Upon hearing this, Qin Li instantly thought of his fiancée, Xiao Muqing.
He wondered how Muqing was doing in the Guiyuan Sect. She must be under a lot of pressure, having to support an entire Sect by herself.
"Young Master Qin?"
Qin Li came back to his senses and replied, "I am indeed betrothed, but I haven't seen her in a long time."
Ning Shuying's heroic eyes flashed with an almost imperceptible hint of sadness as she heard his words and downed a cup of wine.
"The one capable of being betrothed to Young Master Qin must be the Young Miss of some immortal Dao Sect, right?"
Qin Li smiled, not mentioning the matter again. As they exchanged drinks, without using their spiritual energy to dispel the effects of the alcohol, they quickly became quite tipsy.
Qin Li was still fine; he had drunk a lot of spirit wine with Zhou Dage on the mountain, so he wasn't very drunk. But Ning Shuying was already overwhelmed by the alcohol, her ears even turning completely red.
Leaving the Luoning Inn, Qin Li carried Ning Shuying, rushing through the deserted night.
With a warm, jade-like beauty in his arms, Qin Li couldn't help but feel his mind wander, but then he remembered his Cultivation of the "Qing Ni Jue." Zhou Dage had already informed him of the side effects of the "Qing Ni Jue"; he couldn't engage in sexual activity before reaching the Nascent Soul realm.
If he were to force it, he would surely suffer Qi Deviation, and his hard-earned Cultivation would turn to naught.
Trying his best to block out the warm sensations coming from all over her body, Qin Li felt Ning Shuying's hot breath on his neck and once again quickened his pace. After sending her back to the Luoning Inn a street away, he carefully helped her cover herself with the quilt.
Taking a deep breath, Qin Li hurriedly left.
After he left, Ning Shuying opened her eyes, her gaze clear and lucid...
Taiwu Mountain, Guiyuan Sect.
Xiao Muqing, dressed in a splendid brocade robe, sat on the main seat in the deliberation hall, her expression solemn, her Aura majestic.
She listened to the various unfavorable reports from the Elders, quickly identifying the most feasible solutions to minimize the loss of Guiyuan Sect's resources.
After the discussion, one Elder remained.
"Sect Master, the Tieshan Sect is once again stirring up trouble within our Sect's territory. This Tieshan Sect is an affiliated Sect of the Qiankun Sword Sect. I'm afraid the Qiankun Sword Sect intends to take advantage of our Guiyuan Sect's weakness to annex us."
"Wait a little longer." Xiao Muqing did not say much, but this Elder had already guessed what the new Sect Master was waiting for.
"Sect Master, even if the Peak Master of Yin Yang Peak has already achieved a Nascent Soul Breakthrough, the Old Sword Master of the Qiankun Sword Sect also recently advanced to a Nascent Soul mighty figure. That Old Sword Master and Qin Li's father have old grievances. This time, after coming out of seclusion, he has frequently targeted our Guiyuan Sect, most likely because of your past engagement with Qin Li."
"Sect Master, why won't you cancel the engagement with Qin Li? The Old Sect Master is no longer here, and our Guiyuan Sect doesn't even have a Core Formation realm cultivator now. How can we participate in the struggles between two Nascent Soul mighty figures?"
"Withdrawing now should still be possible, Sect Master, please think it over."
Xiao Muqing listened to the Elder's seemingly heartfelt advice, remained silent for a moment, then said firmly, "You may leave. I have my own plans for this matter."
Seeing this, the old man could only bow and withdraw.
In the spacious hall, Xiao Muqing rubbed her brow, thinking about the myriad affairs of the Sect.
Power, she needed power. As long as she could achieve a Core Formation Breakthrough, a large portion of the ill-intentioned forces surrounding the Guiyuan Sect would instantly diminish.
...
Night, Qing Mountain Luoning Inn.
After a day of tracking down the demon and setting traps with Ning Shuying, Qin Li was just about to go to sleep when he heard a commotion downstairs.
He pushed open the door and saw a yamen constable rushing up to the second floor, with the waiter trying to stop him from behind, but to no avail.
"Young Master Qin, that demon has appeared. Constable Ning invites you to come over."
Upon hearing this, Qin Li took out his long sword, placing it behind his back, and said,
"Lead the way."
The two quickly rushed to the scene of the incident.
Half an hour later, the two arrived in front of a large courtyard belonging to a rice shop owner. Qin Li spread out his Divine Sense and saw numerous ghostly figures inside the courtyard. Constable Ning, dressed in plain clothes, was locked in an intense battle with a man with a gloomy face and emaciated body.
Qin Li immediately soared forward, drawing his sword and flying into the courtyard where the two were fighting.
"Constable Ning, I'm here to lend you a hand."
"Young Master Qin, you've come at just the right time. Just get rid of the evil spirit harassing me, and this demon won't be my match."
The two communicated with Divine Sense, cooperating perfectly, and soon forced Zheng Sanzhen and his green-faced evil spirit into a retreat.
"Heh heh heh, since you all want me dead, then let's all go to hell together!"
Zheng Sanzhen suddenly coughed up three mouthfuls of black blood. A set of silver needles was taken out by him at some unknown point. Under the control of his Divine Sense, these 49 silver needles precisely pierced into his 49 extraordinary meridians.
In an instant, Zheng Sanzhen's flesh and blood completely disappeared, leaving only a layer of skin clinging to his bones, making him look even more terrifying than a vengeful ghost.
The green-faced evil spirit also became extremely berserk at this moment. Even though Qin Li's sword had cut off half of its ghostly body, it still forcibly flew to Zheng Sanzhen's side, and then, the man and the ghost began to Fusion.
Although Ning Shuying had never seen such an evil technique, years of combat experience told her that she absolutely could not let the Fusion of this man and ghost complete.
The Xiu Chun Saber in her hand glowed brightly, and then a majestic and pure white Saber Qi fiercely slashed towards Zheng Sanzhen's body.
After unleashing this attack, Ning Shuying's internal spiritual energy instantly decreased by one-third.
She stood leaning on her saber, her Divine Sense probing, only to find that Zheng Sanzhen still had a breath left, and at the same time, his Aura was continuously strengthening.
"Qin Li, quickly!"
"Understood."
Seeing that the battle had reached its most critical moment, Qin Li no longer held back. With one strike of Autumn Wind, hundreds of sword shadows condensed into one, piercing completely through Zheng Sanzhen's skin-and-bone body like an incomparably sharp long spear.
With a flick of the sword tip, that ugly body, resembling a vengeful ghost, turned into flying ash and settled to the ground.
After Ning Shuying used her Divine Sense to confirm that Zheng Sanzhen had no Aura left, she quickly stepped forward and carefully examined all traces left after Zheng Sanzhen's death.
After confirming there were no omissions and that the ghost-raising demon was completely dead, Ning Shuying breathed a sigh of relief.
"What are Constable Ning's plans next?"
Qin Li knew that Zheng Sanzhen's death absolutely did not mean the end of the case; the important thing was to investigate who was behind him.
"I plan to return to the Divine Constable Gate immediately to report this case. Zheng Sanzhen's power came too strangely; he achieved Foundation Establishment so quickly in just one month. The person behind him is very likely a Core Formation Devil Head."
"We can't investigate this with our strength alone. We can only ask my Master to come here for a trip."
"That's good too. If Constable Ning's Master cannot come due to something, I can also return to Luoyun Temple for assistance."
After the two discussed a few more words, they were just about to leave together.
A pitch-black curtain of sky suddenly rose from all four sides of the courtyard, trapping the two in the dark curtain.
A sinister voice echoed from all directions.
"Hehehe, who said you could leave?"
Qin Li stabbed the black curtain with his sword, but the black curtain remained motionless.
"Who's playing tricks there? If you have the guts, come out!"
Taking advantage of Qin Li's words, Ning Shuying quickly tried various methods to contact the Divine Constable Gate.
But all the messages sent were like stones sinking into the sea, with no replies...