Chapter 97

Foggy mist swirled as the Dragon King of Dongting Lake's hand suddenly trembled, and the seated Chen Qinglong spat out a mouthful of black blood.

"Phew..."

The Dragon King of Dongting Lake let out a long breath, laid Chen Qinglong flat on the crystal bed, pried open his mouth, and flicked a pill into Chen Qinglong's mouth.

"His injuries are no longer serious, but some hidden ailments will need to be treated after he wakes up."

The Dragon King of Dongting Lake glanced at Ning Wuxie, "Since you know him, perhaps he knows something."

Pausing, the Dragon King of Dongting Lake continued, "Many cultivators from the Nine Provinces have come to the outside of Dongting Lake. It seems many sects have arrived, and they are all looking for you. It's best not to go out for a while."

The Dragon King of Dongting Lake left with Shrimp Three and Shrimp Four, leaving Ning Wuxie alone in the hall.

"Looking for me?"

Ning Wuxie frowned, looking at the severely injured Chen Qinglong, feeling puzzled and confused.

Suddenly, Ning Wuxie thought of his parents whom he had never met. He remembered that the Evil Daoist had said never to reveal his identity. From the Evil Daoist's words, it was clear that his biological parents were not ordinary people. They must have done something significant in the past to provoke the joint pursuit of cultivators from the Nine Provinces.

Even after eighteen years, these people still wouldn't let him go!

With a flick of his hand, the dagger stored in his dantian appeared in his hand, gleaming with a dark luster. Under the illumination of the night pearls in the Dragon Palace, the black dagger shimmered with a metallic sheen, cold as ice, and razor-sharp.

"Could it be the dagger?"

His spiritual sense continuously scanned the dagger, clearly feeling the patterns carved inside, which resembled runes or perhaps text. These patterns made the dagger even sharper. A magical artifact, like a talisman, needed to be inscribed with magical arrays to possess its power.

However, the patterns on a magical artifact were not magical arrays but restrictions. The more restrictions, the greater the power of the magical artifact. These restrictions originated from the natural world, and a fine magical artifact could even make one feel the essence of the universe.

Especially for spiritual treasures nurtured by the universe, with countless restrictions and the imprint of the universe, they were incredibly precious. Refining the restrictions of a magical artifact was a way to comprehend the Dao of the universe.

The dagger had only two layers of restrictions: the first was a sharpness restriction, and the second was an armor-piercing restriction.

"It's not the dagger, could it be the sandalwood box? Is the real secret in the sandalwood box covered in demonic script, not the dagger?"

"What could it be that has driven the cultivators of the Nine Provinces to madness?"

Regardless of the secret of the sandalwood box, Ning Wuxie could guess that his parents, whom he had never met, had left him a vast fortune and treasure, but also a huge trouble!

"Anyone who obstructs me will be killed!"

Ning Wuxie looked at the severely injured Chen Qinglong, took a deep breath, and knew that the people who knew his identity were Yan Chixia, Yinggeye, Ning Wushuang, Rulan, Shi Zhixuan, Li Xiuning, the Evil Daoist, the tree spirit, and the fox spirit. Among the cultivators of the Nine Provinces he had encountered, besides these few, there were only Ruliu Feng, two disciples of Xuanshixin Dao, and the ragged old Taoist of Jinhua Mountain, as well as the Baiyun Taoist of Baiyun Temple.

Those who could expose his identity were few, with Yinggeye being the most likely, or the Evil Daoist?

Thinking of the Evil Daoist, Ning Wuxie shook his head slightly. He felt that the Evil Daoist was not that kind of person. Who could it be?

"Cough, cough..."

Two days later, Chen Qinglong woke up from his coma. The light from the night pearls around him made it hard for him to open his eyes, and he coughed weakly.

"Brother, this guy is awake. Go tell Master Ning," Shrimp Four looked at Chen Qinglong and said to Shrimp Three.

Shrimp Three grumbled, "Why not you?"

"Who made you the big brother?" Shrimp Four chuckled and grinned at Chen Qinglong.

"Where am I? Could this be the underworld?" Chen Qinglong, seeing a shrimp head in front of him, was dazed and weakly supported himself to sit up.

"This is certainly not the underworld. This is the Dragon Palace, the Dragon Palace of Dongting Lake. Have you ever seen such handsome shrimp soldiers in the underworld!" Shrimp Four brought a bowl of water to Chen Qinglong and laughed.

"Handsome?" Chen Qinglong drank the water and finally became more alert. Looking at the large shrimp head, it soon turned into a fragrant grilled shrimp, and his stomach growled.

Wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth, Chen Qinglong shook his head vigorously and looked at the shrimp head, smiling awkwardly, "Is there any food?"

"..."

At the coral table, Chen Qinglong devoured a table full of food, leaving the self-proclaimed gluttonous shrimp soldiers and crabs speechless. The table was a mess, and Chen Qinglong burped, drank some water, and finally let out a long breath.

Ning Wuxie sat beside him, watching Chen Qinglong finish eating, and then asked, "What happened?"

Chen Qinglong's expression was grim, with bloodshot eyes, looking fierce and terrifying, "More than a month ago, a group of Taoists came to the village. These people were ruthless and directly attacked us. They were all cultivators. My brothers fought to the death to get me out. I fled north, only through desolate mountains and forests, to avoid their pursuit."

"You mean everyone in the village was killed?" Ning Wuxie clenched his fist, a fierce look flashing in his eyes.

"All dead, not just the brothers in the village, but even the tenant farmers and villagers were all killed. Only Rulan escaped because she went to Wuzhou City. After I fled north, I lost contact with her, and I don't know if she is alive or dead!" Chen Qinglong sighed.

"Later, I met the Evil Daoist at Dongting Lake. It was probably the Evil Daoist who found me. He was also being pursued by the Xuanshixin Dao. I learned that the disciples of Xuanshixin Dao were the ones who attacked the village. The Evil Daoist thought I was with Master, so he found me."

"The Evil Daoist, what did he want from you? Where is he?" Ning Wuxie quickly asked.

"Dead. The Evil Daoist and I were pursued by the disciples of Xuanshixin Dao. He covered for me and told me to tell Master that he had repaid his debt to Master's parents. Now, around Dongting Lake, there are cultivators from the Nine Provinces, all looking for Master."

"Dead? Did he say anything else?"

Chen Qinglong sighed, "Run!"

"The Xuanshixin Dao came prepared. Not only the village, but they also seem to have gone to Master's hometown. And I heard that the Xuanshixin Dao has colluded with the King of Qin..."

Chen Qinglong did not continue, not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't.

Hearing Chen Qinglong's words, Ning Wuxie's mind was struck as if by a heavy blow, his vision went dark, and his mind echoed with Chen Qinglong's words, "They seem to have gone to Master's hometown."

Ning Family Village!

His true home, the warmest place in his heart, where his family, his old mother, his teacher, and the warmest memories of his life resided.

It was the simple villagers who made him feel the warmth of the world, and it was his mother's silent care that made him feel the warmth of family.

Ning Family Village was Ning Wuxie's sacred place!

Thinking of the scene of Ning Family Village being bloodied, Ning Wuxie's eyes turned red, and a terrifying demonic aura surged from his body, forming a shockwave that hit Chen Qinglong, sending the injured man flying backward.

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