Chapter 38: Lin Qian

Jiang Ning felt that the tremors of the palace were growing increasingly violent.

He darted through the chaos at great speed, forced to invoke his inherited secret arts as the laws of the Dao became disordered, weaving through the halls and pavilions.

"Why is Erhuang's aura so erratic?!"

He sensed a direction and moved toward it relentlessly.

"This must be the secret chamber!"

Giving his all, Jiang Ning punched at the door.

"Devour!"

He employed the devouring secret art of his immortal spirit body, capable of consuming all things—even the formations and barriers.

"Break!"

A thunderous crash echoed, and the stone door swung open.

"Huh?" Jiang Ning paused, surprised by the ease.

He had not sensed any formations under the devouring art, just a simple stone door. He thought he would have to unleash his full strength, but it opened so easily that he was caught off guard.

"Erhuang isn't here?!"

He saw only an empty chamber.

"No, Erhuang's aura lingers."

Jiang Ning's expression changed. "Erhuang possesses a first-grade bloodline! Though few know this, surely nothing untoward has happened because it was discovered?"

"He has a sensing ability..."

He immediately sat cross-legged. Between him and Erhuang existed a certain connection. He merged with the surroundings, striving to sense what had transpired here, to determine if Erhuang was in danger.

"He just left not long ago..."

Jiang Ning recovered the past scene, using his bloodline power as the foundation, and saw Erhuang depart.

"Huh? That was the lightning that struck when I entered the body-forging realm!"

He had been struck by lightning.

That bolt pierced through the palace, opening holes and shattering many formations and barriers.

Through this breach, Erhuang slipped away.

"He headed toward the direction of the Heavenly Mountain range!"

Jiang Ning's worry finally melted away.

Erhuang had not come to harm, but left of his own accord.

"This little fellow is clever indeed, finding the breach in the palace's formation blasted open by heavenly thunder and slipping through."

Naturally, the palace was protected by all sorts of barriers and formations, but all had been blasted open by that lightning.

Jiang Ning now sensed Erhuang's aura from much farther away—it had indeed left Idle Cloud Sect.

As for the Heavenly Mountain range, he was not concerned.

That place was said to be inaccessible to mortals, a realm where even gods and demons would perish if they entered; nothing there could threaten Erhuang. After all, they had originally escaped from Heavenly Mountain, and Erhuang would be well acquainted with the path back to its former tranquil domain as an immortal herb.

"Erhuang is safe. I should leave as well."

Jiang Ning had no desire to linger. The palace continued to tremble; even if he didn't know the cause, he sensed that some unimaginable chaos was unfolding outside...

He resolved to leave along the path Erhuang had taken.

But in that moment, Jiang Ning sensed a peculiar fluctuation of aura beside him.

"Who?!"

His nerves were taut, suspicious and cautious after all he had endured.

The instant he sensed an unusual aura, he struck out.

"Get lost!"

He didn't know who had come, but it was clear this was not a god-demon realm powerhouse; Jiang Ning had been tormented by such beings lately.

He was genuinely afraid—several levels above him, they could crush him easily. He had determined to steer clear of them from now on.

But the visitor lacked that aura, so Jiang Ning used all his strength, even employing the devouring secret art.

Boom!

A figure appeared, battered and disheveled, tumbling several meters away. "Damn, what's wrong with you?!"

Jiang Ning was stunned into silence.

It was Li Zhenyu.

"Why are you here? Weren't you out on a mission?"

"That's nonsense!" Li Zhenyu cursed repeatedly.

He had just taken a beating for nothing and was thoroughly displeased.

But Jiang Ning was surprised too—he had struck with full force, yet this fellow was unharmed and lively?

"I'm here to rescue you," Li Zhenyu spat, then shouted.

"Nonsense."

Though Jiang Ning felt embarrassed, he was left speechless by the curses and did not believe Li Zhenyu was so well-intentioned.

"What nonsense? I struggled to get in here, and now I might not even get out!"

Li Zhenyu cursed furiously.

The two met and bickered, exchanging insults for a while.

"Enough. Getting out is what matters," Jiang Ning said.

The palace's tremors grew stronger, making Jiang Ning increasingly uneasy.

If they lingered, anything could happen.

The two slipped out of the secret chamber one after the other, Jiang Ning leading the way, guided by his bloodline's sense of Erhuang's escape route, heading straight for the breach in the formation.

The breach Li Zhenyu had entered was actually the same one—only, the internal formations were so complex that a misstep could lead one into another predicament.

Li Zhenyu followed behind Jiang Ning, explaining everything that had happened outside.

Of course, he omitted the part about impersonating Jiang Ning to trick the disciples of Six Paths Sect; he only said he had used "certain means" to lure them over.

"Six Paths Sect?"

Jiang Ning was surprised. This guy seemed like a troublemaker.

Why was he being so helpful? Did he really come to rescue him?

"By the way, the old man in the hemp robe..."

Jiang Ning brought up the matter of the elderly man in the hemp robe. He was puzzled, thinking Li Zhenyu had brought him.

"It's Li Qiaochan, someone from the Li family..."

Li Zhenyu explained in his own way, and Jiang Ning took a while to understand what he was saying.

"Someone from the Li family? A disguise?"

Jiang Ning felt this was another layer of mystery and voiced his doubts.

Why would someone from the Li family come to Idle Cloud Sect? Their guardians were all god-demon realm powerhouses; Idle Cloud Sect was practically the wilderness to the Li family—what was the attraction?

And why protect him? What benefit could it possibly hold for the Li family?

Li Zhenyu remained tight-lipped. When pressed, he retorted, "How should I know so many secrets? I'm not from the Li family!"

"You bear the Li surname but aren't one of them? You should hurry and pay your respects to your ancestors."

"Do you want me to beat you up?"

They bantered as they moved, their speed swift, quickly reaching the breach in the formation.

"Huh? There's a secret chamber over there," Li Zhenyu suddenly remarked.

Another secret chamber. Jiang Ning looked inside.

Boom!

The chamber suddenly exploded!

A graceful figure appeared, clad in blood-stained purple robes, holding a long sword, her form ethereal.

But the swathes of blood made the scene shocking.

"Lin Qian?!"

Jiang Ning was stunned.

What was even more astonishing was that beneath Lin Qian lay Yang Xiangtian, dead, his Dao extinguished.

At this moment, Yang Xiangtian was not entirely gone—he clung to a single breath, but made no effort to struggle. There was even a hint of relief in his eyes, his throat pierced, gazing blankly at the sky as his pupils began to fade.

Jiang Ning was frozen, finding it all incredible.

And what left him speechless was that, the instant Lin Qian appeared, Li Zhenyu immediately shed his earlier bickering demeanor, becoming gentle and refined, a leaf-shaped fan appearing mysteriously in his hand.

Standing behind Jiang Ning, even his aura changed.

He seemed as though he had stepped out of a painting—a true immortal.

"Damn—"

Jiang Ning was utterly convinced by the person behind him.