Qiqi.
Old Madam Huo shed tears almost every day because of the little girl, and the atmosphere in the Huo family manor was so heavy it could be squeezed out of water.
On this day, Madam Huo sat in the main seat of the living room, rapidly turning the sandalwood prayer beads she had been handling for thirty years.
Huo Yuwei stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his back to everyone, clutching the yin-yang jade pendant tightly in his hand.
At the boundary between the black and white of the jade pendant, one can vaguely make out the figure of a little girl curled up.
Ji Chengfeng originally intended to take the jade pendant with him, but people from the Xuanmen sect in the capital intervened and asked him to leave it behind.
They will work together to find a way to rescue the little girl.
The people from the Xuanmen sect in Jiangcheng also advised him that the people from the Xuanmen sect in the capital city had a wider range of knowledge, which would be beneficial in saving Qiqi.
Only then did Ji Chengfeng agree to leave behind the sealing jade pendant that Qi Qi had transformed into.
However, seven days later, the news from the Xuanmen sect plunged everyone's hearts into despair.
"The four capable Celestial Masters have all gone into seclusion." The news came from Lin Wei. She closed the folder, her voice hoarse. "The Celestial Master Zhang of Longhu Mountain sealed his cave three years ago, leaving a message saying 'He will not leave until he sees a destined person.' The headmaster of Maoshan, Lin, is in seclusion in the South China Sea, and his return date is uncertain. Qingxu Zhenren of Qingcheng Mountain suffered a qi deviation last year and has been in a coma ever since. Yuyangzi of Zhongnan Mountain... passed away three years ago, but the news has not been announced to the public."
The living room was deathly silent.
Huo Yusen suddenly looked up, "What about the fifth 'Nameless Celestial Master'?"
“We can’t find anything.” Lin Wei shook her head. “The special department has used all its intelligence networks and can only confirm that this Taoist master appeared in the Yunnan-Guizhou area thirty years ago, and then disappeared without a trace. There are rumors that he went overseas, and others say that he is living in seclusion in some secret place, but these rumors are all unfounded.”
Yun Songzi sighed deeply, his white beard trembling slightly.
"Masters at the Celestial Master level are extremely rare. Now that the Xuanmen sect is in decline, those who can be mobilized are even more numerous... Alas."
Qingyin bit her lip and suddenly said, "Perhaps... there is another way."
All eyes were on her.
"What method?" Huo Yusen asked eagerly.
“There is a secret in my sect,” Qingyin took a deep breath, “Three hundred years ago, there was a rogue Taoist master in Kunlun Mountain, whose Taoist name was ‘Xuanjizi’. He created a ‘Yin-Yang Reincarnation Technique’, which is said to be able to separate entangled souls. However, this Taoist master had an eccentric personality and set a rule. His inheritance was only passed on to those who were destined, and they had to pass three tests.”
Huo Yuwei turned around abruptly, "Is he still alive?"
“No,” Qingyin shook her head, “Master Xuanjizi passed away two hundred years ago. But his cave dwelling is still deep in Kunlun, and a jade slip containing his inheritance remains inside. If we could obtain the jade slip, perhaps…”
"Perhaps what?" Huo Yuwei pressed.
“Perhaps we can find a simplified version of the spell that doesn’t require three celestial masters,” Qingyin said. “The complete Yin-Yang Separation Spell requires three celestial masters working together, but if it’s a simplified version, maybe two, or even one, celestial masters can do it.”
A glint of light flashed in Madam Huo's eyes, "Do you know the exact location of Kunlun?"
Qingyin took out a yellowed sheepskin map from her cloth bag. "This is the 'Kunlun Secret Realm Map' passed down through generations of my sect. It marks the approximate location of Master Xuanji's cave. However, the Kunlun Mountains stretch for thousands of miles, and the secret realm is ever-changing. Whether we can find it depends on fate."
Huo Yusen took the map and unfolded it.
The parchment depicts a complex landscape of mountains and waterways, with a red dot marking the words "Xuanji Cave".
However, there are annotations on the edge of the map indicating that this map only shows the approximate location, and the entrance to the secret realm changes with the seasons, and only those with the right destiny can enter.
"It's better to have hope than no hope at all." Huo Yuwei put away the map. "I'll go."
“I’ll go too.” Huo Yusen stood up. “The map’s location needs to be calculated precisely. Kunlun’s terrain is complex. I can help with the location.”
Lin Wei looked at the two brothers and pondered for a moment.
“A special department can send an elite squad to accompany us. Kunlun is a forbidden zone, not only because of natural obstacles, but also because of some things that science cannot explain.”
“I’ll go too!” Yun Songzi stroked his beard. “Little Fellow Daoist Qiqi is the hope for the revitalization of our Xuanmen. Saving her is also the Xuanmen’s inescapable responsibility.”
"Then it's settled." Old Madam Huo made the final decision. "Captains Yuwei, Yusen, and Lin Wei, the three of you will lead the team to Kunlun. Daoist Qingyin will stay behind and continue to contact fellow practitioners in the Xuanmen sect to see if there are any other clues. Uncle Zhang, prepare the equipment and supplies, the best of everything."
Three days later, a seven-person team assembled in a small town at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains.
In addition to Huo Yuwei, Huo Yusen, and Lin Wei, there are three elite members from a special department.
Chen Feng, skilled in reconnaissance; Wang Lei, an expert in wilderness survival; and Zhao Xue, the team doctor and explosives expert.
“According to the map, the cave of Celestial Master Xuanji should be located in ‘Hidden Dragon Valley’, about seventy miles west of the main peak of Kunlun Mountain.” Huo Yusen spread out the map and satellite image on the table in the temporary command post and circled an area with a red pen. “But the satellite image shows that the area is shrouded in clouds and mist all year round, and the terrain data is blank.”
Lin Wei pointed to the anomaly on the satellite image, "Look here, the shape of the clouds is very strange, like... it's been fixed in place by something."
Indeed, the clouds and mist in other parts of the Kunlun Mountains are flowing, but the clouds and mist above Hidden Dragon Valley, as shown in seven satellite images taken at different times, have hardly changed shape.
“It’s a formation,” Yun Songzi said with certainty. “Moreover, it’s an ancient formation that can alter celestial phenomena and conceal the terrain. To enter Hidden Dragon Valley, we must first find the entrance to the formation.”
"What will the entrance look like?" Chen Feng asked.
“Not necessarily.” Yun Songzi shook his head. “It could be a crack in the mountain wall, a dark cave at the bottom of a pool, or even a tree or a rock. The formation can confuse people’s senses; even if the entrance is right in front of them, they may not see it.”
Huo Yuwei looked out the window at the endless snow-capped mountains. "We'll set off early tomorrow morning. Everyone should get a good rest tonight and recharge your energy."
As night fell, Huo Yusen stood alone in the courtyard, holding the Yin-Yang jade pendant in his hand.
Under the moonlight, a faint fluorescence flowed across the surface of the jade pendant, and at the boundary between black and white, Qiqi's figure seemed to become clearer.
"Brother Xiao Jiu..."
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