PDLP Chapter 93 Unknown Enemy
Chapter 93 Unknown Enemy
After having breakfast, Zhang Qi walked home along the moss-covered path.
He pushed open the creaking wooden door and stopped in his tracks.
Beside an old wooden table, a man in blue robes sat calmly, watching him with an air of leisure, as if he were the master of the place.
The man in blue was naturally the blue puppet controlled by Li Qingyi.
Surprisingly, Zhang Qi did not show any panic when he saw Li Qingyi.
He closed the door behind him, walked steadily to the opposite side of the table and sat down, even straightening the slightly wrinkled hem of his clothes.
Their eyes met, and for a moment, only the occasional birdsong from outside the window could be heard inside the room.
Zhang Qi suddenly spoke, his voice so calm it didn't sound like that of an ordinary person whose home had just been invaded by strangers:
"What brings you here, sir?"
Li Qingyi raised an eyebrow slightly. "You don't seem surprised."
His divine sense had already swept over Zhang Qi's entire body—
There was not a trace of spiritual energy fluctuation, and he had not even completed the most basic process of drawing qi into his body; he was a true mortal.
"After all, you take money to do something for someone. If you're just doing a job for money, trouble is bound to come knocking on your door someday."
Zhang Qi spoke casually, as if he were talking about a trivial matter that had nothing to do with him.
"Tell me who's behind this, and I won't kill you."
With a slight thought, a chilling killing intent filled the small room, making the air seem to freeze.
But to his surprise, Zhang Qi remained calm and composed, instead posing a question:
"Li Qingyi, how come you're only at the fourth level of Qi Refining? Where did your imposing presence go when you fought Lu Zhenxuan at Tianqing Gorge that day?"
A glint of light flashed in Li Qingyi's eyes, which then turned into a soft sigh, her face revealing regret and weakness:
"I was severely injured in that life-or-death battle with Lu Zhenxuan that day, which damaged my foundation and caused my cultivation level to plummet to this point."
"Hehe..." Zhang Qi chuckled twice, "As expected of the personal disciple of the Listening Rain Pavilion Master, even after falling in cultivation level, his composure is far beyond that of ordinary people."
Li Qingyi: "..."
He couldn't understand what this had to do with the Tingyu Pavilion Master, whom he had never met before.
Zhang Qi leaned forward slightly, his gaze sharp as a knife, and continued to press:
"So, what is your relationship with that Huanzhu Louzhu?"
"Huanzhu Louzhu?" A mocking glint flashed across Li Qingyi's face. "A third-rate opponent, how dare he compare himself to me?"
Faced with this answer, Zhang Qi remained silent for a moment, which was uncharacteristic of him.
Li Qingyi's seemingly casual and even contemptuous attitude only fueled his suspicions and made him restless.
He felt that the person sitting here should be Huanzhu Louzhu.
He quickly recalled every detail after leaving the porridge shop:
As I stood up, the "Master Huanzhu" also left his seat at almost the same time.
But at the next street corner, the other person quickly passed by him and strode towards Huanzhulou without giving him a second glance.
Immediately afterwards, upon returning home, Li Qingyi inexplicably appeared in her room.
"I think," Zhang Qi said tentatively, uttering each word carefully.
"There must be some unknown connection between you and Huanzhu Louzhu."
Upon hearing this, Li Qingyi suddenly laughed, with a hint of mockery:
"Yes, you're right. Actually, he's my long-lost half-brother."
Zhang Qi snorted coldly, and for the first time, an expression other than calm appeared on his face:
"There's no point in trying to fool me here. Don't worry, I'll uncover your secrets sooner or later."
Before he could finish speaking, and before Li Qingyi could make any move...
A mocking glint flashed in Zhang Qi's eyes, then he suddenly raised his hand, grabbed his head, and twisted it hard!
Click—!
Zhang Qi's head tilted to one side at an eerie angle, the light in his eyes instantly went out, and his body slumped to the ground, lifeless.
Only Li Qingyi remained, sitting there with a solemn expression.
"Is it a divine soul descending? Or remote control? Or some kind of possession/parasitism technique I'm unaware of?"
Li Qingyi's mind raced, 'And... who exactly is this enemy?'
In fact, Li Qingyi had been careful from the very beginning.
His physical body did indeed leave the porridge shop with Zhang Qi, but after taking a few steps, a strong sense of caution made him feel uneasy.
So, at a deserted corner, he quickly released the Green Puppet to take over the tracking, while his main body headed straight for Huanzhu Tower.
'This strange fellow, or rather, the manipulator behind him, is truly extraordinary,' Li Qingyi thought to herself.
"Just because of that one tiny slip I made before I left, he became so suspicious. I've truly been too complacent for too long, and my guard has lowered."
With a sigh in her heart, Li Qingyi made a move to leave.
Just as I stood up, a series of chaotic and hurried footsteps approached from afar.
"Open the door! You bastard Zhang! I heard someone inside is trying to cause you trouble?"
"Your brothers are here to back you up! Who dares to mess with you?"
"Exactly! Even though Brother Zhang has a sharp tongue, he's incredibly kind to us. We can't let him get bullied!"
"Open the door! Let us in!"
Outside, the crowd was in a state of high spirits; it sounded like there were at least seven or eight burly men.
Li Qingyi stared coldly at Zhang Qi's corpse on the ground.
"That beast, he even tried to trick me before he left, how disgusting."
He did feel nauseous. The feeling of being plotted against in the dark and then having dirty water poured on him made Li Qingyi extremely unhappy.
"His actions are so insidious and unscrupulous; he's somewhat reminiscent of the Listening Rain Pavilion."
Thinking this, Li Qingyi no longer hesitated, stepped forward, and pulled open the door.
Outside the door, seven or eight men with menacing faces and sticks were huddled together. As soon as the door opened, some of them shouted that they wanted to rush in.
However, when they saw Li Qingyi standing inside the door with a cold expression, all their movements froze instantly, as if they had been frozen in place.
When the burly man at the head of the group saw Li Qingyi's face clearly, his pupils contracted sharply, and he stammered:
"You...you...you are Li..."
"I didn't kill him," Li Qingyi interrupted him, her voice low. "Get out of the way."
"Yes, yes, yes... Immortal Master!"
The bearded man broke out in a cold sweat instantly, hurriedly responding and turning his body to the side.
Without him even having to say anything, the moment the others recognized Li Qingyi, they scattered like birds and beasts, retreating to both sides to make way for a wide path.
After a long while, everyone breathed a sigh of relief once they were sure that Li Qingyi had completely left.
Just then, in the crowd, a young, spirited boy, seemingly somewhat resentful, muttered under his breath:
"Brother Zhang was always so good to us... just... just let him die like that? Does a celestial being have the right to kill mortals at will?"
The bearded man suddenly turned around, glaring angrily, and growled:
"The immortal master was right in front of you, why didn't you stop him? Go and stop him!"
The boy shrank back at the shout, instantly deflated, and dared not utter another sound.
Yes, how dare a mortal block the path of a cultivator?
What's more, the other party is Li Qingyi, the infamous demon of Tingyu Pavilion who can even kill Foundation Establishment cultivators.
……
In the center of Qingling City, a towering eighteen-story "Zhenyang Tower" stands majestically, its glazed tiles gleaming in the sunlight.
Below the tall buildings, crowds surged.
The cultivators and mortals who came and went all looked up at its magnificence and marveled at the profoundness of the immortals' methods.
At that moment, a black figure weaved through the crowd, ignoring the guards downstairs, and rushed straight into the building.
He walked briskly, quickly navigating the maze-like corridors and staircases, and finally stepped into the top floor, a place that was extremely difficult for ordinary people to access.
At the top-floor entrance, two large doors carved with mysterious runes were ajar.
The man in black dared not enter. He stopped abruptly three feet outside the door, knelt on one knee, and bowed his head deeply.
"My lord!"
Inside the door was an extremely spacious and elegant room.
The walls were adorned with ink paintings, the antique shelves displayed rare treasures, and the air was filled with a calming fragrance.
A man reclines languidly on a soft couch by the window, draped in a spotless white robe with its sleeves hanging loosely.
He held a smooth, translucent jade pipe in his hand, facing the ethereal clouds outside the window. He took a gentle puff, and then wisps of smoke slowly escaped from his thin lips, blurring his slightly pale, handsome face.
"What was the result?" The man's voice carried a hint of nonchalant magnetism.
The cultivator kneeling outside the door hesitated for a moment before cautiously speaking:
"Reporting to Your Majesty, I have personally confirmed that Li Qingyi is currently only displaying the cultivation level of the fourth level of Qi Refining. I deduce that although he won that day, he must have used some kind of secret technique that damages his foundation, resulting in extremely severe injuries. He has most likely suffered a drop in his cultivation level!"
Upon hearing this, the snow-robed man on the soft couch did not turn around, but simply sighed softly as he looked out the window.
"well……"
"Heavenly Fiend," the man's voice remained calm, "you should know that what I hate most is when my subordinates answer my questions with their own 'deductions' and 'estimations'."
Tian Sha suddenly jolted, immediately touched the ground with his head, and said urgently:
"My lord, please forgive me! I misspoke! I believe that Li Qingyi's strength has been reduced to less than one-tenth, making this an excellent opportunity to eliminate him."
The man on the soft couch remained silent for a moment, then finally turned his head slightly and said, "Since that's the case, then you may go."
He withdrew his gaze, his tone becoming languid again, "Remember, do it cleanly and neatly. I don't want to hear any more 'estimates' or 'possibilities'."
"Yes! Your subordinate will certainly live up to your expectations!"
Tian Sha felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He quickly bowed and carefully backed away until he reached the corner of the stairs, where he dared to straighten up.
As Tian Sha walked downstairs, his mind was filled with Li Qingyi's calm gaze.
How much strength does he actually have left?
Tian Sha was somewhat unsure of what to do.
He himself was only at the ninth level of Qi Refining, and although he was considered a skilled fighter, he was facing a peerless genius who had defied the odds to reach the Foundation Establishment stage and created miracles. Even if his opponent was seriously injured, he still wasn't confident of victory.
When he first heard the news that Li Qingyi had killed Lu Zhenxuan, his first reaction was that it was absurd.
Only after confirming that the information came from the Master of Tingyu Pavilion was he forced to believe that such a prodigy truly existed in the world.
He thought this matter had nothing to do with him, as Zhenyang Tower had always been neutral and did not get involved in such grievances.
It wasn't until a few days ago, when his master suddenly ordered him to test Li Qingyi's true strength, that he realized the matter might not be so simple.
His lord's thoughts were as deep as the sea, and he dared not fathom them; he could only obey.
Faced with a ruthless person like Li Qingyi, he was extremely cautious and dared not take any risks himself.
So he expended his life essence and used a secret technique to create a clone of himself, which went to Xuan Ce City and possessed Zhang Qi, using Zhang Qi's identity to secretly investigate Li Qingyi's situation.
Unexpectedly, he was discovered today, forcing him to abandon this clone.
Fortunately, he keenly noticed something unusual.
That means Huanzhu Louzhu and Li Qingyi must have some unspeakable secret.
"According to extensive investigations, Huanzhu Louzhu is indeed only at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, and his relationship with Li Qingyi is rather delicate..."
A cold glint flashed in Tian Sha's eyes. "Perhaps we can start with him. If we can get him to talk, we'll surely learn about Li Qingyi's background and weaknesses!"
Having made up his mind, Tian Sha immediately set off for Xuan Ce City.