"Oh, okay."
Bai Tu felt the information was within reach, but with someone watching, he couldn't get his hands on it.
After finding the information on the Black Soul Grass, he turned to see a man in black waiting not far away. The man in black frowned and said, "Why are you dawdling? Have you been outside so long that you've forgotten how to work at Cangyuan Pavilion?"
"Hurry up and deliver the information," the man in black ordered again.
"Yes."
Bai Tu had no choice but to watch the tantalizingly close information slip further away.
This man in black was named Xie Yunsun.
He was a supervisor in Cangyuan Pavilion, tasked with overseeing the archives. All documents taken out had to be checked by him to prevent any mistakes.
As for someone trying to steal the information?
That was impossible.
For those in Cangyuan Pavilion, there was absolute trust in everyone.
Those who could enter Cangyuan Pavilion were carefully selected by Lin Qingyi, a subordinate of the Cangyuan Realm Master in Tianhai City.
Their loyalty was guaranteed.
They had all been tested.
There were no problems.
With Xie Yunsun around, Bai Tu found he had no chance to succeed.
So, at night, Bai Tu wrote to Li Changqing, explaining the difficulty of obtaining Yue Hanjun's information and that it would take time. He hoped Li Changqing would not be anxious.
The Lightning Sparrow that Zhen Wanshou had trained for Li Changqing also quickly returned from Medical King Valley.
The Lightning Sparrow reported the situation of Medical King Valley to Zhen Wanshou.
Medical King Valley seemed unchanged, but the Lightning Sparrow did not find the figure of the Longevity Sect leader. It seemed Mu Hengsheng was also worried about the safety of the sect leader and had him leave first.
But Mu Hengsheng himself was not worried at all.
Even if Mu Qingge spoke out, who would believe her?
Even if someone did believe and came to Medical King Valley, they would find nothing.
Mu Hengsheng continued to search for Mu Qingge, hoping to bring her back, but there was no trace of her.
As for Yin Changli.
He had been placed under house arrest by the people of Medical King Valley in a separate courtyard.
Yin Changli, not fully aware of what had happened, felt uneasy about his master's absence from Medical King Valley and his own confinement.
He tried to escape several times but never found an opportunity.
As time passed, Yin Changli was certain something had happened to Medical King Valley.
But he didn't know what and couldn't find out. His meals were delivered daily, many fellow disciples guarded the door, and none of them answered his questions.
They just told him to stay put and not make their job difficult.
This made him anxious.
Sitting cross-legged in his room, he placed a Longevity Wood carving of the Xuanyuan Sword on his knees. At this moment, Yin Changli was not practicing swordsmanship but still comprehending the Xuanyuan Sword.
Yin Changli found that each time he contemplated the Xuanyuan Sword, he gained new insights into the way of the sword.
The artistic conception contained within the Xuanyuan Sword seemed endless, revealing a world of infinite possibilities.
Even without practicing swordsmanship, Yin Changli felt his skills advancing rapidly.
"Phew."
After his contemplation, Yin Changli opened his eyes to find it was dusk.
He sighed lightly, feeling somewhat hungry, and stepped outside to the courtyard.
But when Yin Changli reached the courtyard and saw the empty stone table, he was taken aback.
How could there be no food on the table after a whole day of cultivation?
His fellow disciples always brought him meals.
"Hey!"
Yin Changli went to the door and knocked, unable to help saying, "It's one thing to not let me out, but now you're not even feeding me. Do you want to starve me to death?"
"Is anyone listening?"
Yin Changli kept banging on the wooden door.
But after a while, there was no sound from outside.
It was very, very quiet.
"No one?"
Yin Changli was surprised. Usually, several people watched him from outside. Why was there no one now?
That was a good opportunity.
Yin Changli pushed the door, which was still locked from the outside.
He could hear the clanking of chains.
So, Yin Changli went to the wall, leaped over it, and landed stealthily on the ground, trying not to make a sound. He looked around and indeed, there was no one.
"It's really strange."
"Could it be that they no longer need to confine me?"
Yin Changli muttered to himself.
"But why is Medical King Valley so quiet today?" Yin Changli felt something was off today because he didn't see any adults, and he didn't even hear the sound of birds.
It shouldn't be like this normally.
Walking down the steps, Yin Changli still saw no one. The usually bustling Medical King Valley was deathly still, as if devoid of people.
This feeling made Yin Changli increasingly uneasy.
From being cautious at first, Yin Changli began to run quickly.
He reached the residential area where disciples lived, which was usually bustling, but now there was no one in sight.
The herb garden, the square, and other places were all empty, the entire Medical King Valley seemed to have vanished.
This made Yin Changli feel a sense of horror.
As the sun set, the whole Medical King Valley was plunged into darkness, with no light anywhere, only the sound of the wind and cranes.
The vast Medical King Valley had not a single living creature.
How could this be?
What had happened?
At this moment, Yin Changli felt a chill all over, as if he were back in the cold ancient temple in his dreams.
"Is anyone there?"
Yin Changli mustered his courage and shouted.
His voice carried far, but the response was still a deathly silence.
"There must be someone on Medicine King Peak, the Valley Master must be there!"
Yin Changli hurried towards Medicine King Peak.
At this point, the appearance of anyone would make Yin Changli feel better.
Even if it was someone he usually disliked.
Yin Changli lit a torch and stumbled towards the foot of Medicine King Peak.
When he saw that Medicine King Peak was also pitch black, his heart sank.
Could it be that even Medicine King Peak was empty?
Even the Valley Master was not there?
Looking at the stairway, Yin Changli hesitated whether to go up and check or to turn around and leave the sect immediately.
Yin Changli was caught in a dilemma.
"Damn it, afraid of what!" After pondering for a while, Yin Changli slapped his thigh and then started climbing the mountain.
The mountain path was eerily quiet, the wind blowing, causing the flames on the torch to crackle.
Medicine King Peak wasn't very tall, and it usually took only a quarter of an hour to reach the top. But this time, it took Yin Changli almost an hour.
All the caves he passed were empty.
At the summit of Medicine King Peak, it was pitch black all around.
Still no sign of anyone.
When Yin Changli was about to look around, he stumbled and nearly fell.
"What's this!"
When Yin Changli turned around and shone his torch, his face turned ashen!
There was a body lying on the ground.
"The Seventh Elder…"
It was the body of the Seventh Elder of Medical King Valley. He lay on the ground with a look of horror, his hand reaching forward as if trying desperately to crawl away, but in the end, he couldn't escape and died here.
Yin Changli sat on the ground, his face full of shock. He could tell that the Seventh Elder must have seen something terrifying before he died.
The Seventh Elder was at the peak of the innate realm. What on earth had happened in Medical King Valley? Such a powerful figure as the Seventh Elder died here, and there were no wounds on his body.
It was as if he had died inexplicably.
"What's going on, what exactly happened?"
At this moment, Yin Changli couldn't help but have a terrifying thought.
There was no sign of life in the entire Medical King Valley. Could it be that everyone was dead?
Yin Changli trembled as he raised the torch in his hand, using the faint light to look into the distance, but at this moment, he did not see more bodies on Medicine King Peak, which calmed his heart a bit, but he did not dare to relax his vigilance.
Just as Yin Changli was about to get up, he suddenly felt a shadow behind him.
"Who's there!"
Without any hesitation, Yin Changli drew his sword.
He knew that even a moment's hesitation could mean death.
Yin Changli's sword was swift, sweeping through with a special flair.
Unfortunately, his fine swordsmanship was easily blocked by the opponent's two fingers, and Yin Changli was shocked.
His sword was effortlessly parried.
He was doomed!
Why was his curiosity so strong?
He should have left Medical King Valley earlier, and maybe he wouldn't have to die here now.
The person in front of him was probably the murderer who killed the Seventh Elder!
"Master, farewell."
Yin Changli slowly closed his eyes and let go of the sword in his hand.
"You're giving up your sword?"
The voice made Yin Changli feel somewhat familiar.
Yin Changli then slowly opened his eyes, and with the help of the torchlight, he finally saw who it was.
"Mr. Changqing!"
Seeing Li Changqing, Yin Changli burst into tears.
It was too good to see a living person in Medical King Valley, especially since it was Yin Changli's most respected person.
With Li Changqing there, Yin Changli felt an unprecedented sense of security!
"Mr. Changqing, why are you here?"
Yin Changli asked with tears, almost like a child who had found his father.
"I came to pick you up. Mu Qingge is with me. She was worried about you and asked me to find you." Li Changqing finished speaking, looked around, and then said, "But how could Medical King Valley become like this? It wasn't like this a day ago. Now there's not a single person to be found."
"I don't know either. It was like this when I came out at night."
"I found the Seventh Elder's body here, but his body is strange. There are no external injuries, but there's no sign of life." Yin Changli pointed to the Seventh Elder's body on the ground.
Li Changqing came over to look and found the Seventh Elder's death indeed mysterious.
Li Changqing extended his Divine Soul to probe inside the body and found that the internal organs were intact and there were no signs of poisoning.
Yet, Li Changqing still discovered the problem.
Inside the Seventh Elder's body, the life force seemed to have been cut off abruptly, as if his lifespan had been drained away.
And because the lifespan was drained too quickly, the body didn't even have time to react, not even aging.
"How did they do it?" Li Changqing also felt it was incredible, wondering what could instantly cut off the life force of a peak innate realm expert.
"What's ahead?" Li Changqing looked forward.
"Ahead is the Medicine King Pavilion, where the Pavilion Master lives, and behind it is the forbidden area of Medical King Valley, the Ancient Medicine Cave, which only the Valley Master is qualified to enter." Yin Changli introduced to Li Changqing.
"The Ancient Medicine Cave?"
Li Changqing remembered this name; the Ancient Medicine Cave was the forbidden area of Medical King Valley. Even Mu Qingge was not qualified to enter, but she had seen a young man there as a child, who was the leader of the Longevity Sect.
In that case, there might be some clues in the Ancient Medicine Cave.
"Let's go, take a look." Li Changqing said to Yin Changli.
"Oh, okay." Yin Changli nodded and then followed closely behind Li Changqing, a little scared.
Upon entering the Medicine King Pavilion, they found it littered with corpses.
The vast Medicine King Pavilion was strewn with countless bodies, their deaths similar to the Seventh Elder's, with no injuries but completely devoid of life.
The scene was chaotic, the entire Medicine King Pavilion looked as if it had been plundered, with tables and chairs collapsed.
Items were scattered all over the floor.
And from the scene, there were signs of a battle.
It seemed that the disciples of Medical King Valley had fought something.
Seeing his familiar fellow disciples lying in disarray, Yin Changli's feelings were very complicated.
Just a few days apart, and now they were forever separated.
Li Changqing, seeing so many bodies, also sighed lightly. He recognized a few disciples from the time they participated in the Ghost Devil trial.
Now they were all dead here.
"Let's go, check the Ancient Medicine Cave."
Li Changqing's voice was a bit cold; he wanted to see what had happened.
But Li Changqing could guess that this had something to do with the Longevity Sect.
Apart from the Longevity Sect, who else could commit such a cruel act?
As they walked from the Medicine King Pavilion to the Ancient Medicine Cave behind the mountain, they saw countless more bodies, all disciples of Medical King Valley.
The sight was truly shocking.
"Stay behind me, be careful." Li Changqing reminded Yin Changli, as he was not sure if the thing that could instantly cut off life was still around.
If it was, they had to be cautious.
"Oh, okay."
Without saying much, Yin Changli knew to hide behind Li Changqing.
All the way were bodies, their deaths without exception the same, not only the disciples of Medical King Valley but also other elders.
Until the two reached the entrance of a cave deep in the sacred mountain, the bodies continued to stretch into the cave.
They didn't know how many more were inside.
Li Changqing and Yin Changli entered.
When they saw the situation inside the cave, Li Changqing and Yin Changli were truly shocked by the scene before them.
The Ancient Medicine Cave was definitely not small, a vast and spacious place, but now it was piled with corpses.
They thought there were already many bodies outside, but compared to the Ancient Medicine Cave, it was nothing.
There were so many bodies that there was barely any space to step.
And in the Ancient Medicine Cave, there were several Night Pearls on the ceiling, illuminating the cave clearly.
The treasures of the Ancient Medicine Cave were gone, and the surrounding shelves had also collapsed.
All that could be seen were the bodies of these disciples.
"Could it be that all the people of Medical King Valley died here?" Yin Changli looked extremely grim at this moment.
Who could be so cruel to annihilate the entire Medical King Valley?
Li Changqing did not speak, but seeing such a cruel scene, his killing intent towards the Longevity Sect grew stronger!
In the future, upon encountering anyone from the Longevity Sect, there was only one word!
Kill!
Kill these inhumane beasts!
"It seems everyone was called to the Ancient Medicine Cave." Li Changqing analyzed, "In the Ancient Medicine Cave, they were killed, and the bodies outside ran out from there, but unfortunately, they still couldn't escape death and died on the way."
"The Seventh Elder ran the farthest but still died on Medicine King Peak."
Li Changqing said to Yin Changli.
"That must be it." Yin Changli could think of no other explanation.
The two continued to delve deeper into the Ancient Medicine Cave, which had been plundered empty, leaving nothing behind.
When they reached the deepest part of the Ancient Medicine Cave, the two finally saw a shocking scene.
They found signs of someone living there for a long time.
There was also a cage.
The cage was the size of a small mountain, as if something had been kept there, but at the moment, Li Changqing couldn't tell what had been inside the cage.
However, Li Changqing understood that the leader of the Longevity Sect had lived here and kept something terrifying.
The death of the entire Medical King Valley was likely due to whatever was kept here.
What could it be?
"Mr. Changqing, look!"
Just then, Yin Changli exclaimed.
Li Changqing turned to him upon hearing Yin Changli's voice and saw Yin Changli looking up in surprise at the ceiling.
Li Changqing also looked up and saw that the ceiling of the Ancient Medicine Cave was very high, at least a dozen meters, and there was a scroll hanging at the top of the cave.
"A scroll?"
Li Changqing used his Dragon Seizing Hand to grab the scroll.
"Mr. Changqing, be careful." Yin Changli quickly reminded him.
Remembering the incident at the Nanshan Mine, where they were sucked into the cold ancient temple after opening an ancient painting and were cursed with Ghost Resentment, Li Changqing felt it was better to be cautious.
Then he moved the painting a bit further away.
With the Dragon Seizing Hand holding the painting, Li Changqing levitated a sword from the ground and cut the rope on the scroll.
The next moment, an ancient painting appeared before them.
The painting looked very, very old.
Just by looking at the colors, one could tell it was from a long time ago.
When they saw what was on the painting, they were also quite surprised.
It was a flower.
A very strange flower.
The flower had three colors, unevenly distributed, but looking at it seemed to have a magical power that attracted people.
The flower bloomed on a blood-red cliff, with desolation in the distance and nothing around, just this one flower, lonely blooming there.
"The Three Lives Flower."
Li Changqing now knew what this flower was.
"So this is the Three Lives Flower." Yin Changli also realized.
Li Changqing first heard about the legend of the Three Lives Flower from Mu Qingge.
Consuming the Three Lives Flower allows one to live three lives with memories intact.
If one finds another Three Lives Flower in the third life and consumes it, one can achieve immortality.
However, Mu Qingge's knowledge was not comprehensive, as the Three Lives Flower was just a legendary thing. Whether it could really grant immortality, Li Changqing was still skeptical.
After all, the Three Lives Flower seemed to have other uses.
Like Lu Qiaoqiao.
Her previous life was the Celestial Sword Immortal Li Xuanxi, who had also consumed a Three Lives Flower. In her second life, Lu Qiaoqiao used another Three Lives Flower to revive her previous life, Li Xuanxi.
So the Three Lives Flower, such a treasure, its exact effects are probably not widely known.
"Could it be that the leader of the Longevity Sect also consumed the Three Lives Flower?" Li Changqing couldn't help but think.
And when Li Changqing looked at the signature on the painting, his eyes narrowed.
Gu Hanxi.
"The previous generation's Painting Sage."
Li Changqing remembered this name, once renowned throughout the Cangyuan Realm.
The first among the Painting Sages.
Called the Painting Sage.
Could it be that the leader of the Longevity Sect in his previous life was Gu Hanxi?
But even so, Li Changqing still doubted that things were not so simple.
The leader of the Longevity Sect in this life always appeared as a young man and hadn't aged for decades.
It didn't quite make sense.
Or perhaps, was there some side effect of the Three Lives Flower?
"Strange At that moment, Yin Changli looked around and then said, "Sir, on our way here, it seems we haven't seen the Valley Master's body."
Proofreader & Editor: Lotas