It was a night with a bright moon and a few stars. Inside a barren mountain where tall gra.s.ses swayed in the night breeze, where not a single soul could be seen, Wu Qi emerged from under the ground.
The innate earth element escape art was truly an amazing technique, as it never left behind any traces that one could use to track him. After several tens of miles into the pursuit, Banner of Chiyou had already lost track of Wu Qi"s aura. It transformed into an ocean of blood and kept searching for Wu Qi"s traces under the ground. However, it just could not find anything.
Dragging Li Yifeng and Zi Qianyan in his hands, Wu Qi resurfaced, then casually threw them to the ground. Zi Qianyan was lucky to just have a light fall, while Li Yifeng gave a m.u.f.fled snort, as the fall pushed his broken bones and injured his internal organs. He opened his mouth and coughed out some blood again. Zi Qianyan cried out worriedly, then struggled her way to Li Yifeng. Using her sleeve, she carefully wiped off some blood from Li Yifeng"s face. "Are you alright, Yifeng?" She asked with a gentle voice.
Li Yifeng raised his head and gave Wu Qi a look. Zi Qianyan rose hurriedly up, walked staggeringly towards Wu Qi, and dropped to her knees. She offered him a few kowtows and said, "Poor girl Zi Qianyan thanks Master-Immortal for the great kindness! Please forgive me for being bold, as I hope Master-Immortal can use your magical power to save Yifeng"s life! There is no way I can repay Master-Immortal"s kindness in this life, but in my next life I will..."
Wu Qi hastily interrupted Zi Qianyan from continuing, "No! Don"t say anything like you will be an animal or slave in the next life so as to repay my kindness! I have no lack of slaves, and I have no lack of steeds. What I need now is a few people that can work for me! Saving his life is very easy!" He fished out a healing spirit pill concocted by the White Cloud Immortal Sect, then secretly injected a thread of innate wood element energy into the pill before giving it to Zi Qianyan.
With the utmost sincerity, Zi Qianyan gave Wu Qi another kowtow. She took over the spirit pill and carefully fed it to Li Yifeng.
The spirit pill was a very powerful healing medicine concocted by White Cloud Immortal Sect with a secret formula, and the single thread of innate wood element energy injected into it by Wu Qi contained a very vigorous innate life force. Therefore, when the pill entered Li Yifeng"s stomach, it immediately turned into a soothing stream that flowed through his entire body. A delicate fragrance exuded from his skin, and he was shrouded in a lump of green mist that was visible to naked eyes. Slowly, the once sunken chest of his began to rise back up. The broken bones and muscles joined back by themselves, and healed up completely. The process gave Li Yifeng an itchiness on his wound, and he could not refrain from giving a few m.u.f.fled snorts.
In just less than ten minutes, Li Yifeng was fully healed, full of vim and vigor. He even looked a few times fresher than when he just entered Hidden Sword Pavilion! Without hesitation, he dropped to his knees, offered Wu Qi a few kowtows, and said, "Junior Li Yifeng thanks Master-Immortal for saving my life! If not for Master-Immortal"s benevolence, perhaps..." His voice quivering with emotion, and he could not help but begin to weep. He raised his head and looked at Zi Qianyan, eyes filled with tears, some of which coursed down his face and made him look rather ugly.
Zi Qianyan dropped to her knees once again, and kowtowed to Wu Qi in pace with Li Yifeng. When she saw Li Yifeng become so emotional, although she had always maintained a calm state of mind, she too had her eyes turned red. Nevertheless, her ability of self-control was evidently way stronger than Li Yifeng, as she did not shed even a single tear, but just kept kowtowing to Wu Qi.
What a pair of languis.h.i.+ng youth and unhappy maiden, though the maiden was strong as a man, yet the youth was full of emotions as a maiden. Wu Qi rolled his eyes helplessly, and thought to himself that this Zi Qianyan was indeed an extraordinary girl. Although based on his original idea, he would find a way to bring Zi Qianyan back to Myriad Immortals Planet and marry her to Lu Chengfeng or the other brothers of his, it looked like he had to abandon the plan. It was very obvious that the two of them were in love with each other. So, why should he interfere them?
He cleared his throat and lightly flung his sleeve, sending out a gentle force that brought the couple up. After that, he sent his divine will into both Li Yifeng and Zi Qianyan"s bodies, and to his surprise, he found out that this young couple actually had a very decent talent in cultivation. Although they did not have the genius potential similar to some of the carefully selected inner sect disciples of White Cloud Immortal Sect, if they were to be raised with sufficient amount of energy stones and spirit pills, they would still have the hope to breakthrough Nascent Divinity realm.
After a moment of silence, Wu Qi nodded his head, smiled, and said, "Don"t say a word, Li Yifeng. Why are you weeping? Are you still a man? Zi Qianyan, I can foresee that between you two, you will be the one who takes the lead in the household. So, I will ask you anything that I wish to know!"
Li Yifeng"s face blushed with Wu Qi"s words. He bowed his head and quickly wiped away the tears, shut his mouth and dared not to say anything. In the meanwhile, Zi Qianyan bowed deeply towards Wu Qi in a very natural and poised manner, and said lightly, "Master-Immortal, please ask away. As long as the poor girl knows the answer, I"ll definitely tell Master-Immortal without any reservation."
Wu Qi nodded his head, then asked coldly, "Tell me the causes and consequences related to the murder of your entire clan."
Zi Qianyan went directly to the point as she said, "My father did not know how to flatter people, and he would not listen to my suggestions. As a result, he had offended all eight Princes, causing my entire clan to be murdered half a month ago. Some Princes and Ministers coveted my beautiful appearance. Therefore, my life was spared, and they sent me to the Imperial Courtesan Square. After that, the Eldest Prince used his power to send me into Hidden Sword Pavilion."
Wu Qi nodded his head slowly and asked, "Are you not aggrieved?"
Zi Qianyan fell to her knees again, kowtowing at Wu Qi as she said, "I"m my father"s only daughter, how could I not grief with my entire clan was murdered? But, what is the use of being aggrieved? If I manage to live through this calamity, I"ll focus all my thoughts in seeking revenge. I don"t have the energy and time to waste in grief."
"Excellent!" Wu Qi slapped his hands, laughed, and said, "What an extraordinarily brave girl!"
He reached out to Zi Qianyan and helped her up. Pointing his finger at Li Yifeng, he smiled and said, "As for you... Aye, what is the point of asking you? I can already tell everything from what you"ve done! You are one Young Master who thinks too highly of yourself, risking your own life for a girl by plunging into a dragon"s lair. You thought you can startle the Heaven and Earth, and move the Ghosts and Deities, so that the two of you will be rescued by the heavenly luck. Who do you think you are? Did you ever look at your own overall strength and status before rus.h.i.+ng wantonly into that place?!"
Li Yifeng rolled his eyes, looked at Wu Qi, and said, "Yifeng is saved by Master-Immortal, isn"t this an evidence that the Heaven is moved by us, therefore sending Master-Immortal to rescue Lifeng and Qianyan out from the calamity?" Li Yifeng dropped to his knees before Wu Qi, and with the utmost respect, he kowtowed and said, "This is the kindness the Heaven has bestowed at us, for the Heaven does not want Qianyan to suffer the humiliation!"
Wu Qi was speechless. When facing this young lad with a one-track mind, he really did not know what to say. Shaking his head, he snapped his fingers and released both Gold Horn and Silver Horn. The python brothers had their stomachs bloated up like two big b.a.l.l.s. A few pale bones were seen dangling near their lips, and they were snoring with their heads leaning against each other. When they were released from the Spirit Breeding Ring, the brothers yawned lazily, wearing a harmless and sleepy smile as they nodded their heads at Wu Qi, then immediately sunk back into a deep slumber again.
Li Yifeng and Zi Qianyan were stupefied. With a blank expression, they stared at the two great pythons, one golden and one silver. Both of them had dragon horns growing on top of their heads, and there were two claws near their stomach. Clearly, they were the legendary flood dragons! However, these two flood dragons looked more like two large b.a.l.l.s, as they did not look as agile and vigorous, mystical and powerful as what they learned from the legends.
Noticing the dull look in Li Yifeng and Zi Qianyan"s eyes, Wu Qi frowned and sprung forward, thrust his leg and gave each of the python brothers a powerful kick. Gold Horn and Silver Horn immediately jumped up with loud cries. They twisted and slithered for some moments on the ground, and their stomachs began to wiggle and creep, as they were quickly digesting the excellent quality meats they just ate. Very soon, their stomachs were flattened. The brothers spat out the bones from their mouths, coiled up their long bodies, and raised their heads hight up, then talked to Wu Qi with a serious expression, "Master, Eldest Brother, what is the purpose of summoning us?"
Staring speechlessly at this two "flood dragons", who cared about nothing but eating, and had been acc.u.mulating nothing but fat in the Spirit Breeding Ring, Wu Qi said with a cold voice, "I have a good mission for you. From today onwards, you will provide personal protection to Li Yifeng and Zi Qianyan. Before I make Li Yifeng the new emperor of Gu Tai Dynasty..."
Suddenly, Li Yifeng sprung up with a howl. He stared blankly at Wu Qi and cried out, "What? I? The new emperor of Gu Tai Dynasty? How can that even be possible? Although my mother is His Majesty"s daughter, but..."
In the meanwhile, Zi Qianyan"s eyes ablaze with a bright gleam. In a low voice, she said, "If Master-Immortal is willing to aid us, and with the several hundred thousand of soldiers that are held in Uncle Li"s hand, taking the opportunity when the eight Princes are battling each other, we might be able to throw a successful rebellion." The more she said, the colder her face became, and eventually, it looked as cold as a ten thousand years old ice. Clearly, she had begun to think about those who would be struck with calamity when Li Yifeng really took the throne.
Wu Qi glared at Li Yifeng, thinking to himself that this young lad was indeed a good-for-nothing, as he was less calm and dependable than Zi Qianyan.
In a flat tone, he said, "So this is decided. Both of you, drop to your knees and kowtow, as I"ll take you as my disciples. From today onwards, you will be my eldest disciples. Since everyone wants to poke their hands in Gu Tai Dynasty, why shouldn"t I?"
Without saying anything, Li Yifeng dropped to his knees immediately, kept kowtowing and calling "Master!", endlessly. However, Zi Qianyan stared at Wu Qi and asked, "Can I know from which sect does Master-Immortal come from? All the states and dynasties in White Cloud Planet are va.s.sal states to White Cloud Immortal Sect." Although Zi Qianyan spoke with a mild tone, the meaning in her words was loud and clear - If Wu Qi were a foreign cultivator and trying to wreak havoc in White Cloud Immortal Sect, then no matter how great her desire in seeking revenge for her clan was, she would never acknowledge Wu Qi as her Master. This planet was White Cloud Immortal Sect"s territory, and no foreign cultivators who came here and wreaked havoc would have a good ending.
Wu Qi gave the calm and sober Zi Qianyan a look, then turned to look at Li Yifeng, who was still kowtowing. He sighed helplessly, pulled out the ident.i.ty token that represented his ident.i.ty in the Discipline Hall, and waved it in the air. Then, he pointed his finger at Zi Qianyan and said, "From today onwards, you will be the Eldest Senior Sister, and he will be Second Junior Brother. If there isn"t anything important, do not let me see him. He is as stupid as a boulder!"
Looking at Wu Qi"s ident.i.ty token, Zi Qianyan turned to give Li Yifeng a look, who appeared to be in a trance. Finally, she dropped to her knees, trembling from head to toe as she offered a few kowtows at Wu Qi, and called, "Master!", with the utmost respect
Wu Qi laughed delightfully. He looked at the two disciples he had just taken, then nodded his head in satisfaction. After that, he pulled out a storage ring and gave it to Zi Qianyan, then threw a shabby storage bag to Li Yifeng. He took out a few upper-grade magical items and gave them to Zi Qianyan, then randomly pulled out a broken flying sword which was a lower-grade magical item, throwing it over at Li Yifeng, and finally, he pulled out a large stack of spirit talismans of excellent quality, which were produced by Earth Immortals of Nascent Soul. Then, he messily gathered a handful of explosive talismans produced by Xiantian cultivators, and threw them to Li Yifeng.
No matter how stupid Li Yifeng was, he could also tell the differentiated treatment this fresh Master of his had for him and Zi Qianyan. However, when he thought of the impression that he gave Wu Qi today, he could only have his face turn green and did not say a word. Looking at the bunch of magnificent items held in Zi Qianyan"s hands that shone brilliantly, he nearly had his saliva dripping to the ground. Sword was his favorite weapon, and no matter how he looked at it, the flying sword in Zi Qianyan"s hand, which was an upper-grade magical item, was at least ten times stronger than the flying sword in his hand!
Wu Qi gave Li Yifeng a fierce gaze. While he was about to take out the Energy Unity Script, the mystic technique of White Cloud Immortal Sect, and pa.s.s it to both of them, he suddenly heard a loud rumble of thunder coming from a far distance. He quickly turned around and peered into the direction. Immediately, he saw a group of men roughly thirty miles away, each clad in a green outfit, and flying in a flurry towards his direction. Behind them, two Nascent Soul demon cultivators were casting one after another thunderbolt that kept smas.h.i.+ng at them.
With Mystic Eyes of Universe, Wu Qi was capable to see things even a thousand miles away, and with the distance of merely thirty miles, he could see thing as clear as reading the fine lines on his own palm.
He saw a man was being carried on the back of one of the green-clothed man, who was coughing blood ceaselessly. The man was Yan Bugui!!
Wu Qi cried out immediately, "Gold Horn, Silver Horn, go to save that man now! Hurry up!"