Chapter 55

Gao Qi pressed one hand against the feathered end of the ironwood arrow, his eyes wide open in disbelief as he stared at the dark forest. The light of the rising sun shone on the leaves of the dense forest, reflecting a dazzling glow, with golden light radiating in all directions.

There was nothing there, and Gao Qi didn't even know who had attacked him. Such a powerful move, and not even a shadow of a person was visible. Could it be a descendant of the Western Mountain clan?

The thought flashed through his mind, but his thoughts were already interrupted, dying with his eyes wide open.

Zhan Xiong Wan Liqun held the frail body of Yu Wang, his eyes brimming with tears, trying hard to keep them from falling.

"Don't be such a wimp, why are you crying?" Yu Wang forced his eyes open and muttered.

"Who's crying? I never cry."

"How can you still be so energetic? What about that guy?" Yu Wang's view was blocked by Wan Liqun's massive body, and he didn't know what had happened. As he spoke, Wan Liqun realized something was off. He had clearly seen Gao Qi attack him just now, but after a few words, there was still no movement.

Wan Liqun was a rough and bold person, and he didn't pay much attention to small details. Just now, his emotions were stirred, and he had forgotten about life and death. Now, as he held Yu Wang and looked back, he saw that Gao Qi was already dead. An ironwood arrow had pierced his chest, with only a bit of the tail feather visible.

How could this be? What exactly happened just now? Was it divine punishment? This was the only thing Wan Liqun could think of. The divine punishment from the day before was still fresh in his memory, so he immediately thought of the legend of divine punishment.

"Quick, go thank the person," Yu Wang, seeing Gao Qi die mysteriously, was alert and observed the surroundings, estimating the direction from which the ironwood arrow had come. Then, looking at the dazed Wan Liqun, he whispered, "Quick, go thank the person who saved your life!"

Wan Liqun finally understood and walked in the direction Yu Wang was looking, saying in a loud, deep voice, "I don't know who you are, but thank you for your help, Wan Liqun is grateful!"

There was only a gentle breeze in the forest, and no sign of anyone. Wan Liqun stood there for a while, realizing that the person who shot the arrow had disappeared without a trace. He felt a bit disappointed as he bandaged Yu Wang's wounds and restored his soul power.

Bu Li's arrow hit its mark, and he didn't want to engage in too much conversation. After being silent for a long time, he always felt some resistance when interacting with strangers. He then retreated from his hiding place and continued toward the Broken Dragon Platform with Dahei.

With the new ox horn longbow, Bu Li hadn't expected the first shot to be so powerful. In that instant, the ironwood arrow glided through the groove of the ring, and a faint soul power was infused into the arrow. The bow's power was already extremely strong, and the speed was at least doubled compared to before. Bu Li had already guessed that he might instantly kill Gao Qi, and with the soul power from the ring, the speed was so fast that even Bu Li, a pattern hunter, was shocked.

Could he kill Chu Zhongze? Bu Li was estimating this. The abilities Chu Zhongze displayed while pursuing him, even though he interrupted Chu Zhongze's soul technique with Dahei's ambush and injured him, if they were to face each other directly, his only reliance would be an ambush. If he couldn't kill Chu Zhongze with a single shot, he would have no chance of survival.

Ambush... Ambush... These two words kept swirling in Bu Li's mind, simulating various scenarios of ambushing Chu Zhongze. As for Wan Liqun and Yu Wang, whom he had just saved, Bu Li had already forgotten about them.

In the Five Directions City, at the back mountain of the Heavenly Dao Sect's main peak, the sect leader of the Heavenly Dao Sect, Zhang Zhi, carried Zhang Xitong to a cave entrance. The cave had not been maintained for years, and by late autumn, the grass was withered and the place was desolate.

The sect leader of the Heavenly Dao Sect stood at an inconspicuous cave entrance and called out loudly, "Old Mr. Du."

He called out three times before a long voice came from the desolate cave, "Any changes?"

Tianyanshou Du Tiangci was an old retainer of the Heavenly Dao Sect. He usually didn't involve himself in worldly affairs and focused on meditation and cultivation. It was said that Du Tiangci could vaguely see the occurrence of major events in the future, and he rarely spoke, but every time he made a prediction, it would come true.

With his already extraordinary strength and this special ability, his status in the Heavenly Dao Sect was extremely high. Even the sect leader Zhang Zhi, who was decisive and unyielding, usually didn't want to disturb him easily. However, this time, the incident was too strange, and Zhang Zhi couldn't figure it out. Moreover, it involved Zhang Xitong's cultivation, which made him anxious. Since the incident was caused by Du Tiangci, it would ultimately have to be resolved by him.

Du Tiangci was usually taciturn, and even when the sect leader Zhang Zhi came personally, he only asked casually.

Zhang Zhi was not angry, as he was used to it, and said, "Xitong went to the Western Mountain, and encountered a strange incident. Now, his cultivation has changed, and whether it's good or bad, I need your help to figure it out, Old Mr. Du."

"Oh?" Hearing this, Du Tiangci became interested. A gentle breeze blew away the withered grass at the cave entrance, and Du Tiangci said, "Please come in, Sect Leader."

Zhang Zhi didn't hesitate, feeling somewhat anxious, and carried the deeply sleeping Zhang Xitong into the desolate cave.

From the outside, it looked desolate, but inside, it was a different world. It was clean, tidy, and spotless. There was almost nothing inside, only two cushions on the ground.

Du Tiangci didn't make much fuss with Zhang Zhi and asked, "What happened to Xitong in the Western Mountain?"

With Zhang Xitong's soul power, even if the Western Mountain clan surrounded him, they couldn't do anything to him. This time, Zhang Zhi let Zhang Xitong go because he wanted to play, and also because Zhang Xitong's soul power far exceeded that of the Western Mountain clan, and he had Yu Ze's protection.

But something really did happen. On the way to the back mountain, Zhang Zhi had probed Zhang Xitong to find out what had happened. To his surprise, Zhang Xitong was not only unharmed, but his soul power had even increased, reaching the realm of a sixth-stage cultivator.

This was strange. Zhang Xitong was deeply asleep, and Zhang Zhi didn't have the heart to wake him up. Instead, he brought this precious child directly to the back mountain to find the instigator and discuss the details.

"This is the mirage from that time," Zhang Zhi didn't waste words and directly took out the white mist mirage, infused it with soul power, and presented it to Du Tiangci.

In the mirage, Zhang Xitong appeared in the Divine Legacy Mountains, facing Bu Li, and began to speak. Although the words were not loud, they were clearly audible.

"Familiar?" Du Tiangci frowned, savoring Zhang Xitong's words. In the mirage, Zhang Xitong activated a pattern, and a white fox appeared behind him. Two eyes of mist enveloped Zhang Xitong and Bu Li. At this point, their figures could be seen through the milky white mist, but Bu Li's black bear seemed to have turned into a rock, and no one could find it. However, no one paid attention to where it had hidden. Du Tiangci and Zhang Zhi stared at the white mist, their eyes fixed.