Qiu Ji felt very proud of himself and thought that I, Wu Jin Luan, Lao Gong, Wei You Ming and others had offending him.
A series of his reactions were to tell me and Wu Jin Luan that he was not pleased and would not let us be comfortable either. If we were anxious, he would slow down.
However, Liu Yu Jie didn't give him face and even like us, first good words to persuade without, came up is to scrap him.
"Second elder, you're being too harsh. The late master was in good health and able to walk. He's gone. I've told you before, don't be so impatient." Liu Zhen spoke up, giving both Liu Yu Jie and Qiu Ji an outlet.
Qiu Ji remained silent, taciturn, and walked faster.
Wu Jin Luan remembers the way, and observes the situation along the way, nodding occasionally and saying that feng shui has not been changed.
Qiu Ji also observed his surroundings. Although he didn't say anything, it was evident that his caution increased as they walked up the mountain path.
After all, the feng shui outside the ancient Qiang City really has been tampered with. There were four people who died truly and one who was seriously injured on Jiuqu Mountain. I almost lost my life.
The speed picked up, and in about two days, we arrived at the outermost boundary of the Xuan Ming Mountain feng shui area.
When we passed the first mountain, there were no surprises, and everything seemed extremely quiet.
When we passed the second mountain, it was the same, everything was under Qiu Ji's control.
When we finally descended the mountain, we took a short rest. Wu Jin Luan kept looking back, with a cloud of worry lingering on his face.
"Mr. Wu, do you have any problems?" Qiu Ji spoke up, his tone rather cold.
"Too peaceful," Wu Jin Luan replied honestly.
"Peaceful, isn't that good?" Qiu Ji sneered coldly and then said: "I, the first master, plus three true men of Pure Yang Daoist Temple, who dares to come and touch the misfortune? Even the traitors in the city will weigh their odds.
Wu Jin Luan said nothing more, he just looked deeply at Qiu Ji. The look in his eyes was profound, laden with meaning.
I can see the details in it.
Qiu Ji's vision is still low.
He only focuses on the present, with his own strength firmly established, and traitors dare not do anything.
At least for now, he may not have considered how the traitor might act in the future.
It is still the case that the former master died too early, and Qiu Ji was forced to take up the role. In his last action, he allowed his ancestral Qiang's shadow mountaintop technique to gain an advantage and obtained a position that he should not have achieved at this stage of his career.
Does he want me and Wu Jin Luan to leave?
This problem has to be faced by the ancient Qiang City itself.
With his knowledge of the ancient Qiang City, and Qiu Ji's temperament, he could be played dead.
"Mr. Wu, although the mountain path is quiet, the talisman array on the mountain is intact, and indeed there doesn't seem to be any problem at present," Liu Taiyin said.
"Did you hear that?" Qiu Ji added one more sentence.
"Perhaps I am too cautious, but being careful is better than being sorry." Wu Jin Luan replied.
"That's a very apt saying, 'careful driving ensures a boat that will sail for ten thousand years.' Liu Yu Jie agreed wholeheartedly. "
Qiu Ji's face, which had just improved slightly, looked even gloomier.
We had passed the third mountain, which was the place where the ancient Qiang City's demons were suppressed.
The entire mountain was covered with stone tombs, with the talismans recently reinforced.
The experience from the last time here is still vivid.
But back then, Liu Hong could still handle two people at once, dealing with the resurrected colleagues who were pretending to be zombies. Now he was just a dead body too.
"We have strengthened the talismans here several times over. After the master passed away, it was Grandmaster San who stayed behind to guard this place, and he will be conducting strict surveillance," Liu Zhenqi explained to us.
"However, after the suppression of the eight households, this time we will still have to trouble Xian Sheng Little Friend and Mr. Wu for help in thoroughly eliminating that traitor, so that the ancient Qiang City can focus on gathering its forces without worrying about anything else," he said.
Wu Jin Luan nodded and said: "Grandmaster Liu, you can rest assured that we are ready to engage in combat with him at any moment since we have arrived."
I felt a heavy weight in my heart.
Each Daoist sect also has its own worries, and there is the external threat of the Wu Bing Sect disciples.
It is too difficult for them to be free from worries.
Will the traitor really make another move?
This is actually still an unknown.
Although I am going to enter Xuan Ming Mountain.
Even though this is his home ground.
He's not a fool. If he had no foolproof plan, how could he have returned to the ancient Qiang City and exposed himself again?
In a blink, we descended the third mountain and stopped in front of Xuan Ming Mountain.
Moonlight reflected on the water's surface, creating faint ripples with the gentle breeze.
It's the same as the feeling before, like a sleeping divine beast, Xuanwu, that is lifelike.
We could vaguely see the mansion and pavilions reflected on the water.
Last time, the layout of the stone pillars in the water was slightly altered. In these past few months, Qiu Ji had obviously returned it to its original state, and we passed through the lake without any trouble.
As we were about to climb up Xuan Ming Mountain, Lao Gong silently appeared on Qiu Ji's shoulder.
"Little Qiuzi, I remind you of something," Lao Gong said with a lick of his lips.
Qiu Ji was startled and made a gesture to swat Lao Gong away.
But, when his hand brushed across Lao Gong's head, there was no actual impact.
Lao Gong's level was higher, and when facing someone of a lower level, he could be seen but not touched.
"Don't let your heart be too heavy. A heavy heart is not good; it can hurt yourself," Lao Gong said with a melancholic tone.
"My heart will be heavy? You're thinking too much. I, the honored master, don't need a heavy heart," Qiu Ji shook his head to refute.
"Alright, then everyone wins," Lao Gong grinned.
However, the so-called joy did not last long.
Qiu Ji's face changed first.
"The road… is gone…" he broke out in a cold sweat.
What we saw ahead was that the path we were supposed to take straight up the mountain had turned into dense trees, their shadows interlaced and hazy, as if they were a series of quiet people, silently watching us.
Liu Zhenqi and the other three remained calm and composed.
The rest of the disciples were not intimidated.
"All right, I said it before. If that person doesn't show any reaction at all, then there's really a problem. The path is gone, but the path must still be there. It's just that the feng shui is hiding people's eyes," Lao Gong kept chewing his words.
Qiu Ji held a compass in his hand, which had a unique structure.
I've seen Lao Gong use a compass, and I've seen the one in Wu Jin Luan's hand as well. They are all different from the one in Qiu Ji's hand. Under the starlight, a faint white glow appeared on the compass itself.
Qiu Ji was not only observing the mountain but also looking up at the sky.
For a moment, he seemed to have not noticed the problem, and his sweat became more abundant.
Liu Yu Jie's brow furrowed slightly, and he said: "Grandmaster, what's wrong? Why have you been silent all along? Just because the outer feng shui has been altered, can we not enter?"
"Second Elder Liu, don't pressure Little Qiuzi. You being like this is not conducive to cooperation," Lao Gong gave a dismissive glance.
He seemed to be addressing Qiu Ji, but his face was giving away a tone that was somewhat strange.
"Will the internal feng shui be altered? Will he use the bodies, spiritual elixir, and even the emperor's and consort's corpses inside?" I posed a crucial question.
Judging from the situation in front of us, it's basically certain that the other party won't hide and might opt for a head-on confrontation.
That's right. We need to face not only the people in the shadows and the changing feng shui, but also two troublesome corpse-eaters!
Although it seems like a direct confrontation, he still hides in the shadows, like a snake that will strike a fatal blow at any moment.
