The appearance of Dan Chenzi carrying top-grade spirit stones made the Empress even more curious about Li Daoyi's identity. Being able to easily produce so many top-grade spirit stones and having a subordinate like Dan Chenzi, the Empress felt that Li Daoyi must come from a powerful force that was deeply hidden.
"Your Majesty, that Dan Chenzi is very powerful, at least stronger than me." In the Empress's courtyard, Lin Xiaoxiao was reporting on her investigation over the past few days.
"Yes, half-step Martial Emperor." The Empress nodded.
"Hiss..." Lin Xiaoxiao gasped.
It should be noted that the peak of Martial Venerable is only half a step Martial Emperor. Such a powerful person is a hegemon anywhere and can be treated with great respect in any force, including the Hundred Clans, becoming an honored guest. However, this Dan Chenzi seems to be just Li Daoyi's subordinate, with a status even lower than that of the two women from the East.
In the world of a hundred races, Martial Emperors and Martial Saints rarely appear. Martial Venerables and Martial Emperors are the most common high-ranking powerhouses in people's eyes. Empress Linglong is also a Martial Emperor, and she is one of the top-ranking Martial Emperors among the human race.
"Your Majesty, should we report this matter to the Xuan Nu Holy Land?" Lin Xiaoxiao asked in a low voice.
"Not for now," the Empress flatly rejected.
Besides being the Emperor of Da Gan, Lin Linglong is also the personal disciple of the current sect leader of the Xuan Nu Holy Land and the previous Holy Maiden. However, she eventually gave up her status as Holy Maiden and returned to Da Gan to inherit the throne. But because of this relationship, Da Gan is practically an appendage of the Xuan Nu Holy Land.
"The matter of spirit stones is of utmost importance. We'd better not reveal it before we see that person. Tell Hei Yi that none of our people are allowed to discuss this matter, or they will be killed without mercy," the Empress said coldly.
"Yes." Lin Xiaoxiao nodded, then slowly withdrew.
Soon, the fifteen-day seclusion period that Li Daoyi had mentioned arrived. On this day, Zhu Zhu, for the first time ever, did not go to cultivate, but instead waited in front of the Spiritual Time Chamber early in the morning.
The little girl looked at the doorway with expectant eyes.
"Slurp..."
"Zhuzhu, here's a lollipop for you."
Mengmeng licked her lollipop as she walked over to Zhuzhu and handed her one.
"Thank you, Auntie." Zhu Zhu took it and imitated her, putting it in her mouth as well.
Not far away, Lin Xiaoxiao felt a little jealous seeing this scene. She was Zhuzhu's biological aunt, but the child had never called her that once.
Before they knew it, everyone had gathered in front of the Spiritual Time Chamber, waiting for Li Daoyi to emerge from seclusion.
"I'll go in and call him."
Suddenly, Mengmeng said somewhat impatiently, and then the little guy walked towards the hut.
"Ouch." Suddenly, he felt light as Dongfang Bubai lifted him up.
"You're being naughty again. Be careful, or your brother Dao Yi will come out and punish you," Dongfang said angrily.
"Hehe, I'm not afraid of her at all," Mengmeng said with a grin.
"Oh, he's coming out!" Mengmeng exclaimed in surprise.
The Empress and her companions immediately looked towards the entrance.
"Buzz..."
Suddenly, the cabin emitted a burst of light, and a white beam of light shot into the sky.
"boom…"
A loud bang came from the sky.
People looked up and saw a magnificent glow in the sky, which was incredibly beautiful.
Gradually, the colorful clouds began to converge from all directions, and soon a human-shaped outline appeared in the sky, thousands of feet high.
The Empress and the others watched this scene in shock.
Gradually, the colorful clouds and figures solidified, and Li Daoyi's enormous figure slowly emerged.
"call…"
Li Daoyi in the sky seemed to exhale a breath.
A sudden gust of wind swept down from above, its powerful force seemingly capable of blowing the entire bamboo mountain away.
"Be careful!" the Empress shouted immediately upon seeing this. Then, an energy emanated from her body, protecting everyone around her, including Zhu Zhu.
Dan Chenzi, who was standing to the side, also quickly used his magic power. The metal wings behind him instantly grew larger, and the enormous wings covered the entire Taoist temple.
Gradually, the gale subsided, the Empress withdrew her true energy, and Dan Chenzi also retracted his wings. Everyone looked up at the sky again.
At this moment, Li Daoyi's figure had completely solidified. His figure, thousands of feet tall, silently watched over everyone like a god. An inexplicable aura made the Empress and the others feel fear.
"Little Black." Suddenly, Mengmeng called out towards the outside of the yard.
"Awoo..."
A deafening roar echoed outside the courtyard, followed by a golden light that revealed a black Qilin several meters tall.
"Heave-ho!" Mengmeng jumped out happily and landed directly on the black Qilin's head.
"Let's go." The little guy patted Little Black's big head.
"roar…"
The Qilin immediately took to the air and flew towards Li Daoyi in the sky.
This scene shocked the Empress and her companions.
"God... God... Divine beast, Your Majesty, it's the aura of a divine beast, how is that possible?" Lin Xiaoxiao stammered.
The noble aura emanating from the black Qilin chilled the group to the bone, and the horses outside the Empress's palace had already collapsed to the ground.
"How is that possible? Besides the beast race, there is actually a second divine beast in the world," the Empress murmured.
However, what the two did not know was that the big blue ox outside the door glanced disdainfully at the flamboyant black unicorn, and then lay down again to continue snoring.
In the air, Li Daoyi looked at Mengmeng flying towards him and a slight smile appeared on his face. He hadn't seen her for fifteen years and seemed to miss her a little.
He withdrew his divine power of "Heaven and Earth Transformation," and his body slowly shrank back to its original size. At that moment, Mengmeng arrived, riding Xiao Hei.
"Taoist brother!" the little guy cheered and rushed towards Li Daoyi.
Li Daoyi reached out and hugged Mengmeng, feeling the little one's soft body, and couldn't help but feel a touch of emotion.
"I want to eat spirit stones." Suddenly, Mengmeng whispered in his ear.
Li Daoyi's joy vanished instantly. So this guy came for this reason after all, making him feel touched for nothing.
“No way.” Li Daoyi rejected it outright. One spirit stone was worth 50,000 points, and he had already exchanged twelve for one, which cost him 600,000 points.
"Hmph, if you won't give it to me, I'll just take it myself," Mengmeng pouted.
Li Daoyi felt as if a thousand grass mud horses were galloping through his mind.
"Alright, alright, I'll give it to you, but don't rush me. Let's talk about it after I help Zhuzhu establish her foundation," Li Daoyi said helplessly. There was nothing he could do; Mengmeng did indeed have the ability to directly take things from Li Daoyi's system, but unfortunately, the system would deduct points from his account afterward.
"Oh well."
"Smack."
The little girl instantly beamed with joy and even kissed Li Daoyi.
"You little rascal." Li Daoyi affectionately rubbed Mengmeng's head. Although this child was naughty, for some reason, she would eventually listen to him.
The two then jumped back onto the black Qilin's head, and Xiao Hei fell downwards again.
Soon, the enormous body returned to the outside of the Taoist temple. Li Daoyi carried Mengmeng and slowly flew inside. The little black dog behind him gradually shrank and turned back into a small black dog.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," Li Daoyi said to everyone with a smile.
"Master!" Zhu Zhu immediately rushed forward and hugged Li Daoyi tightly.
"Hmm, good girl, it seems you've been cultivating well these past few days," Li Daoyi said, patting Zhuzhu's little head.
"Mmm." The little girl nodded excitedly.
At this moment, Li Daoyi looked at the Empress and the others.
"Lin Linglong of the Great Gan Dynasty pays respects to Your Majesty." The Empress bowed to Li Dao and his party with the salute of a martial artist.
"Greetings, Your Excellency." Lin Xiaoxiao and the others quickly bowed as well.
"Your Majesty, there's no need for such formalities," Li Daoyi said with a smile. He then gently waved his hand, and the group was instantly helped to their feet.
"Sure enough, this is at least a Martial Emperor, or even..." Lin Linglong exclaimed in shock.
Actually, she misunderstood. Strictly speaking, Li Daoyi's realm was the same as hers. Of course, in terms of strength, he definitely surpassed the Martial Emperor. However, because Li Daoyi was a cultivator, his control over the power of nature was greater than that of a martial artist. His aura was also much larger. With the support of various supernatural powers and magical treasures, he was not afraid even when facing a Martial Saint. This was the advantage of the Immortal Path.
“I know about your affair with Zhuzhu. Now that she is my second disciple, it is natural for me to protect her and resolve the problem in her body,” Li Daoyi said.
"Yes, thank you, Your Majesty," the Empress said.
"Hmm?" Just then, Li Daoyi frowned.
"What's wrong?" Dongfang Bubai asked.
"It seems there are many rats hiding around here," Li Daoyi said slowly.
After saying that, Li Daoyi put Mengmeng down and then flew directly into the sky. He waved his hand gently at an inconspicuous hill in the distance.
Several miles away, more than a dozen figures suddenly flew up and quickly fled in all directions.
"There's actually someone here." Everyone was taken aback.
With a "whoosh," Dan Chenzi spread his wings and flew away, quickly chasing after those people.
"Whoosh..."
Dongfang and Xiaolongnu also flew out.
"Damn it." The Empress glared at the trembling Blackie beside her, then flew out as well.
"Your Majesty," Lin Xiaoxiao called out and flew out of the Taoist temple.
"Damn it!" Hei Yi cursed angrily, immediately got up and chased after him.
The dozen or so figures were all dressed in black, indicating that they belonged to the same group.
Seeing that someone was chasing them, these people suddenly sprouted a pair of white wings from their backs, instantly increasing their speed several times over.
"Winged Humans." The Empress in the air's gaze turned cold.
"Certainly."
Just then, Li Daoyi's voice came, and the dozen or so winged people in the air instantly froze.
Dan Chenzi and the others came to their side and grabbed the winged people.
"Whoosh..."
A short while later, the group carried the men in black back to the outside of the Taoist temple.
Li Daoyi also slowly descended from the sky.
Hei Yi ripped off the mask, revealing the true faces of these men in black. They looked no different from ordinary humans, except for the white wings on their backs, which proved that they were not human.
"How dare you winged people trespass on human territory!" Hei Yi said, drawing his sword and holding it to the neck of one of the winged people.
"Wait a minute," the Empress said.
“Your Majesty…” Hei Yi asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Let's see what His Excellency has to say," the Empress said, looking at Li Daoyi.
Hei Yi then realized that this was not their territory, and quickly put his knife away.
"The Winged People, huh? Interesting. It seems you're here for Zhu Zhu." Li Daoyi said with a slight smile.
"What?" The Empress and her companions were immediately shocked.
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