"But how could Qi Li kill Martial Uncle Jiang?"

"Yeah, Qi Li's combat power isn't that outstanding, is it?"

Yan Xiaosong's senior brothers couldn't help but raise their doubts.

Although Jiang Guinong's combat power in the Spirit-Taming Sect wasn't at the very top, he was still an elite figure. How could a mere girl like Qi Li kill Jiang Guinong?

"She might have known our Spirit-Taming Sect was coming for her." The chubby Yan Xiaosong thought for a moment before continuing, "She must have set a trap in advance, using some method we couldn't imagine to kill Martial Uncle Jiang and his man!"

"That must be it."

"Martial Uncle Jiang must have fallen into a trap."

"Sheesh, we were just trying to find her a husband!"

"Did she really have to kill someone over it?"

The senior brothers discussed endlessly, all agreeing that Qi Li had gone too far.

They were also quite vexed. They had been looking forward to accompanying Yan Xiaosong to experience the dazzling secular world, but with this incident, it looked like those plans would have to be postponed.

"I guess our fun is over."

As expected, Yan Xiaosong frowned and said, "Since we've stumbled upon this matter, we have to deal with it. If we don't, not only will I be unable to answer to my father, but we won't be able to show our faces in the Spirit-Taming Sect again, right?"

Having said this, Yan Xiaosong looked at a man beside him.

The man appeared to be in his thirties. He hadn't said a single word from the start, simply standing by Yan Xiaosong's side with his hands clasped and an indifferent expression on his face.

"Senior Brother Qiao," Yan Xiaosong said, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "You are the Right Protector of our Spirit-Taming Sect, and your cultivation is the highest here. I plan to have you take the lead on what comes next. What do you think?"

"No problem."

Protector Qiao agreed without hesitation. "As far as I know, when Qi Li came down the mountain, she only brought one person with her: her senior brother. He must have been involved this time, too. Here's our plan…"

Protector Qiao's voice dropped to a whisper.

Everyone gathered around to listen attentively.

「Meanwhile」

Su Xuan had already returned home.

He had discovered something rather interesting.

After participating in a battle, the two red-armored guards' complexions had changed. The skin on their faces no longer looked as desiccated, and faint blood vessels had appeared in their eye sockets, like parched land after a rainfall.

Could you actually revert to looking like normal people? If that's really the case, that would be a miracle... Su Xuan scratched his head.

If what happened in that dream was real, then something must have happened to the two red-armored guards inside that gate to make them so miraculous.

He hadn't noticed at the time, but after Qi Li killed Jiang Guinong and his martial nephew, an essence of blood had dispersed from the room. The two red-armored guards, unbeknownst to him, had been absorbing this essence from the air to nourish their bodies.

Su Xuan also noticed something else—this time about himself.

After the battle with Jiang Guinong, his divine garment's defense had been breached, rendering it temporarily ineffective. But now, the garment was slowly recovering.

He poked himself with a throwing knife and was uninjured. He had also discovered the secret to the divine garment's recovery.

The divine garment is using my body as nourishment!

In the bathroom, Su Xuan looked in the mirror. He noticed his complexion wasn't good. His lips were pale and his face was listless. Still, he could accept this result, muttering to himself, It seems I'll have to trouble Senior Sister Xuehan tomorrow to cook some good food for me to replenish my body so the divine garment can recover faster.

With that thought, he lay on the bed and closed his eyes.

The two red-armored guards stood like door guardians outside his room, watching over him throughout the night.

Although the night was deep, many people were still awake.

"Qi Li, I'm asking you one more time. Who exactly are you?"

In the interrogation room, Zhong Huilan stared at Qi Li, who was sitting across the table, and asked in a low voice.

"We are cultivators of the Dao." Qi Li glanced at Zhong Huilan and explained, "If there is a higher existence beyond the world of martial artists, it is us—cultivators who have long since left that world to pursue the True Dao."

"And, uh…" Qi Li thought for a moment before adding, "don't imagine we're like the people in the Daoist temples at your mountain tourist spots. We are very different from them. They are too tainted by the mundane world to ever find the True Dao. We, on the other hand, distance ourselves from the secular, and our methods of pursuing the Dao are very orthodox."

"Is climbing walls also a result of your pursuit of the Dao?" Zhong Huilan had heard from Su Xuan that Qi Li could scale buildings like a gecko.

"You could say that." Qi Li lifted her small hands. "We can master the method of circulating vital energy within our bodies to accomplish things ordinary people can't. For instance…"

Qi Li was in handcuffs. She glanced down at them and simply pulled her hands apart.

CLINK!

The chain connecting the cuffs snapped.

"Is this how you utilize vital energy?" Zhong Huilan blinked in surprise. "Would it be very difficult to learn?"

She was clearly getting some ideas. If her subordinates could learn this incredible ability, their mission efficiency would skyrocket, and casualty rates would plummet.

"Difficulty varies from person to person," Qi Li said. "Some can master the flow of vital energy in a few days, while others might never achieve it in their entire lifetime."

"Oh." Zhong Huilan's mouth formed a small 'o'. "So not everyone can learn it."

"It's alright if you want to learn," Qi Li said after a moment's thought. "I can tell you the most basic cultivation method from the mountain world. You can pick a few people with good aptitude to try it. Perhaps they'll learn quickly, and the basic methods aren't exactly a secret. It's just…"

Qi Li pursed her lips. "In the mountain world, there's an unwritten tradition that even the most basic methods must not be passed to the secular world."

"Are you afraid someone might misuse them?" Zhong Huilan asked.

"No," Qi Li shook her head and stated succinctly, "It's very easy to get yourself killed while practicing—the kind of death you can't be rescued from."

"So you're not afraid of dying?" Zhong Huilan asked.

"We generally don't," Qi Li explained, "because we have our masters, senior brothers, and junior brothers. They all know how to regulate vital energy, so if someone runs into trouble, they can step in and help."

"I see." Zhong Huilan nodded. "So if we wanted to learn, we'd need an expert to guide and protect us, right?"

"Yes." Qi Li nodded as well.

"So, does Su Xuan know how to do this?" Zhong Huilan asked.

"You don't know?" Qi Li looked surprised. "Aren't you old friends?"

"I really don't." Zhong Huilan shook her head. "If your senior brother hadn't shown up, I would never have known he could defeat people like you… cultivators of the Dao."

"He can't," Qi Li said. "His physical body is just incredibly tough. He can't even climb walls."

"He must be incredible, then!" Zhong Huilan exclaimed in awe.

"Tell me about it!" Qi Li sighed in helpless admiration.

Su Xuan's existence made her wonder if she was cultivating a false Dao.

Qi Li suddenly rubbed her right eye.

A twitching left eye means wealth. A twitching right eye means disaster...

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