"What?" Qi Li's expression changed instantly.

Wasn't that spirit vein at the border between the two sects? Now that the Floating Cloud and Spirit Taming Sects had reconciled and there were no enemies nearby, how could someone disappear on their own territory? Could the spirit vein have swallowed them whole?

"Explain everything, right now!" Qi Li focused her gaze on the panicked disciple and said slowly, "How did my father disappear?"

"It happened like this," the disciple stammered with trepidation. "Sect Leader Qi and Sect Leader Yan, led by that man Niu Wangqian, found the spirit vein without any trouble. But the rain was too heavy and completely submerged it. The surrounding terrain also suffered a large-scale collapse. Sect Leader Yan urged Sect Leader Qi to wait for the rain to stop before investigating, but Sect Leader Qi said there was no need..."

The disciple dared not continue, because Qi Li's face had turned pale.

Su Xuan frowned and asked, "Did Sect Leader Qi go into the water?"

"Yes," the disciple said, glancing up at Su Xuan. "Sect Leader Qi told Sect Leader Yan to wait on the surface while he, Hall Master Dai, and Senior Brother Lu Dongshan dived in to investigate the spirit vein. After a long time, they still hadn't come out. Sect Leader Yan worried something had happened, so he went into the water as well. He couldn't find them at all and sent me back to report the news."

"Lead the way!"

After saying those two words, Qi Li glanced at Su Xuan with a hint of apology and quickly strode out of the main hall with her disciple.

"I'll go with you!" Su Xuan hurriedly followed.

His friendship with Qi Li and Qi Qingshan aside, he had to go for the sake of that spirit vein.

The atmosphere on the way was heavy, and no one spoke. No one knew what to expect. Their pace grew faster and faster until the disciple could barely keep up, and that was with Su Xuan and Qi Li deliberately slowing down. Otherwise, they would have long since vanished into the distance.

"This is the place!" the disciple pointed, gasping for breath after a while.

In truth, he didn't need to point it out. Su Xuan and Qi Li had already seen the location, where Yan Peng was pacing back and forth. It wasn't just him; his twenty deathsworn warriors were also standing by the edge of a deep, bottomless water-filled pit.

"Niece Li'er, Brother Su!"

Seeing the two of them arrive, Yan Peng waved a greeting before gesturing toward the water with a grim expression. "You must have heard about Sect Leader Qi and the others. It seems a landslide connected the area to an underground waterway, making the conditions below extremely complex. I've already been down to search three or four times."

He then pointed to his deathsworn warriors. "So have they."

Most of his men had purplish lips and were breathing heavily, clear signs they had only recently emerged from the water.

"Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Yan." Though fraught with worry for her father, Qi Li still clasped her hands and bowed in thanks to Yan Peng.

"We're family, no need to be so formal," Yan Peng waved his hand, his gaze lingering on Qi Li's face for a moment. The resemblance... it's uncanny... he muttered to himself.

"Sect Leader Yan, I have a question I probably shouldn't ask," Su Xuan said abruptly. "Why is it that when Sect Leader Qi and his men went down, they disappeared, but when you and your men went down, nothing happened?"

Before the words had even faded, Qi Li was staring at Yan Peng, her brows tightly furrowed. She had the exact same question.

"I can't answer that," Yan Peng shook his head. "Perhaps the conditions in the water were different when they went down." He wasn't offended by the question. If he were in Su Xuan or Qi Li's shoes, he would have asked the same thing. It had nothing to do with their friendship.

Qi Li stared at the water. Her delicate body suddenly began to shiver, an unmistakable expression of fear on her face. Yet, her steps were steady and determined as she moved toward the water's edge, clearly intending to go in and find her father.

"You can't swim, can you?" Su Xuan reached out and grabbed her arm.

"I..." Qi Li's eyes reddened. "I can, but I..."

"Niece Li'er nearly drowned when she was a child," Yan Peng interjected suddenly. "I remember it was when she was seven. Qi Qingshan was away visiting another sect, and she was left in the care of your people. But those good-for-nothings weren't watching her, and Niece Li'er fell into the sect's Celestial Pond while picking lotuses. If she hadn't managed to climb out by sheer luck, she would have drowned. That experience must be why she's afraid of water!"

"Uncle Yan, how do you know about that?" Qi Li asked, surprised. It was true; because of that incident, she was terrified of any deep water, let alone this horrifying pit.

"Heh!" Yan Peng chuckled, offering a vague excuse. "I know many things about your Floating Cloud Sect."

He wasn't telling the truth. He had always paid close attention to everything about that woman, including her child.

"Then stay here," Su Xuan said, releasing Qi Li's arm and stepping to the water's edge. "I'll go down and take a look. I could swim before I could walk!"

He wasn't boasting. He had also nearly drowned as a child, but instead of becoming fearful, he had resolved to conquer water. That was just his personality. Alone and helpless back then, all he wanted was to become stronger.

"Let's go together!" Qi Li suddenly grabbed onto Su Xuan. "Take me with you!"

She desperately wanted to tell him what was in her heart. When you're by my side, no difficulty seems truly difficult. Down in the world below the mountain, I faced life-threatening danger so many times, and you were always the one who saved me! You are my sense of security! If you go into the water with me, I won't be afraid! Not at all!

"Can you handle it?" Su Xuan asked.

"I can!" Qi Li nodded vigorously.

"Alright, let's go!"

Su Xuan took a step forward and plunged into the rain-filled pit. Helping Qi Li conquer an inner fear wasn't a bad thing. He was confident he could keep her safe, too. During his time in the world below the mountain, he had discovered something after the System had strengthened his body ten times, completing its first-stage task. He could hold his breath for a very long time, as if he no longer needed oxygen. He had never tested his limits, but he was sure half an hour would be no problem.

SPLASH! SPLASH!

Two plumes of water erupted on the surface, and then Su Xuan and Qi Li were gone.

Yan Peng gazed at the turbulent water. Those two are a perfect match, he muttered to himself.

Underwater, Qi Li clutched tightly to Su Xuan's sleeve. Su Xuan, meanwhile, propelled them deeper with powerful strokes of his arms.

Just as Yan Peng had said, the underwater terrain was complex. The collapsed crater had indeed connected to an underground waterway, resulting in chaotic currents that made it difficult to stay stable. Qi Li clutched him even tighter. Though the currents were chaotic, her heart was completely at ease.

After searching for a short while, however, Su Xuan noticed Qi Li was becoming short of breath and began to ascend toward the surface.

It was then that Su Xuan inadvertently glanced down... and spotted a pair of glowing red eyes watching him.

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