"Don't run!" Qinglong was taken aback, only then realizing that Li Ling's target had shifted to Xiao Zhou. He immediately flew after him, shouting, "Xiao Zhou, be careful!"
Biyao, who had been rescued, saw Li Ling with his arm around Lu Xueqi's waist and his expression growing worse, so she quickly followed behind Qinglong.
Seeing Li Ling charging over with his sword, Xiao Zhou, who was entangled in a fight with Song Daren and the others, had no time to react. Li Ling struck him on the shoulder with a palm strike, sending him flying directly toward the pursuing Azure Dragon.
Just as he was about to reach out and catch Xiao Zhou, Xiao Zhou suddenly changed his actions and then slammed a palm into Qinglong's chest!
"puff!"
Azure Dragon's face turned deathly pale instantly, and he couldn't help but spit out blood as his body flew backward!
"Uncle Qinglong!!"
"Brother Long!"
To everyone's utter surprise, Xiao Zhou suddenly launched a ruthless sneak attack. Even the brilliant and ambitious Ghost King was taken aback. He had previously seen that Xiao Zhou held the position of sect leader of the Blood Refining Hall and possessed remarkable talent, so he had taken a liking to him and had not suspected him too much. Could it be that he had already defected to the Qingyun Sect?
"We don't have much time left, let's retreat!" Li Ling didn't hesitate. He had been keeping an eye on things, and seeing that the Ghost King was about to subdue the Kui Niu, he quickly told everyone to leave while the Azure Dragon was injured and couldn't stop them.
Song Daren was also a man who could see the situation clearly. Seeing this, he also shouted in a low voice, "Let's go!"
He gestured for Tian Ling'er, Zhang Xiaofan, and the others to leave, while Xiao Zhou, or rather Xiao Yicai, had already distanced himself from Qinglong and retreated with the others.
As they retreated, Li Ling turned to look at Lu Xueqi, frowning as he asked, "Why didn't you dodge Qinglong's sword strike? If I had been even a fraction of a second later, you wouldn't be alive today if you had been hit by Qinglong's sword!"
Just now, Lu Xueqi clearly did not dodge on purpose, so as to take the opportunity to stab back with her sword. However, this would have put her in great danger. If Li Ling had been a little slower, she would probably have been seriously injured.
"I believe that with you here, I won't get hurt!" Lu Xueqi met Li Ling's gaze calmly, showing no sign of backing down.
After a long while, Li Ling couldn't help but sigh and said helplessly, "Don't do that again next time!"
"Mm!" Lu Xueqi nodded, her expression showing great pleasure.
Meanwhile, Qinglong looked at Biyao, who flew to his side anxiously asking questions, and waved his hand to indicate that he was alright. At the same time, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. He hadn't expected to be tricked this time. Fortunately, his injuries weren't too serious, but he had no intention of pursuing her.
Biyao, however, seemed even angrier than him, staring at the direction Li Ling had left with a look of gritted teeth.
Meanwhile, the Kui Niu, which had been struggling all along, finally let out two weak, mournful cries and collapsed to the ground! The Ghost King had finally captured one of the four great spirit beasts!
After thinking it over, Li Ling did not suggest that everyone go directly to meet up with Cangsong and the others. Facing a battle between people of that level of cultivation, their group would be of little help and might even distract Cangsong and the others. So he led everyone directly to Changhe City in the west.
On the way, Li Ling was still slightly dissatisfied with his cultivation progress. In the previous battle against Qinglong, he had the upper hand in all other aspects, but due to his insufficient cultivation, he was always restrained and many of his moves could not break through the protection of Qinglong's Qiankun Qingguang Ring.
"It seems I'll have to go into seclusion after returning to the mountain. And the plot of the Demonic Sect launching a surprise attack on Qingyun is probably coming soon. According to the plot, Qingyun Sect escaped unscathed, so I shouldn't get involved for now. I should focus on improving my cultivation and then find a way to get my hands on the other volumes of the 'Heavenly Book'!"
After much deliberation, Li Ling finally made up his mind: he wanted to improve his cultivation level as quickly as possible.
At this moment, Xiao Yicai smiled at Li Ling and said, "Thanks to this junior brother for coming, otherwise even if I had revealed my identity, it would have been uncertain whether I could have led everyone to escape together."
Then he praised, "This junior brother is truly skilled. He was able to hold off Qinglong, the leader of the four holy envoys of the Ghost King Sect, and even found an opportunity to cooperate with me to severely injure him. He is truly a master!"
"I don't know your name, Junior Brother. I never realized that our Qingyun Sect had such a young talent as you!"
Li Ling chuckled and cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "I dare not accept the title of a young talent. I, Li Ling, greet Senior Brother Xiao!"
"Li Ling?" Xiao Yicai couldn't help but be taken aback. Then, seeing Li Ling and Lu Xueqi standing very close together, he laughed and said, "As expected, the rumors are true. No wonder you have such cultivation, Junior Brother, you were able to win the Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament!"
"Hehe, I'm not as good as you, Senior Brother. If it weren't for your important mission preventing you from participating in the martial arts competition, the championship of the Seven Sects Martial Arts Competition would have been yours for the taking," Li Ling said politely.
Xiao Yicai truly lived up to his reputation as Dao Xuan's chosen successor. Not only was his cultivation formidable, but he also possessed a refined demeanor in his interactions with others. Soon after meeting him, everyone began to subtly regard him as their leader.
Seeing this, Li Ling had no intention of competing. He never intended to become the leader of the Qingyun Sect. His goal from beginning to end was to cultivate and improve his cultivation. Qi Hao's previous actions could be considered a despicable act.
After arriving in Changhe City, the group waited for two days before Cangsong and his wife Tian Buyi returned with the rest of the Qingyun Sect disciples. However, most of them were injured and looked haggard. Tian Buyi, in particular, was seriously injured and his face was pale, which brought tears to Tian Ling'er's eyes.
"Why are you crying! It's just a few minor injuries!" Tian Buyi didn't care much about his wounds, but was instead somewhat relieved: "If the Ghost King Sect hadn't targeted us, I'm afraid not even half of us would have made it back alive!"
"Hmph, I'll definitely get my revenge next time. But Xiao Fan, I heard that the Vampire Ancestor and the Wind and Moon Ancestor came looking for trouble with you and Li Ling, but I didn't see them on the battlefield. Did you encounter them on the way?"
The last time they separated, it was too quick, and Li Ling and Zhang Xiaofan didn't have time to tell them what happened. In addition, the scene at Liubo Mountain was chaotic, and they didn't know the exact situation of the corpses of Fengyue Ancestor and Xuefu Ancestor. So they didn't know that the two old demons had died.
Therefore, Li Ling laughed at this moment and said, "Uncle Tian, there's no need to worry. Xiao Fan and I encountered those two blocking our way at Liubo Mountain, but we've already dealt with them!"
Cangsong, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but laugh loudly: "Good, A-Ling did a good job. This Vampire Ancestor is an old demon who has been rampant in the Demonic Sect for many years. And the Wind and Moon Ancestor has always been careful not to offend either side. In addition, his cultivation is not weak, so our Qingyun Sect has never taken the initiative to provoke him. But we never expected that they would die at the hands of you two, A-Ling!"
"Hmph, it wasn't just your disciple who did it, Xiao Fan did it too!" Tian Buyi retorted, prompting Cang Song to turn around and glare at him.
Seeing this, Su Ru quickly persuaded the two to stop, and then said, "In any case, the trip to Liubo Mountain was ultimately without any major damage, which is already a stroke of luck amidst misfortune."
"There's no time to lose. Now that we've reunited, we should hurry back to Qingyun Sect! Otherwise, what if those demonic sect members come up with something else and catch up? We'll really be in grave danger!" (Wishing Star of All Heavens and Realms)
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Chapter 364: Eight Years of Seclusion, Incense Valley
After returning to Qingyun Mountain, Li Ling said he planned to go into seclusion, so Cangsong arranged a secluded cave for him on Dragon Head Peak.
More than half a month passed in this way. One day, he had a sudden thought and walked out of the secluded cave, only to be taken aback.
Because the two people standing in front of him were actually Biyao and Youji. "How did they get up to Qingyun Mountain? Could it be that the story has progressed to the point where the Demonic Sect is attacking the mountain together?"
The thought flashed through Li Ling's mind, but he looked at Bi Yao and You Ji with a calm expression and said, "I didn't expect that the Vermilion Bird Saint Envoy of the Ghost King Sect and the young lady of the Ghost King Sect would dare to appear alone in my Qingyun Sect. Do you think that my Qingyun Sect has no one to rely on?"
Biyao retorted defiantly, "Hmph, don't be so smug. Father has already led his men to conquer Tongtian Peak. I heard that you, you liar, were in seclusion here, but I've come here to teach you a lesson!"
"Hehe, my Qingyun Sect leader is highly skilled, and we also have senior uncles and grand-uncles from all the branches. Even if all the members of the Demonic Sect gathered, they wouldn't stand a chance!" Li Ling said confidently.