When Nguyen Thanh An arrived at the private room upstairs, the steward respectfully closed the door for her and dismissed the other servants around her, clearly at the special request of the person who had deposited her belongings.
Having received the money, Duobaoge naturally had to handle the matter properly.
Only after the door closed did Ruan Qing'an turn to examine the layout of the private room—it was decorated quite elegantly and exquisitely, with a light fragrance lingering in the room, and an eight-immortal table placed in the middle of the room, on which a pale yellow, tattered book was casually tossed.
This is... that ancient book that records the innate Daoist body?
037: [Oh, so it's just left here like this?]
"...I'm not sure, let's see first."
Ruan Qing'an was slightly taken aback. She stepped forward and picked it up. The texture of the leather was as delicate as a parchment scroll. Just as she was about to open it, she suddenly heard a soft laugh coming from the window next to her.
The next moment, her hand holding the ancient book froze, and she became as taut as a bowstring, instantly on high alert.
Who on earth could completely block her senses?!
"Don't be nervous, I'm not going to eat people."
Just then, a teasing voice came from behind, low and magnetic. With her senses no longer blocked, Ruan Qing'an finally saw the person by the window clearly—a man wearing a black robe.
He leaned casually against the window, one hand bent at the elbow and resting on the window frame, propping his face up with his long, narrow phoenix eyes, looking down lightly.
The man had sharp features, deep-set eyes, and an exceptionally aggressive look.
Ruan Qing'an's expression darkened slightly: "Who are you?"
"I was paid a lot of money to come here, just to do a small favor."
He spoke in a low voice, slowly swirling his wine glass, a dangerous smile playing on his lips: "This ancient book is mine. You can look at it as you please. It does record some things about innate Dao bodies, but—you don't need to memorize it, because you won't need it later."
"What do you mean?"
As soon as Ruan Qing'an finished speaking, he felt an unusual fluctuation in the spiritual energy around him. Then, one after another, array patterns appeared on the door and the walls, almost enveloping the entire room.
In just a short moment, the entire private room was sealed off by the formation!
Ruan Qing'an was startled and subconsciously raised her hand, her spiritual power condensing into a crystal-clear longsword. She tossed aside the ancient book and looked at the man warily.
Finally, the man chuckled softly: "I told you, I won't make a move as long as you don't leave—let me introduce myself, my name is Lou Yunqi, and I'm honored to meet you, Elder Ruan."
"I have been entrusted by the Yang family of Linshui City to come here today to stop you."
Lou Yunqi spoke softly, and with a flick of his finger, a drop of wine that had spilled out suddenly shot towards Ruan Qing'an like a sharp hidden weapon, accompanied by a whooshing sound!
She was startled and used a long sword formed from spiritual energy to block it, but even just a drop of wine that covered the pressure was still incredibly powerful.
Ruan Qingan lowered his eyes and quickly leaped into the air.
That single drop of wine pierced through the wall sealed by the array, and then the space around the pierced area was visibly annihilated inch by inch, shattering to reveal a deep black void.
This was just a single drop of wine that had been flicked onto the surface.
037: [I found it, my ancestor. Lou Yunqi's name is mentioned in the original text, but he's just a background character with little screen time; he's only used to supplement the background information.]
Lou Yunqi was a demonic cultivator with a capricious and volatile personality, extremely bloodthirsty, and utterly insane. A hundred years ago, many families were wiped out by him for offending them. After causing a bloodbath in the cultivation world, Lou Yunqi abandoned the sect he founded and disappeared without a trace, not heard from for a hundred years.
037: [By the way, Ancestor, the demonic cultivation sect that Lou Yunqi founded was the predecessor of the Longevity Palace.]
"No wonder the Changsheng Palace used such insidious and vicious methods to frame Shen Changlin back then; it seems they have a history of such tactics..."
037: [Why don't we let the Myriad Paths Sect handle this?]
Ruan Qingan took a deep breath, his expression somewhat grave: "It's too late. I'm afraid this matter will not end well today."
Most importantly, Shen Changlin is still outside...
As for the Yang family's affairs, Ruan Qing'an had previously suspected that Yang Lin's death was related to Shen Changlin, and now they have indeed come knocking on his door.
Thinking of this, Ruan Qing'an suppressed his worries and stared intently at Lou Yunqi, who was leaning against the window: "Your Excellency, you and my Wandao Sect kept to your own business a hundred years ago, so why are you getting involved in the Yang family's affairs now?"
"Oh? It seems you know who I am."
Lou Yunqi put down his wine cup, a nonchalant smile on his face. The next moment, he flashed and sat down at the Eight Immortals Table, his narrow phoenix eyes showing a hint of evil.
He looked at Ruan Qing'an standing by the door, her delicate and pretty face tense, like a little hedgehog covered in thorns.
Be wary, yet you have no choice but to play along.
Like teasing a cat that's about to puff up its fur, Lou Yunqi rarely had the leisure to say a few more words. He could have made his move the moment Ruan Qing'an entered, but—as if drawn by some unseen force, he instinctively cast his gaze upon her.
His slender fingers tapped the rim of the cup as he chuckled, "Now that you know who I am, sit down. I didn't lie to you about this book."
"...Thank you, Your Excellency."
As the saying goes, circumstances are stronger than people. Ruan Qing'an estimated that unless she directly unleashed her divine soul power, disregarding the damage to the original owner's body, with her late-stage Void Refinement cultivation, she probably wouldn't last a single move against Lou Yunqi. Since he hadn't made a move yet, there was still a chance to turn the tide.
Thinking of this, Ruan Qing'an simply picked up the ancient book and started flipping through it.
Just as Lou Yunqi said, there are indeed records about the innate Dao Body, but there is no record of the innate Dao Body being damaged.
Ruan Qing'an frowned, a hint of suspicion in his expression.
At that moment, when she put down the ancient book in her hand, she realized that Lou Yunqi, who was sitting opposite her, was looking at her intently—with an obscure and viscous emotion that was somewhat unrecognizable.
He seemed to be... confirming something.
It was the feeling of being stared at by a ferocious beast. Ruan Qing'an pursed his lips and subconsciously changed the subject: "Sir, my Wandao Sect has no entanglement with you. Why do you have to interfere in the Yang family's affairs?"
"Ten years ago, I was in seclusion in a secret realm when I met the Yang family. They were quite clever and drove away some villains for me, saving me the time to take action. I can barely say that we have formed a good relationship."
Lou Yunqi paused: "They spent a year contacting me, and another two years preparing a deal that would tempt me to make a move."
Upon hearing this, Ruan Qing'an's eyes flickered slightly, and he suddenly spoke.
"I'll offer double the amount in exchange for you not interfering in this matter."
"..."
Lou Yunqi paused in his hand, which was swirling the wine glass, and chuckled softly. He looked at Ruan Qing'an with his narrow eyes. Even though he was pleading, the woman in front of him still had her own integrity, as aloof as the moon, as if she would not bow down to anything. She was born to be so proud.
His dark eyes swept over her rosy lips, an inexplicable attraction drawing him closer, but—
'Ding.'
The wine glass was slammed onto the table, but Lou Yunqi's smile remained unchanged: "Actually, I am quite interested in Elder Ruan, but I have a principle of taking money and doing things for others."
Ruan Qing'an's expression darkened slightly. Just as she was about to speak again, a loud noise suddenly came from outside the sealed private room. Even with the array blocking it, it couldn't be stopped in the slightest. The private room was even shaken for a moment by this sudden change.
Lou Yunqi frowned, seemingly somewhat displeased: "...Tsk, what a commotion. You're such a waste of space, making such a fuss over killing someone."
"Are they from the Yang family?"
Ruan Qing'an's expression suddenly darkened. He didn't need Lou Yunqi's confirmation anymore. Only Shen Changlin was outside, and it was obvious who he was going to confront.
She instinctively stood up and rushed towards the closed door of the private room. The spiritual energy she had been secretly gathering slammed into the array in an instant. The next moment, the entire array in the private room shattered under her long-planned attack. But just as Ruan Qing'an was about to rush out—
A fierce gust of wind suddenly swept in!
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