Quickly, Mo Xingjian happily waved to Zhou Qing.
Zhou Qing hurriedly ran over and bowed, "Greetings, Master."
Cao Zhengyang sighed, "You only have half an incense stick’s worth of time. We have to arrange Master Xuanji’s departure."
"Rest assured, it won’t take long!" Zhou Qing replied and quickly followed Mo Xingjian inside.
Soon, he saw the Sect Leader of Phecda Sect, Master Xuanji. He was an elderly man with an immortal demeanor, dressed in a white robe with Eight Trigrams patterns, a thin yet kind face, and an aura of transcendence.
At the moment, he seemed to be hastily writing something. Seeing Cao Zhengyang and Mo Xingjian enter, he was about to speak, but then noticed a young man following them, his expression instantly changing slightly.
"Cao, Mo, who is this?" Master Xuanji’s brows furrowed slightly, with a hint of evident displeasure in his words, as he pointed at Zhou Qing and inquired.
Zhou Qing saw this and his eyes narrowed slightly.
Master Xuanji’s reaction seemed like he didn’t know him, but in his view, there was a clear [???] mark above his head.
Generally, those who hadn’t seen him before would have nothing at all.
It was obvious Master Xuanji was lying; he must have at least seen his portrait or even known about him.
Cao Zhengyang felt a bit embarrassed, while Mo Xingjian took a step forward and introduced, "Xuan, this is my beloved disciple, Zhou Qing. A year ago, his Golden Core was shattered by someone, and he had no choice but to walk the path of Body Refining. This time, we wanted to take advantage of your presence to see if there’s any way to remedy this."
Zhou Qing immediately bowed, "Junior Zhou Qing, greetings elder. After the recent Five Sects Treasure Exchange Gathering, several disciples of the Cyan Feather Immortal Sect disappeared mysteriously. We were ordered by our sect to investigate. Thanks to my timely intervention, I managed to rescue Senior Sister Shi Zhen and prevent our brothers from falling into a Cyan Ox Ridge trap."
Hearing this, Master Xuanji revealed a sudden look of realization, stroking his long beard with a smile, "Ah, it was you. I’ve heard of you before but never met. Unfortunately, with a broken Golden Core, it’s exceedingly difficult to return to the cultivation path."
Master Xuanji shook his head and sighed, clearly indicating he too had no solution.
Mo Xingjian, worried he might check Zhou Qing, thought that even the Void Realm Dharma Aspect might not conceal it effectively.
At this moment, Zhou Qing stared intently at Master Xuanji and immediately conducted a binding.
Soon, the [???] mark above Master Xuanji’s head rapidly transformed, in a blink turning into the blaring words [Despicable Villain].
Upon seeing this, Zhou Qing’s face changed dramatically, but he quickly forced himself to stay calm, though his heart was pounding uncontrollably.
Why would this elder show such intense hostility upon our first meeting?
No, this was more than just ordinary hostility; it carried a strong intent to kill!
In an instant, Zhou Qing felt his throat go dry.
What kind of intricately laid plot lay behind this Cyan Feather Immortal Sect incident?
How many factions were involved in this scheme?
"Is there really no other way?" At this moment, Cao Zhengyang couldn’t help but ask again.
Master Xuanji shook his head once more.
Seeing this, Cao Zhengyang helplessly glanced at Mo Xingjian and Zhou Qing.
Zhou Qing saw this and had no choice but to bow to Master Xuanji, saying, "If that’s the case, then I’ll trouble you, elder. I shall take my leave now."
After speaking, he turned and left immediately. Mo Xingjian apologized and quickly followed.
Cao Zhengyang watched their departing figures and sighed, turning to Master Xuanji, saying, "Xuan, everything is prepared over there. Let me escort you out."
On the Eight Trigrams Disc, Mo Xingjian looked at the silent Zhou Qing beside him and couldn’t help but joke, "What, did you smell something?"
Zhou Qing meticulously reviewed the past events in his mind and then looked at Mo Xingjian with a grave expression, solemnly saying, "Master, this Master Xuanji has killing intent towards me."
These words left Mo Xingjian stunned, showing a look of doubt and instinctively retorting, "This... can’t be, right?"
Zhou Qing nodded and had to lie, "Master, ever since I broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm, I can keenly detect whether someone is friendly or hostile towards me. Just now, when I mentioned the Cyan Ox Ridge incident, Master Xuanji’s killing intent towards me peaked."
After hearing this, Mo Xingjian’s expression turned extremely serious. He suddenly grabbed Zhou Qing’s arm tightly and urgently asked, "The enhancement from the Nascent Soul Realm? Are you sure about this?"
Zhou Qing nodded without hesitation, "I am absolutely sure, Master. Although we don’t yet understand what’s going on with the Golden Thunder Sect, I have a rather bold idea — perhaps the mysterious force we’ve been trying to identify is the Phecda Sect."
Mo Xingjian felt a chill down his spine, as if a cold wind was crawling up his back.
"Can we hold him here?" Zhou Qing asked anxiously upon seeing this.
Considering they were in the territory of the Taiqing Sect, with many powerful experts within the sect, it should not be difficult to retain Master Xuanji, even with just a few people.
Mo Xingjian swallowed hard, looking troubled, "How would we hold him? Would the Sect Leader believe our word? Are we really going to confront the Phecda Sect now? What if we’re wrong?"