After obtaining the vine ring transformed from a dead branch, Chu Qi walked out from the depths of the tree hole with the gold-eating beast.
Outside, Luo Xin was forced to stay and wait because of the barrier restriction.
During the waiting period, Luo Xin completed the whole story in his mind: "Fellow Daoist Chu was bewitched by the spirit beast in the tree, and thus was trapped in danger and unable to escape."
So, Luo Xin, who felt more and more frightened the more he thought about it, took out the communication jade talisman and asked Ling Wu for help.
“…Yes, Senior Brother Ling, my fellow Daoist Chu hasn’t come out of the tree hole for a long time. This tree is terrifyingly large. I wonder if it is a monster or a demon—wow, it can even turn into a human shadow and walk out!! I see it moving!! Senior Brother, help me!!”
"Brother Luo, what are you doing squatting on the ground?" A puzzled voice sounded from above Luo Xin's head.
The voice sounded familiar to Luo Xin. He looked up subconsciously and met Chu Qi's puzzled gaze.
"Chu, Fellow Daoist Chu...you came out?" Luo Xin asked blankly.
"Yeah." Chu Qi responded.
Then, Chu Qi walked from the dark to the light. The sunlight fell on his cheeks, outlining his elegant eyebrows and eyes, like pine and bamboo, and his temperament was as gentle as jade. Even if he was wearing the ink-colored clothes of a sword cultivator, it was difficult to conceal his natural temperament.
Luo Xin was a little dazed, and suddenly felt that Chu Qi had a temperament that other Tianxuan Sect sword practitioners did not have.
"… "
Luo Xin thought that perhaps Brother Chu's swordsmanship was stronger than that of other Tianxuan Sect sword practitioners, so he was able to dissipate the sharp aura and look more elegant and easy-going.
Luo Xin fell silent because of Chu Qi's appearance, but Ling Wu, who was on the other end of the communication jade talisman, had not yet understood the true situation and continued to ask anxiously, "Brother Luo, what monsters and demons did you just talk about? And how did Fellow Daoist Chu get into danger and couldn't get out? Where are you now? Brother Luo, why are you silent? Brother! Are you okay?"
"Ah! Senior Brother Ling, I'm fine."
When Ling Wu came back to his senses, Luo Xin continued to answer the jade talisman in his hand, "Not only am I fine, but Fellow Daoist Chu is also fine. He came out of the tree hole safely. You don't have to worry."
"… "
These words sounded like reporting safety to the elders at home.
Chu Qi listened to Luo Xin's message for a while and roughly understood Luo Xin's misunderstanding. He was about to explain it for himself, but unexpectedly, the identity token on his waist moved first.
When Chu Qi picked up the call, he could tell Yan Jiuge's voice was filled with an urgency that was not there normally. "Ah Qi, where are you?"
Chu Qi answered him, "I'm in a tree hole of a giant tree. It's not easy to find here." Moreover, monks with murderous auras will be automatically separated by the maze formation.
"I'm going to find you, stay where you are."
"No, Ayan."
Very rarely, Chu Qi rejected Yan Jiuge's proposal out loud.
Yan Jiuge on the other end of the message fell silent.
On the other side, Chu Qi's eyebrows were clear and his expression was inexplicably gentle. He smiled and said, "Wait for me for a while, I'll go find you. I can find you in an hour at most, okay?"
It seemed that no matter how much impatience and anxiety there was, they could all be soothed by Chu Qi's words.
"Okay." Yan Jiuge finally responded.
*
After finishing the communication with Yan Jiuge, Chu Qi turned to look at Luo Xin who was still squatting inside the defensive spiritual weapon barrier, "Fellow Daoist Luo, can I borrow your flying spiritual weapon again?"
"sure."
Luo Xin's eyes lit up when he heard Chu Qi's words, "Are we leaving this place right now?"
"Yes." Chu Qi nodded.
After obtaining the dead branch, Chu Qi learned from it the map of the entire maze formation, as well as the locations of all other cultivators who had entered the formation.
This was arranged by the monk who set up the maze formation. In order to prevent those who took away the branches from entering dangerous areas, everything in the maze formation was transmitted into Chu Qi's sea of consciousness.
Therefore, Chu Qi could know the specific location of Yan Jiuge and others from his sea of consciousness.
After the branches of the giant tree that were emitting spiritual energy gathered their aura, the surrounding environment changed, and the lush vines returned to their original slender appearance. The road they came from became wide enough to accommodate a small flying spiritual weapon.
Chu Qi controlled the flying boat and had a smooth journey.
The swamp forest was not particularly large. In terms of distance, Chu Qi and his companions were not particularly far away from Yan Jiuge and the others. However, the maze formation in the middle separated them invisibly.
After learning about the senior's intention in setting up the formation, Chu Qi knew clearly that Yan Jiuge had too much murderous aura on him and would be blocked by the maze formation, so it would be fastest for Chu Qi to go and find him.
*
Thick fog shrouded the swamp forest. The sunlight outside seemed to be setting, and the light in the swamp also dimmed.
A tall and slender figure stood on the treetop, emitting a cold aura that made it difficult for people to approach.
The black-clothed swordsman stayed here alone, with his hands around his waist, and the fingers of his right hand resting on the hilt of the spirit sword, as if he could draw the sword at any time and fly away with it.
Standing at a high place, the view seems to be wider and not blocked by trees.
But the fog was too thick, and even if you stood on a high place, you couldn't see far.
It's probably because of missing you.
Ling Wu and other disciples of Qingling Sect rested under a tree. They sprinkled insect repellent powder around them to temporarily ward off the troubles caused by poisonous insects.
Ling Wu's eyes swept over the figure on the treetops, and he felt a little confused. He was a thoughtful person, so he could naturally see that Yan Jiuge valued Chu Qi.
It was because of this emphasis that he felt strange.
The sword-cultivating disciples of Tianxuan Sect are very powerful and can fight against enemies higher than their own level. With Chu Qi's cultivation level of the late Jindan stage, he can also fight against a fourth-order spirit beast. There is no need for Yan Jiuge to be so worried.
Even his junior brother Luo Xin, a cultivator in the middle stage of foundation building, Ling Wu, as his senior brother, never worried about Cheng Jiuge being like Yan Jiuge, who needed to stand on a high place to feel at ease.
His master said that although Junior Brother Luo’s talent was average, his luck was better than those of his senior brothers and sisters. In times of crisis, Junior Brother Luo might be able to turn danger into safety.
Just as Ling Wu was recalling, a fluctuation of spiritual power came within his perception range.
It seemed that a flying spiritual weapon was approaching their direction.
Afterwards, the figure who was originally standing on the treetop disappeared and flew away on his sword in the direction where the spiritual weapon came from.
Ling Wu and other Qingling Sect disciples couldn't help but look up and look towards the source of the noise.
A flying boat first appeared in everyone's sight. The appearance of that flying boat was exactly the flying magic weapon that everyone in the Qingling Sect was familiar with - Junior Brother Luo's.
In less than a moment, the flying boat landed beside them.
Yan Jiuge, who had already found his junior fellow apprentice, stayed beside Chu Qi with a relaxed look on his face, and seemed to be in a much better mood.
The two men got off the flying boat, but their conversation did not stop.
"The road is quite far. I took two detours to get there. Sorry to have kept you waiting for a long time, Ayan."
"It didn't take long. I was able to practice while waiting, so it was fine."
The black-clothed swordsman spoke lightly, as if the person standing alone on the treetop before was not him.
There was a look of surprise in Ling Wu's eyes. Can one practice while standing
"Senior Brother Ling, fellow senior brothers, I finally found you." An excited voice came from behind, interrupting Ling Wu's thoughts.
Luo Xin ran down from the flying boat and immediately made the atmosphere at Qingling Sect lively.
Ling Wu withdrew his extra attention from the two people from Tianxuan Sect and started to care about Luo Xin's situation.
*
Ten feet away from the Qingling Sect and others, Chu Qi and Yan Jiuge had just reunited and were talking.
As for the matter in the giant tree hole, Chu Qi simply told him the map of the maze formation.
"I found some natural treasures in the tree hole, as well as a map of the maze. It turns out that the formation in this swamp was set up by a senior."
"I found it strange at the time. How could there be a maze formation in a swamp? It turned out that someone had set it up on purpose. I don't know what their intention was."
When Ling Wu heard Chu Qi's words, he couldn't help but sigh.
"Perhaps it is to test future generations. Fellow Daoist Ling, does your Qingling Sect want this map?" Chu Qi said vaguely, and then diverted the attention of everyone in the Qingling Sect by informing them of the map.
If they can get the map, this swamp will no longer be dangerous for them. Instead, it will be full of natural treasures.
With such a good thing, how could any cultivator not be tempted
However, Ling Wu was a calm person. After calming down, he asked, "Of course we want the map very much, but we won't accept it without merit. How about I exchange a part of the Yunxi Secret Realm map drawn by our Qingling Sect seniors with Fellow Daoist Chu?"
Ling Wu had mentioned before that the Qingling Sect had a small part of the map. If they wanted to share the map, they needed to form an alliance, but the Tianxuan Sect refused to form an alliance.
Now, because of the swamp forest incident, they met again and exchanged with each other, which was a win-win situation.
"Okay." Chu Qi did not refuse.
There were only some ordinary treasures left in the swamp forest, and the most special one was already on Chu Qi's wrist. It was not a loss to exchange it for another map.
After the two sides exchanged maps, the sky had already darkened and night was approaching.
The people from Qingling Sect who got the map naturally knew the direction of the exit. They immediately thanked Chu Qi and Yan Jiuge and said goodbye.
After nightfall, the number of poisonous insects in the swamp would be twice as many as during the day, which made the Qingling Sect's magic practitioners unbearable. They didn't want to stay any longer if they could get out quickly. Moreover, now that they had obtained the map, it would be very convenient for them to come in.
Even though Luo Xin still wanted to go with Chu Qi, after hearing the sound of insects crawling through the grass, he immediately said goodbye to Chu Qi.
"Fellow Daoist Chu, we'll take our leave now. We'll see you again if we're lucky enough!"
"Goodbye." Chu Qi nodded slightly.
Ling Wu took out a flying spiritual weapon, and he left with the disciples of Qingling Sect.
After they left, Yan Jiuge made a sword gesture with his bare hands. Although the Long Yin sword was not unsheathed, the sword energy was able to condense in his hand out of thin air.
The sword energy fell on the grass, making the surroundings quiet.
Now, all the annoying poisonous insects were also driven away.
"Aqi wanted to say something to me alone just now? Now you can say it." No one interrupted his conversation with Aqi, and Yan Jiuge was in a good mood.
Yan Jiuge and Chu Qi have been together for so many years, and he can immediately understand what Chu Qi means just by looking at him.
"Ayan, the tree hole I entered today was not ordinary." Chu Qi told Yan Jiuge in detail what had happened to him.
After finishing speaking, Chu Qi raised his hand, revealing the vine ring on his wrist, "That senior hoped that I could send it to the Medicine King Valley in the Middle Earth of Jiuzhou, but it seems that there is no such force as the Medicine King Valley in our Yunhua Realm..."
"… "
To Chu Qi's surprise, the black-clothed swordsman in front of him did not answer him immediately. His usually calm eyebrows and eyes were now a little dazed, as if he was lost in thought about something.
"Ayan?"
Awakened by Chu Qi's words, Yan Jiuge's eyes moved slightly, and he slowly answered him, "There is indeed no Medicine King Valley in Yunhua Realm..."
But it exists in the Yunyin Realm.
The Medicine King Valley in the Middle Earth of Jiuzhou is an old power passed down from ancient times. Even though the Medicine King Valley has been closed in recent years, there are many rumors circulating in the Hidden Cloud Realm.
It is said that their medical skills can reach the highest level of "healing the dead and turning the bones into flesh" [1], and they have mastered the secret art of resurrection.
Yan Jiuge has never had any contact with Yaowang Valley and doesn't know much about them. He will send a message back to ask the Yan family when the time comes.
But now, the vine ring on Chu Qi's hand must be inspected.
"Aqi, take it off first, and I'll see if it will do you any harm."
The money-eating beast Lulu standing on Chu Qi's shoulder nodded, and for once he agreed with Yan Jiuge's words, which was very rare.
"Okay." Chu Qi took off the vine ring in his hand and handed it to Yan Jiuge.
Just as Yan Jiuge's fingers were about to touch the vine ring, it suddenly emitted a light green spiritual glow and gathered towards Yan Jiuge's fingers.
"This..." Chu Qi showed hesitation between his eyebrows.
"…" The touch was fleeting, and Yan Jiuge quickly withdrew his hand, looking at the vine ring thoughtfully, "It is indeed something used by medical practitioners."
But what made Yan Jiuge feel even more strange was that this vine ring could sense the evil spirit in his body and spontaneously transmit spiritual energy to help suppress the evil spirit.
The tree branch and vine ring from Yaowang Valley
What is the connection between it and the black abyss under the altar of the Yan family
Yan Jiuge has been responsible for suppressing the evil spirit since he was born. Before him, it was the heirs of the Yan family from generation to generation who suppressed the evil spirit.
Although he could trace back to the source, Yan Jiuge didn't know why the evil spirit came from it. He didn't care about it before, but now after seeing the vine ring in Chu Qi's hand, he had some vague thoughts.
The decline of Yaowang Valley may also be related to the evil spirit.
"Then how do I return this vine ring? I originally planned to go back to the sect and ask the elders if they know anything about the Medicine King Valley in the middle of Kyushu."
Chu Qi was still thinking about the monk's last words.
Yan Jiuge lowered his eyes, "Just let it go. This treasure was originally obtained by you by chance. Don't feel too burdened."
Yaowang Valley now has no one to inherit it, and it has become deserted and closed. Even if you send it over, it may not be able to return the items to their original owner.
What's more, the two worlds are not connected now. Under the influence of the laws of heaven, cultivators from the Yunyin World are not allowed to enter the Yunhua World at will.
For Yunhua Realm cultivators to go to Yunyin Realm, the space teleportation array will only be open to Yunhua Realm cultivators above the Refining Void Stage. With Chu Qi's talent, although he has the hope of reaching the Refining Void Stage, it will take time to settle down.
Finally, Yan Jiuge had a selfish motive. He didn't want Chu Qi to go to Yunyin Realm because of the vine ring. It was no safer than Yunhua Realm and could even be said to be full of dangers. Especially since his Ah Qi was a medical practitioner.
"Then take it with you first."
After listening to Yan Jiuge's words, Chu Qi sighed.
No one knew what era that senior was from. As time went by, no trace of the places he left behind could be found.
However, his spiritual roots fit very well with the vine ring transformed from the tree branch. If there is a chance, he will go to the Medicine King Valley in the Central Plains of Kyushu to ask the reason.
"Ayan, let's leave here too?" Chu Qi suggested.
There are few natural treasures left in the swamp, but there are many poisonous insects.
"Okay." Yan Jiuge nodded.
A sword-controlling technique was performed, and the Long Yin Sword was already standing beside the two of them.
Chu Qi stood on Long Yin Jianjian's body, and Yan Jiuge put his arms around his shoulders from behind.
The gold-eating beast originally wanted to lie on Chu Qi's right shoulder, but now, looking at Yan Jiuge's hand, it had to change its position and lie on the left shoulder. Anyway, it would not stay on its master's hand.
The bad guy didn't get beaten up by Yan Jiuge, which disappointed the money-eating beast.
The Long Yin Sword soared into the air and flew away towards the outside of the swamp.
(End of this chapter)