Chapter 88

Yue Qing led Tao Jun out of the Yinmo Academy, about to leave the valley, when he suddenly sensed someone stealthily passing not far ahead. He was slightly startled, amazed by the other party's incredible concealment technique. Due to his cultivation of the Tongxuan Scripture and the integration of his main primordial spirit with the void, he could barely sense a little. He knew everything about the Qingluo Valley inside and out, and there was no such expert. He deduced that it must be a helper invited by the Emei Sect. After a brief consideration, he followed Tao Jun.

The person moved very quickly, soon arriving at the Palace of Ten Thousand Demons. He restrained the palace guards, went behind the throne of the Demon King, recited a spell, and opened the stone door, entering the underground palace.

Yue Qing closely followed and entered. As soon as his feet touched the ground, a slap came straight at him. Yue Qing's head snapped back, and five rings of light flew up from his body, heading towards the opponent. The opponent exclaimed, "Huh," and his body floated three zhang away. Gradually, a ragged, grinning beggar appeared in the air: "Yue Qinbin? I didn't expect you to have such profound Daoist powers, able to see through my concealment technique."

Yue Qing already knew who the person was: "Is Immortal Ling here for the Heavenly Book of Guangchengzi?"

Ling Hun nodded: "My divination shows that the Heavenly Book has already been taken. Was it you?"

Yue Qing smiled: "I have seen the Heavenly Book, but I have already passed it on to someone else."

Ling Hun's face darkened: "Who did you give it to? Without the annotations in the upper volume I have, the tadpole script is indecipherable. Whoever takes it will find it useless. Also, the Nine Heavens Primordial Yang Ruler cannot be used without the nine-character true incantation recorded in the upper volume."

Yue Qing replied: "I can't tell you who I gave the Heavenly Book to. However, the tadpole script happens to be the script used in the Heavenly Book of my Wutai Sect, so I didn't find it difficult to read. As for the Nine Heavens Primordial Yang Ruler, if I can't use it, I don't lack that one magical treasure. As for you, Immortal Ling." Yue Qing looked him up and down, "Your nickname is Poor Immortal, and you are truly the master of beggars. From head to toe, you have nothing worth mentioning, even this physical body is borrowed from elsewhere."

Ling Hun resumed his grinning demeanor: "Since you have already taken the Heavenly Book, it's fine." He walked out leisurely, "Beggars are poor by nature; otherwise, who would want to be a beggar." As he spoke, he reached the tunnel entrance, stepped up the stairs, and turned to look at Yue Qing, "I heard you recently reopened your master's Heavenly Work Furnace and refined many treasures. One day, I'll come to your door and sing a few Lotus Falling songs, and feast on your wealth!"

Yue Qing laughed: "It's a rare honor for Immortal Ling to come to my door to beg! To hear a genuine Lotus Falling song from Immortal Ling, even a mountain of gold as a reward would be worth it."

Ling Hun floated away, and Yue Qing followed closely. He was certain that Ling Hun was a helper invited by the Emei Sect. With him and his old companion Cui Wugu, plus the three great experts, Miaoyi Lady, Tulong Master, and Canxia Master, the Qingluo Palace would not gain any advantage today. Therefore, he led Tao Jun at a rapid pace, reaching the valley entrance and directly entering the demon array. Many blood shadows rushed and collided, but were captured by the five rings of light from his Xuan Guang Ruler, dispersing into streams of blood. The Pure Yang Celestial Order broke through layers of demon flames, charging straight to the front of the Evil-Repelling Divine Wall.

Baiyun Master, Yuanjue Chan Master, Li Yuanhua, and Drunken Daoist were all struggling in the golden light. The golden light from the Evil-Repelling Divine Wall, which had been reduced to a foot thick by the demon flames, was being attacked by many demonesses from the Yinmo Academy, including Pu Miaomiao, Li Yuyu, Liu Ruhua, Tong Yaofeng, and Zhao Jinwa. They were fighting the four elders of the Emei Sect with sword qi and thunder fire.

Above the Evil-Repelling Divine Wall, Miaoyi Lady was coming to their aid. She wielded a red and purple sword light, cutting through dozens of Yinmo Academy and Shenmo Academy members, almost invincible. She was protected by the Nine Precepts Immortal Canopy left by Changmei Immortal, which emitted ten thousand rays of golden light. She was fighting against Feilong Master and Gu Lao Danwu, creating chaos in the sky and on the ground.

Yue Qing clasped his hands together, suddenly releasing countless rays of light, illuminating the entire valley. Countless Heavenly Light Divine Needles converged into a torrent, continuously colliding with the Evil-Repelling Divine Wall. The wall, already at its limit, was immediately shattered into a third, scattering into a sky of flowing light.

Tao Jun, following Yue Qing's instructions, protected by a divine talisman, quickly infiltrated. Drunken Daoist and the others were fully resisting the surging demon blood, allowing Tao Jun to seize the opportunity and snatch back the sword case.

The sword case was hung on Drunken Daoist's waist. Tao Jun grabbed it, breaking the strap. Drunken Daoist was startled, thinking a demon had approached, and hastily recalled his flying sword to slash behind him. Tao Jun's five-colored light rings flew in from behind, capturing his flying sword. Drunken Daoist was greatly surprised. As he looked around, he was slapped in the face by Tao Jun.

Drunken Daoist cried out in shock, quickly biting his tongue and spitting out a mouthful of blood. The gourd on his back was spewing fierce flames into the sky. He directed the flames forward, adding his own essence blood, creating a fire cloud the size of a rock.

Tao Jun, seeing the flames rolling towards him, was about to flee but found that the five rings of light his master had released to protect him were spinning up and down. The flames dissipated into wisps of smoke as soon as they approached. Emboldened, he jumped into the fire, leaping up and punching Drunken Daoist's nose.

Drunken Daoist, unable to see his enemy, had been slapped. Now, with the flames in front of him, there was only one spot without fire, like a vortex that dissipated the flames as they approached. He guessed the enemy must be there. He roared and released a sword light like a ribbon, sweeping the ground, intending to cut the enemy in two. However, as soon as it approached, it was captured by the light rings. The five-colored rings tightened, and with a snap, his nearly hundred-year-old flying sword broke into two pieces!

Drunken Daoist, having lost his flying sword and been injured, was dazed and almost fainted. Fortunately, Miaoyi Lady had already repelled Feilong Master and Gu Lao Danwu. Seeing the situation here, she released the Twin Thunder Swords. Although they were blocked by the Xuan Guang Ruler's light rings, they still produced thunder and explosions. Tao Jun had already drawn the Tian Gang Sword, intending to finish Drunken Daoist, but suddenly heard his master's voice: "Quickly retreat!" He immediately left Drunken Daoist and ran back, hearing whistling sounds behind him but not daring to look back.

Yue Qing used the five rings of light from the Xuan Guang Ruler to block the Twin Thunder Swords and the invisible sword qi that followed, rescuing Tao Jun. He knew the invisible sword qi of the Emei Sect's Taiqing Sect was powerful, and the sword had injured the founder of the Taiyi Sect. He feared Tao Jun would be killed if he was hit. When Tao Jun ran close, he grabbed him, and they immediately transformed into a colorful light, breaking through the demon array and shooting into the sky, the light stretching for hundreds of feet, reaching thousands of miles away in an instant!

Yue Qing brought Tao Jun back to Wutai Mountain, where everyone welcomed them. Besides Liu Quan and Deng Bagu's group, Xu Feinü had also returned. They introduced their new disciples to each other. Liu Quan's disciple, Shang Fengzi, was robust and powerful, looking like a dull man in his late twenties but was actually only sixteen years old. He had often been bullied by villagers and had brought his elderly mother to live in the mountains, living with wild animals and birds, with a pure and innocent heart. Shang Fengzi revered Liu Quan for curing his mother's illness, bowing and kowtowing as Liu Quan commanded. Everyone liked his simplicity and gave him several small treasures.

Xu Feinü brought back Ling Qi, a handsome young man in white, not inferior to Yang Li. Due to the unwritten rule of the Wutai Sect, Xu Feinü could not take male disciples, so Ling Qi was placed under Yue Qing. Ling Qi's father, Ling Weisou, was a good friend of Xu Feinü, and Xiankong Island was known for its alchemy. Xu Feinü often visited Ling Weisou to exchange knowledge, so Ling Qi was familiar with her. He was polite and respectful to Yue Qing, neither humble nor arrogant. Yue Qing placed him after Yang Li and before Tao Jun, making him his second disciple.

Situ Ping said resentfully: "Senior Brother Ling Qi is older than me and has practiced Daoism longer, so it's fine for him to be my senior brother. Tao Jun just joined and his powers are not as strong as mine, why should he be ranked before me?"

Yue Qing laughed: "Who made you my disciple from a young age, like my own child? If we counted by the order of joining, you would be the eldest brother." He tapped Situ Ping's forehead, "In the future, if I take on more disciples, unless they are younger than you, they will all be your senior brothers. You just have to be a good little junior brother!"

Everyone laughed, but Tao Jun secretly resolved to practice the Daoist techniques and sword skills his master taught him, not to be looked down upon.