Chapter 74

An hour later, two more groups of Qingyun Sect members gathered here. Now, all the members of the Qingyun Sect were waiting for the last few important figures to arrive. Once they arrived, the exploration of the Seven霞 Mountain's central ruins would begin.

At this moment, Ding Qi was looking at a Qingyun Sect disciple in the distance, his face showing a rather interesting expression. This Qingyun Sect disciple was someone Ding Qi knew. Four years ago, Ding Qi had met him once, although the person did not know about this.

This person was none other than Wei Zhuo, who had been rejected from Qingyun Sect along with Ding Qi back then.

Now, Wei Zhuo was with a female Qingyun Sect disciple. The girl had a delicate and charming appearance, giving off a sense of a well-bred young lady. From the way they stood together, it was clear that their relationship was not ordinary.

Ding Qi recalled the girl and remembered her. Four years ago, when the Qingyun Sect's convoy transporting medicinal herbs was ambushed, this girl seemed to be among them.

Wei Zhuo was part of the second-to-last group to arrive. Like everyone else, he was talking to the girl beside him while waiting for the final group to arrive.

Soon, with the sound of horses coming from a distance, all the Qingyun Sect members realized something. Then, those who had been sitting on the ground, resting, all stood up and looked in the direction of the horse sounds.

The last few members of the Qingyun Sect finally arrived.

This group was led by a middle-aged man.

This middle-aged man had a rather handsome appearance, with sharp facial features. He wore a green robe and had a long sword hanging at his waist, giving off an impression of a scholarly gentleman. He was the new leader of the Qingyun Sect, Zuo Zang.

Among the people next to Zuo Zang, there were some whom Ding Qi recognized. One of them was the Guardian Guan, who had returned to Liangcheng with Ding Qi and others after they were rejected. Another was the former Deputy Leader Sha, who had once competed with Zuo Zang for the position of leader. At this moment, Deputy Leader Sha looked extremely displeased on his horse.

However, it would be more accurate to call him Elder Sha now.

A few days ago, when Ding Qi was at the Qingyun Sect, he already knew that after Deputy Leader Sha lost the competition for the leader position, his position as deputy leader was also taken over. Now, he was just a mere elder in the Qingyun Sect.

However, Ding Qi did not focus his attention on Zuo Zang or Elder Sha and Guardian Guan. Instead, he focused on one of the Qingyun Sect disciples standing next to them.

Ding Qi looked at the person and showed a surprised expression: "Zhang Tao!"

He did not expect to see Zhang Tao here.

During the few days he stayed at the Qingyun Sect, Ding Qi did not encounter Zhang Tao. Qingyun Sect disciples, after entering the sect, usually stayed in the sect only for the first few years. After that, they were assigned various tasks to train them. They generally did not stay in the sect unless there were special circumstances.

Ding Qi's group was one of the last to gather. When he arrived at the meeting place, he did not see Zhang Tao, so he assumed Zhang Tao was not participating in this exploration mission.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Tao appeared in the last group.

However, after feeling a bit surprised, Ding Qi merely glanced at him a few more times and then moved his gaze away.

After Zuo Zang dismounted, Zhang Tao clearly noticed Ding Qi. When Zhang Tao saw him, he looked at Ding Qi with a rather strange expression.

Throughout the entire time, Ding Qi and Zhang Tao did not exchange any words. Since a few years ago, they had become like strangers, and it was even more so now.

After Zuo Zang dismounted, the Qingyun Sect's high-ranking members and disciples greeted him. Ding Qi also observed this Zuo Zang, who had always been a source of curiosity for him. When he first learned from Old Bai that Zuo Zang, who was not favored, had won the position of leader and learned about his various circumstances, he realized that Zuo Zang was definitely not an ordinary person.

However, after Zuo Zang dismounted and met with the Qingyun Sect members, he only occasionally conversed with a few high-ranking members, making it difficult for Ding Qi to discern much.

Zuo Zang stood among the high-ranking members, speaking occasionally, exuding a calm and composed demeanor, making him seem rather inscrutable.

However, while Zuo Zang was chatting with the high-ranking members, Ding Qi unexpectedly learned something. The discovery of the Seven霞 Mountain's ancestral ruins was initially made by Zhang Tao. When Zhang Tao entered the Ancestor Hall, he obtained a weapon.

Recently, Zhang Tao discovered that the hilt of the weapon was hollow and found a map of the ancestral ruins left by the Qingyun Sect's ancestors, which was the place Ding Qi and others were about to explore.

This made Ding Qi look at Zhang Tao a few more times.

After observing the inscrutable Zuo Zang for a while, Ding Qi shifted his gaze to Elder Guan.

After the last group, led by Zuo Zang, arrived, Zuo Zang did not immediately arrange the exploration of the Seven霞 Mountain. These matters were handled by Elder Guan. As Elder Guan issued orders in an orderly manner, all the Qingyun Sect members became busy.

Everyone followed Elder Guan's orders without any resistance. Seeing this, Ding Qi had a thoughtful expression.

Ding Qi had heard from Old Bai about Elder Guan when he was in Seven霞 Town.

After Zuo Zang became the new leader, Elder Guan, who was Deputy Leader Sha's right-hand man, was demoted and sidelined. Most of the schemes against Zuo Zang were planned by Elder Guan.

However, later, Zuo Zang disregarded past grievances and reappointed Elder Guan, entrusting him with the power to reform the entire sect.

This decision once caused controversy within the Qingyun Sect.

However, Elder Guan subsequently made significant contributions to the sect. Over the years, the entire sect grew stronger under his reforms. Now, the sect was even more prosperous than its most prosperous period in the past few decades.

The entire sect now greatly admired Zuo Zang's ability to recognize talent. Because of this, Elder Guan was loyal to Zuo Zang.

At the same time, Ding Qi noticed that the former Deputy Leader Sha often looked at Elder Guan with a resentful expression, hating that his former right-hand man had become Zuo Zang's confidant. He often cast resentful glances at Zuo Zang as well.

However, the Qingyun Sect members ignored Deputy Leader Sha's unusual behavior.

Ding Qi could only smile bitterly at this.

Long ago, he learned from Old Bai that over the years, Zuo Zang had won the admiration of the entire Qingyun Sect with his demeanor and had gained a high reputation within the sect.

Deputy Leader Sha had almost no support within the Qingyun Sect and was deeply resentful. If it were not for the many significant contributions he had made to the Qingyun Sect over the years, he might not even have retained his position as an elder.

The reason Deputy Leader Sha was brought along on this mission was not out of trust but because the sect was concerned about his influence within the sect, so he was brought along.

However, Elder Guan ignored Deputy Leader Sha's resentful glances and continued to arrange the exploration of the Seven霞 Mountain in an orderly manner.

When Elder Guan assigned tasks to the Qingyun Sect disciples, it was soon Ding Qi's turn. Ding Qi nodded repeatedly at Elder Guan's instructions, maintaining a rather dull and honest appearance throughout.

However, from the occasional strange expressions on his face when he lowered his head, it was clear that Ding Qi was considering something, not as simple as his appearance suggested.

"This is the terrain of the Seven霞 Mountain, which you are most familiar with. You have already memorized the terrain map, so I won't repeat it. You just need to take Elder Jing to the location and embed the item at the marked spot," Elder Guan said to Ding Qi after giving him instructions.

Then, Elder Guan turned to a nearby high-ranking member and said, "Then, I will leave it to Elder Jing."

Elder Jing nodded.

Next, Elder Guan took out a box from his pocket.

"This box contains the item that Elder Yuan obtained from the Tianquan Sect," Ding Qi thought as he looked at the box.

Elder Yuan opened the box and took out a jade pendant.

Seeing the jade pendant, Ding Qi's eyes narrowed slightly.

The jade pendant looked rather ordinary and unremarkable. However, when Ding Qi saw the patterns on it, he showed a faint smile.

The patterns were identical to those on the brocade scroll.

Ding Qi had been somewhat worried and doubted whether the Qingyun Sect could open the secret realm. However, seeing the patterns on the jade pendant, he felt reassured.

Ding Qi knew that he might really be able to enter the secret realm this time.

...

Half an hour later, Ding Qi returned to the Qingyun Sect's meeting place.

Finding the location marked on the map took a lot of time. The Qingyun Sect chose this meeting place because it was near the marked location. However, the location was extremely difficult to find. If it were not for Ding Qi's familiarity with the entire Seven霞 Mountain, he might not have been able to find the marked location.

For ordinary mountain hunters, finding the location would be even more difficult.

Although Ding Qi had not inquired, he guessed that the Qingyun Sect had previously sought the help of ordinary mountain hunters to find the location but failed, leading them to seek his help.

After Ding Qi and others returned, Elder Jing looked at Ding Qi and said to Elder Guan, "Since the item has been successfully embedded, this person... ."

Ding Qi maintained a dull expression, as if he did not understand what they meant.

"Take him along and travel with us. This matter is significant, and we cannot let him return for now," Elder Guan said, looking at Ding Qi.

Elder Jing nodded in agreement.

"Indeed, as expected," Ding Qi thought, looking at Elder Guan and others.

After taking on the task of exploring the marked location, Ding Qi had predicted that the Qingyun Sect members would not let him leave for a while after he completed the task. This matter was too important to the Qingyun Sect, and they would not risk letting anyone leak information.

This outcome was what Ding Qi had hoped for.

Ding Qi was not sure if the Qingyun Sect knew more about the secret realm, but with these Qingyun Sect members, he might have a better chance of understanding the situation in the secret realm.

Ding Qi had a vague premonition that, given the mysterious nature of the secret realm, this journey would not be smooth.

However, he was not overly worried. As long as the jade pendant could open the secret realm and break the array that had troubled him for a long time, with his three techniques and the power of the brocade scroll, he could handle various situations.

As for whether these martial artists would encounter any dangers, he did not care.

(Today, I finally had some time to write more content. After the New Year, I will have more time to focus on writing.)