Cang Chen’s face twisted with fury, and he immediately declared that when that fat ball of fluff returned, he would toss it back into the Nine Nether Valley for a few more years of training!
Zheng Yun and Kong Yu stopped their bickering as the group gathered around the Sieve Mirror, observing Luo Qi’s current location.
After confirming that Luo Qi was temporarily out of danger, Ling Ye asked:
“Uncle Sect Master, why is cultivation level completely restricted there?”
Cang Chen: “To maintain peace and stability across the Six Realms, when immortals and gods from the Upper Realm descend to lower realms, their cultivation is indeed restricted.”
Moreover, the higher one’s cultivation, the greater the restriction—but it was generally never completely sealed.
Watching through the Sieve Mirror as Luo Qi tried again and again to gather the surrounding Spiritual Qi, only to fail each time, Cang Chen’s brow furrowed deeper and deeper.
But to reassure the others, he feigned nonchalance: “There are indeed some Minor Worlds that are rather unconventional. To prevent invasion by outsiders, they completely restrict the cultivation of those from other realms. Everyone need not worry—this is only temporary.”
Despite his words, the worry in Zheng Yun and the others’ eyes did not diminish in the slightest.
This was truly the first time they had encountered such a situation, and since it involved Luo Qi—especially given her special identity—they had to remain vigilant.
Thinking of Luo Qi’s background, Kong Yu couldn’t help but complain: “Senior Brother, I still think this decision of yours was too hasty. If something happens to Xiao Qi in the lower realm, who can bear that responsibility?”
“Xiao Qi is my only disciple—do you think I’m willing to let her go?” Cang Chen countered.
Kong Yu: “…”
Cang Chen: “This tribulation is written in her fate. Neither you nor I can stop it, so we might as well follow heaven’s will. Besides, the few of us old relics will guard this spot without leaving from this moment on, keeping constant watch over Xiao Qi’s situation. I refuse to believe that with the full might of our God-Hidden Sect, we cannot protect my little disciple!”
Ling Ye raised his eyes to gaze at Luo Qi in the mirror, his deep pupils slightly narrowing.
Suddenly, the fan handle that Zheng Yun had been idly waving spun in a small arc, its direction shifting from the Sieve Mirror toward the entrance of the great hall.
Ling Ye instantly understood his master’s meaning and made an excuse to step outside.
Meanwhile, Luo Qi was following the little furball on their way to find the Demon Race.
The furball looked like a cat but wasn’t quite one. It wagged its tail and trotted ahead with a lively bounce, occasionally craning its neck to glance back at Luo Qi, checking whether she was still following behind.
Its expression suggested not that it was going to find the Demon Clan’s young master on a mission, but rather that Luo Qi had brought it out for a stroll.
Suddenly, a flash of white streaked past not far ahead, vanishing completely in an instant—as if the white shadow had merely been an illusion.
Luo Qi realized that someone must have set up a Barrier.
She was about to warn the little one not to stir up trouble when she saw it dart forward diagonally with a “whoosh”!
At the very moment Xiao Bai touched the Barrier, the surface of the Sieve Mirror suddenly blazed with brilliant light, spinning rapidly in midair.
Cang Chen focused his mind to control the mirror’s radiance, but the old wounds in his body had yet to heal. The strain pulled at his heart meridian, causing him to be rebounded by the Divine Power within the Sieve Mirror. He spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Senior Brother!”
Kong Yu and Zheng Yun were greatly alarmed. They moved to either side of Cang Chen, channeling spiritual power into him to help ease the backlash.
The Sieve Mirror, however, had completely lost control. Its radiance faded entirely, and the mirror’s surface shrank back to the size of a palm, hovering before settling into Cang Chen’s hand.
Zheng Yun advised: “Senior Brother, the Sieve Mirror is an ancient divine artifact that consumes tremendous Divine Power. Your true essence was damaged in the last great battle, so you cannot sustain the Sieve Mirror for long. Please don’t forcefully activate it again anytime soon.”
On the other side.
After Xiao Bai and Luo Qi entered the Barrier, the protective shield began to crack and shatter lightly, until finally the spiritual power dispersed and the Barrier vanished completely.
The scene within the Barrier gradually revealed itself.
Seven or eight youths in black martial attire stood before them, dark patterns flowing across their clothes—clearly of considerable value.
Behind them stood several fierce tigers nearly two meters tall, eyes gleaming with murderous intent, sharp fangs bared as they stared hungrily at Luo Qi and Xiao Bai.
As if they might pounce at any moment and tear them apart.
Xiao Bai had spent years in the God-Hidden Sect, acting cute and spoiled beside Luo Qi—it had never encountered such beasts before.
Not to mention those youths radiating killing intent; just the sight of those ferocious tigers was enough to make Xiao Bai’s soft fur bristle like a hedgehog’s!
Without even taking the time to look at the black-clad youths before the tigers, the little creature bolted and buried itself headfirst into Luo Qi’s arms.
The entire ball of fluff trembled like a leaf in a storm.
Luo Qi gently patted its back in silent reassurance.
Meanwhile, the moment the black-clad youths saw Luo Qi’s face, they all drew in sharp breaths in unison.
Having traveled the demon and spirit realms with their young master for years, they had seen countless beauties—but none could compare to the one before them now.
She seemed like a jade sculpture meticulously carved by a master’s hand—beautiful beyond words, almost unreal.
The youth nearest to Luo Qi, gripping a curved blade, snapped out of his brief stupor.
In the next instant, the killing intent radiating from him suddenly intensified.
The curved blade in his hand gleamed with cold light, viscous blood dripping from its tip, drop by drop, onto the grass below.
“Oh, what a pretty little thing. What a shame—if you hadn’t let that Spirit Demon we’d been chasing for half a month slip away, we brothers might’ve spared your life and had you take good care of us.”
At those words, the others burst into lewd laughter, their gazes dripping with lust as they fixed on Luo Qi before them.
Just then, a gust of biting wind swept in from afar at breakneck speed.
A tall, straight-backed figure materialized before the group. The newcomer’s features were extraordinarily handsome, but those pitch-black eyes were sharp and icy cold.
Being stared at by him felt like being marked by a ten-day Asura—death could come at any moment.
The others immediately stifled their laughter and addressed him with utmost deference. “Brother Chen.”
Luo Qi met this man’s sinister gaze without batting an eye, her face betraying nothing, though inwardly she was already cursing the culprit nestled in her arms to high heaven.
The little culprit, Bai, transmitted to Luo Qi through the Sea of Consciousness in a trembling voice:
[Wuuu… M-Master, let’s get out of here, quick. This man is too dangerous—we can’t take him on. Wuuu…]
Luo Qi: “…”
Did she not know that?!
The problem was, because the two of them had barged in out of nowhere, the Barrier had been broken, and a Spirit Demon had gotten loose.
And apparently, it was a Spirit Demon they’d spent ages trying to capture. If they actually let the two of them go at a time like this, pigs would fly!
Yan Huaichen took two steps toward Luo Qi, his slender, well-defined fingers idly adjusting his wrist guard.
His fathomless eyes cast a faint, indifferent glance at her.
“So you’re the one who let my Spirit Demon go?”
His voice was cold and deep as ice, every syllable seemingly soaked in frost, carrying a bone-chilling menace.
With his approach, the very air around them seemed to freeze.
A long-forgotten sense of danger crept up her spine.
Luo Qi steadied herself, taking an imperceptible step back, doing her best to make her tone sound innocent and apologetic.
“It’s a misunderstanding…”
Yan Huaichen took in her movement at a glance, a cold smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. His five fingers curled into a claw, and with a single motion, he sucked the injured little Spirit Demon—too slow to escape from three meters away—directly into his palm.
Right in front of Luo Qi, with ruthless, decisive precision, he tore open the Spirit Demon’s body with his bare hands and ripped out its Demon Core!
Luo Qi: “!!”