Fortunately, everything passed without mishap.
The man in black glanced at the pass token before returning it. He even teased, "Senior Brother Seven, I heard you failed your assignment last time. This time... you'd better not fail again."
"Otherwise, at the Seven Martial Wraiths challenge tournament in two months, I'm afraid you..."
Every young disciple of the Corpse Sect harbored dreams of the Seven Martial Wraiths. Even though he was the captain of the guards, he was no exception.
"Are you cursing me?" Lu Li feigned displeasure and shot him a glare.
"Haha, of course not. I am sincerely wishing you well, Senior Brother Seven."
With that, his smile faded. He took out a jade token, held it in his hand, and formed several hand seals, striking them into the token. Instantly, several streaks of spiritual light shot out from the jade token, striking the restrictive formation on the stone doors with a heavy thud.
As light circulated across the stone doors, a thunderous rumble echoed.
The two stone doors slowly opened, and a ray of sunlight shone through. Perhaps unaccustomed to the glare, the guards on both sides covered their eyes.
Lu Li narrowed his eyes. Resisting the urge to sprint away like a madman, he walked out slowly.
Watching the stone doors slowly close behind him and the earthen mound return to its original appearance, Lu Li finally let out a massive sigh of relief. He then glanced around warily to ensure no one was watching before flying southward at an unhurried pace.
At first, Lu Li did not move very fast. But as he gradually distanced himself from the Corpse Sect, he picked up his pace. The Corpse Sect would absolutely not let him off easily; putting as much distance as possible between himself and this place was the best plan.
Night fell.
Following his usual routine, Wu Liu went to Lu Li to collect his Pills. But as soon as he reached the doorway, he caught a faint whiff of blood, and a strong sense of foreboding welled up in his heart.
Flustered, he took down his identity token to open the stone door and charged inside with wide strides, shouting as he ran, "Brother Qin! Brother Qin! Bro-"
Before he could utter the third shout, his pupils contracted. He stared in shock at the corpse on the left, its chest completely pierced through. Walking over for a closer look, he was even more horrified. "Isn't this Wu Qi?"
Glancing at the motionless corpse puppet lying on the ground and the empty room, even someone as dense as Wu Liu knew exactly what had happened.
But he couldn't figure out why Lu Li would do such a thing.
Could killing Wu Qi really allow him to leave?
"No, I must report this matter to the Grand Elder. Otherwise... I'm afraid I won't escape punishment."
With that thought, Wu Liu prepared to rush outside. However, as he reached the doorway, he stopped, sighed, and muttered to himself, "Forget it. There is still an hour until midnight. If you really made it out, I hope you can escape as far as possible."
Just like that, he closed the stone doors once again.
It wasn't until midnight was rapidly approaching that Wu Liu slowly walked out. Then, wearing a mask of absolute panic, he stumbled and scrambled his way to the entrance of the Mo Cloud Residence, frantically mashing the warning mechanism beside the door.
Moments later, Mo Shang opened the stone door with a dark expression. Glaring at the flustered Wu Liu, he barked coldly, "What are you doing, panicking in the dead of night? What a disgrace!"
"Yes, a disgrace, a disgrace." Wu Liu's panic was entirely feigned. Hearing the rebuke, he lowered his head, thinking to himself: It's good that you aren't asking yet. I'll buy Brother Qin a bit more time.
"Speak!" Seeing Wu Liu keep his head down in silence, Mo Shang scolded again.
"Oh." Only then did Wu Liu speak slowly. "Wu Qi is dead."
"What?"
"I said, Wu Qi is dead."
"How did he die!"
"This subordinate does not know."
"Where did he die?"
"Alchemy Room One."
"Alchemy Room One?" Mo Shang furrowed his brow, his expression abruptly shifting as he flew into a towering rage. "What! Alchemy Room One! Then what about Qin Shouren!"
"He... seems to have run away. When this subordinate went to the alchemy room just now to retrieve the Pills from him, I discovered..." Seeing Mo Shang's fury, Wu Liu didn't dare spout any more nonsense and quickly recounted everything he had seen, word for word.
"Good. Good! Truly excellent." Black qi surged around Mo Shang's body. "This old man treated you so well, yet you actually took my kindness for garbage. Since that is the case, this old man can no longer let you live."
"Spare my life, Grand Elder!" Wu Liu thought Mo Shang was talking about him. Terrified, he fell to his knees with a heavy thud. "This subordinate has always performed my duties diligently and has never..."
"Shut your mouth!" Mo Shang glared viciously at Wu Liu. "That boy knows the secrets of my Corpse Sect. He cannot be allowed to remain in this world. Go immediately and summon the leaders of every hall to the assembly hall for a gathering!"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Tonight, the Corpse Sect was destined for a sleepless night.
......
The Cloud Mist Mountains.
Located in the southernmost reaches of the Eastern Province, they spanned thousands of miles. They earned their name because they were perennially shrouded in mist and clouds. Within their depths lay many Demon Beasts and spirit herbs. In the Eastern Province, apart from the Great Marsh, the Cloud Mist Mountains were the most renowned.
Though the Cloud Mist Mountains were famous, they were not a place ordinary people dared to venture deeply into. The Demon Beasts within were mostly mid-to-high tier, or even peak tier. Even a cultivator at the twelfth level of Qi Condensation had to tread with the utmost caution in the deeper regions.
Therefore, most people only operated in the outer fringes.
Early one morning.
A figure wearing a long black robe and a black bamboo hat rushed frantically from the north of the Cloud Mist Mountains. In a few moments, he charged into the forest, startling the strange birds within and sending them scattering in all directions.
The young man rushed dozens of zhang into the forest before collapsing heavily to the ground, clutching his stomach and gasping for breath.
The young man was exactly Lu Li.
After fleeing continuously for over a month, he could finally breathe a small sigh of relief.
The Great Marsh was too flat. Even with his God-Concealing Jade allowing him to evade Divine Sense detection, he could not hide from the eyes of the hunting hawks that occasionally soared overhead. Had he not constantly hidden within the thickest mists of the Great Marsh, he would likely have been captured long ago.
Three days ago, Lu Li had spotted these endless, mist-shrouded mountains from afar and sprinted in their direction without hesitation. Such a vast, untamed mountain range, paired with the God-Concealing Jade, made for an absolute perfect hiding place.
At the very least, it would prevent the Corpse Sect pursuers from surrounding him instantly.
After catching his breath for a moment, Lu Li dragged his exhausted body further into the depths of the forest. This spot was too close to the edge. He needed to find a more concealed location to rest properly.
The past month had drained not only his physical stamina, but even more so his mental fortitude. Right now, all he wanted was a long, deep sleep.
"Forget it. I'll just rest here for a bit."
Lu Li looked up at the towering tree in front of him, its trunk so thick it would take about ten men to wrap their arms around it. He decided to rest here. For one, he was truly exhausted beyond his limits. Secondly, he was unfamiliar with this forest. If an unexpected danger arose in his current state, he would be hard-pressed to handle it.
Forcing out his last breath of energy, he leaped up, landing with a light patter onto the first massive branch. Glancing down, he saw it was only two or three zhang above the ground. Feeling it wasn't concealed enough, he rested briefly before climbing up another dozen zhang.
Only when he was certain he couldn't be seen from any angle below did he finally lie down on a branch densely packed with leaves. Closing his eyes, he entered the Hall of Time.
Upon entering the Hall of Time, he did not cultivate. Instead, he simply collapsed onto the ground and fell into a deep slumber.