"Right here?" Huang Shirong asked in surprise.
Chu Zhiyuan said slowly, "If I'm not mistaken, Zhou Tianqi is right here."
Huang Shirong turned her head to look around.
The Heavenly Dragon Divine Steed was too fast; she couldn't even see the direction clearly, and arrived here in a daze.
Chu Zhiyuan said, "A thousand miles due west of Yujing, fooling everyone, quite impressive." Leading everyone away wasn't difficult.
He had seen Zhang Youling use it before; it was indeed able to create a false impression.
But this Zhou Tianqi not only created a false impression but also concealed the truth, so no one looked in this direction. That's what's truly impressive.
Huang Shirong said softly, "How is this done?"
"Perhaps it's a strange technique, or perhaps a strange object," Chu Zhiyuan said. "Shall we capture him first?" He was already certain it was due to a strange object and had already seen it.
Huang Shirong revealed a complex expression and nodded gently. Chu Zhiyuan put his arm around Huang Shirong's slender waist and floated off the horse.
The Heavenly Dragon Divine Steed transformed into golden light and darted into the nearby woods to play to its heart's content. Chu Zhiyuan and Huang Shirong transformed into two wisps of light smoke and slipped into the tranquil little mountain village.
Every household was raising cooking smoke, and the air was filled with the scent of burning firewood, mixed with the freshness of dusk. Chu Zhiyuan stopped outside a small courtyard and looked at Huang Shirong.
Huang Shirong nodded slowly. She stepped forward and gently pushed open the door.
"Senior Brother Zhou," Huang Shirong immediately recognized the middle-aged man, looking at him with a complex expression. "I've finally found you."
The middle-aged man smiled. "No wonder you could find me; it's Junior Sister Huang."
Huang Shirong stared at him, curiously asking, "Senior Brother Zhou, I've always been curious, why exactly?"
Zhou Tianqi shook his head. "There's no why."
"Is it because of Uncle Kong? Did Uncle Kong wrong you, Senior Brother Zhou?"
"Yes and no."
"Can't Senior Brother Zhou enlighten me?"
"You wouldn't understand." Zhou Tianqi sighed, walked to a nearby chair, and sat down. "You are a pride of the heavens, the most talented in our sect; you wouldn't understand my despair and helplessness."
"Senior Brother yearns for the Grandmaster realm so much?"
"What's the point of living if you don't become a Grandmaster?" Zhou Tianqi chuckled. "A short life, soon to die. It would have been better not to practice martial arts at all. Spending most of your life, it's better to enjoy yourself, earn money, play with women, start a family, and become a merchant; it's better than bitter cultivation in the sect."
"Doesn't Senior Brother feel that the time on the mountain is good? It's an enjoyment in itself, much better than being a merchant outside making money." Huang Shirong couldn't understand his thinking.
On the mountain, everything is simple and beautiful. The relationships between senior brothers, junior sisters, senior sisters, and junior brothers are all friendly. Being on the mountain is much better than being in the Town Guard.
The hearts of people down the mountain are too complex, the interests too complicated; it's not as good as being on the mountain.
"Junior Sister Huang thinks it's good because you are a pride of the heavens. Everyone fawns over you, so naturally, you feel that everyone around you is a good person, life is beautiful, and the time on the mountain is even better."
"So Senior Brother feels that being on the mountain is not as good as being down the mountain."
"Actually, everywhere is the same, nothing more than the law of the jungle." Zhou Tianqi said with emotion, "In this world, weakness is a sin. So, if you don't want to be bullied, you must constantly become stronger, always become stronger, and finally become a Grandmaster, only then will you not have lived this life in vain, not failed this world!"
"So, in order to become stronger, you can even kill your master?" Huang Shirong said, "Why exactly did you kill Uncle Kong?"
"Because that old guy wanted to kill me!" Zhou Tianqi said indifferently, "Even tigers don't eat their cubs, yet he wanted to kill me! Since he is unrighteous, why should I be moral!" His expression was indifferent and calm, but the hand holding the armrest of the chair was bulging with veins.
"Because Uncle Kong discovered that you were practicing evil arts, right?"
"Not bad."
"The evil arts of the Jade Cauldron Sect?"
"Junior Sister Huang knows quite a lot."
"Did the demonic people of the Jade Cauldron Sect find you?"
"I killed a demonic person of the Jade Cauldron Sect and obtained their cultivation methods, so I tried it out, and it was indeed marvelous." "You killed someone?"
"Almost, I tried it on wild animals, but I haven't started killing people yet," Zhou Tianqi said. "Then the old guy discovered it."
Huang Shirong breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhou Tianqi laughed. "It seems Junior Sister Huang is indeed benevolent."
Huang Shirong said, "You haven't killed anyone, so there's still hope. Senior Brother Zhou, come back with me."
"What will happen after I go back?" Zhou Tianqi scoffed sarcastically, sneering, "My martial arts will be crippled, and I'll become a handyman."
"You'll have a chance to cultivate again," Huang Shirong said. "If you go down this path now, Senior Brother Zhou, you also know the consequences."
"Death?" Zhou Tianqi laughed softly, his expression indifferent. "If I can't cultivate, I'd rather die."
Huang Shirong frowned as she looked at him. "Senior Brother Zhou, could it be that you're not afraid of death because you've practiced evil arts?"
"Crippling my martial arts is worse than death." Zhou Tianqi looked regretful. "Since that's the case, it's better to go quickly. Junior Sister Huang, you shouldn't have come!"
"Senior Brother Zhou, I have one question. How did you get rid of the Law Enforcement Hall's pursuit? You suddenly turned into several people; your methods are very powerful, deceiving them."
"Junior Sister Huang, you are also about to die, why be so curious?"
"Senior Brother Zhou insists on killing me?"
She felt the killing intent pervading the air.
Since Zhou Tianqi could kill his master, how could he not kill himself?
"On the road to the Yellow Springs, we can accompany each other, so it won't be lonely."
"Then how can Senior Brother hide from the Grandmaster's perception?"
"A strange object, unfortunately, Junior Sister Huang can't use it anymore."
As soon as he said this, he suddenly got up and was about to rush towards Huang Shirong. Huang Shirong suddenly charged forward, and a cold light flashed at her waist.
"Uh..."
Zhou Tianqi was in disbelief, his eyes wide and staring straight ahead.
He never expected Huang Shirong's sword to be so fast and to strike before he could use Jade and Stone in Flames.
Just a little bit more and he could have used Jade and Stone in Flames, taking her away from this chaotic world, traveling together on the road to the Yellow Springs. This thought flashed in his mind and was soon swallowed by darkness, and he died silently.
"Good swordsmanship." Chu Zhiyuan appeared in the courtyard, applauding and praising, "Such a fast sword!" Huang Shirong's sword, whether the timing of its execution or the speed of its execution, was superb. The tip of the sword directly pierced Zhou Tianqi's forehead, instantly severing his thoughts and stopping Jade and Stone in Flames.
Huang Shirong's face was heavy, and she gently wiped the tip of the sword and returned it to its sheath.
This was thanks to Chu Zhiyuan's reminder outside Taizhou City, which allowed her to grasp the signs of Jade and Stone in Flames. She looked at Zhou Tianqi, who was standing straight and not falling.
There was a small red dot on his forehead, and his eyes were still open, but his gaze had become dim and lifeless, losing the light of life. Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Your attack was clean and decisive. You strike when you need to strike. You indeed have the qualities of a palace lord."
He saw that Huang Shirong's expression was heavy and smiled. "If you didn't kill him, he would kill you. What is there to think about? Should we have the Town Guard come over?"
"Yes." Huang Shirong said slowly, "I can only trouble them."
Chu Zhiyuan pulled out the Qingying Sword and gently flicked it.
A dark black bead was picked out of Zhou Tianqi's arms by him, sticking to the tip of the sword. The stone bead, the size of a little finger, was like it had been coated with ink, without any luster.
It exuded a strange aura, this aura was dim and obscure, and you would feel dazed when you touched it.
In addition to this bead, there was also a small black cauldron in the house, the size of a thumb, exquisite and delicate. It was carved with dense patterns.
Under the illumination, these patterns were indeed the patterns commonly used by the Jade Cauldron Sect. At first glance, they were ordinary, but upon closer inspection, they seemed to come alive.
These patterns contained strange power.
Chu Zhiyuan's face was solemn.
He gradually had some conjectures about the evil sects, judging that the power of these evil sects was rapidly improving, not only because of absorbing essence and blood to quickly strengthen the body, but also because there were other powers mixed in.
This power is likely to be extraterrestrial power.
What truly changed their minds was this extraterrestrial power.
This was his guess based on what he saw through the Fearless Great Perfection Hand Seal. Huang Shirong looked at the small black bead. "What is this?"
"It should be the strange object that conceals the aura," Chu Zhiyuan smiled. "Who does this thing belong to?"
"Naturally, it's yours, Your Highness," Huang Shirong said.
This kind of strange object is indeed strange. For these evil sects, it is infinitely useful, but for Baiyun Sword Palace, it is useless. Chu Zhiyuan smiled. "Then I will accept it with a smile."
He really wanted to study the strange power on this black bead.
Moreover, with it, it should be able to isolate the perception of the Grandmaster.
