Chapter 346

Chapter 346: The Disciple Is Here

The Tianjiao people had run to the Ghostly Valley for some unknown reason to cause trouble for the evil weapons masters but were accidentally captured. Tang Qianqiu wanted to understand their real purpose for coming here and ordered his junior brothers to interrogate them. However, the Tianjiao people were not so easy to make talk, so nothing had been obtained from them until now.

The fact that the evil qi invading their bodies had no effect made Lou Yun even more certain that those captured were indeed Tianjiao people. Because all Tianjiao people shared a common trait: they harbored an immense power within their bodies that they were completely unaware of. Once the evil qi invaded, it should have been shattered by this force, so naturally, it did not affect them at all.

After Lou Yun quickly analyzed these issues in his mind, Tang Qianqiu had already turned and gone upstairs. To safely rescue the Tianjiao people, Lou Yun needed to first clarify how many evil weapons masters were inside the building. So he stealthily pressed his ear against the wall and walked a full circle around the structure.

After observing, Lou Yun shook his head in amazement. These evil weapons masters were too bold—with no guard stationed even at the main gate. Probably like the Huangfu Family in the Ghost Sea, they grew complacent relying on their geographical advantage. But this made it easier for him.

Even though, apart from Tang Qianqiu and his junior brother’s earlier conversation, no other voices could be heard inside, Lou Yun’s extraordinary hearing allowed him to roughly estimate based on nearly imperceptible breathing sounds. The entire building had eight rooms, three on the second floor and five on the first, with at least twelve people.

Lou Yun also recognized that this estimate might not be entirely accurate because he had checked the evil weapon realms of all twelve, including Tang Qianqiu himself. Tang Qianqiu was the highest at the Heavenly level one-star, while the others were below the Earth level.

What most worried Lou Yun and kept him from acting immediately was that he couldn’t pinpoint the location of Tang Qianqiu’s master. If his master was included, that made at least thirteen people. Clearly, Tang Qianqiu’s master must have a higher realm than Tang Qianqiu himself, and whether he was expertly hidden or his magical weapon realm was so advanced that even Lou Yun couldn’t detect it was uncertain.

Dragging this out was not an option. The longer it took, the worse it was for the Tianjiao people. So after a moment of thought, Lou Yun decided to launch his rescue mission.

Excluding Tang Qianqiu’s master, Tang Qianqiu was the strongest here. Though capturing the leader first made sense—Tang Qianqiu had to be dealt with—he was now a Heavenly level evil weapons master. When Lou Yun fought him at the Ancient Weapon Academy, Tang Qianqiu had only been an Earth level evil weapons master, and even then, Lou Yun hadn’t managed to defeat him.

Although Lou Yun was now a human-level magical weapons master and could manipulate heaven-and-earth energies, instantly knocking Tang Qianqiu out was highly unlikely. So Lou Yun resolved to rescue the hostages first and only afterward figure out how to deal with the evil weapons masters.

Before rescuing them, he had to wait for Tang Qianqiu to drop his guard, preferably after he started cultivating. That way, Lou Yun felt sure he could rescue the prisoners without waking Tang Qianqiu up.

So Lou Yun extended his hands, lightly placing them against the wall. A faint stream of heaven-and-earth energy emanated from his palms, tinged with a sticky force that allowed his body to cling to the wall. Like a giant lizard, he slowly crawled up towards the second floor.

From his earlier sweep, Lou Yun knew exactly where Tang Qianqiu’s room was, so he reached it almost instantly. He pressed his ear to the wall once more, listening intently for any sounds inside.

There were three breathing sounds: two were rough and rapid, while the other was extremely subtle with long intervals. Based solely on the breaths, Lou Yun deduced three people were inside—two with low cultivation levels, hence their heavy, urgent breathing, and the other naturally being Tang Qianqiu.

Gradually, an image formed in Lou Yun’s mind. He could see two small figures sitting cross-legged on the floor, while Tang Qianqiu stood between them with his hands clasped behind his back. Though their faces and expressions weren’t clear, Lou Yun inferred the seated figures were children, just starting cultivation with minimal experience, and Tang Qianqiu was overseeing their training.

No one in the room spoke, so Lou Yun couldn’t act further and had to wait patiently.

After roughly the time it took to burn an incense stick, one of the children finished cultivating. He let out a long exhalation, opened his eyes, and seeing Tang Qianqiu standing before him, he hurriedly scrambled to his feet, standing straight as a rod. "Master, you’re here!" he said.

Hearing that child’s voice, Lou Yun jolted in shock, eyes wide, and even his body trembled slightly. His sticky grip on the wall involuntarily clenched into claws, gouging deep into the stone.

What Tang Qianqiu said next fell on deaf ears, for Lou Yun’s mind echoed solely with that boy’s voice—a voice he knew well. Back when Lou Yun was framed by Han Tianxiao, he roamed with Wan Huier and unexpectedly befriended two people: the mountain-bandit chief Zuo Mingyang and the common weapons master Yi Jin Guan. Later, at Yi Jin Guan’s home, Lou Yun met two children Yi Jin Guan adopted, a boy named Yi Xuan and a girl named Yi Ru.

Those two children, like Lou Yun before the age of fifteen, were born unable to manifest a magical weapon and could only cultivate common weapons. They were incredibly clever and, after witnessing Lou Yun’s strength, persistently begged to become his disciples.

At the time, Lou Yun had to take Wan Huier to Granny Bai Cao to heal the scars on her face, so he didn’t bring the children. Instead, he sent them with Yi Jin Guan and Zuo Mingyang to his Lou Family home. But the Lou Family suffered turmoil then—taken by the Han family to the capital—leading to a complete loss of contact. Though Lou Yun later searched for them tirelessly, he never found them due to various reasons.

Now, in this Ghostly Valley building inhabited by evil weapons masters, Lou Yun had heard Yi Xuan’s voice! His shock reached an overwhelming level. How could Yi Xuan be here? And why was he calling Tang Qianqiu "master"? Had he become an evil weapons master? Another question arose: if Yi Xuan was here, the other child in the room must be Yi Ru. Where were Zuo Mingyang and Yi Jin Guan?

When Lou Yun steadied himself, these questions flooded his mind like a tide. He quietly inhaled and re-pressed his ear to the wall, eavesdropping on their conversation.

Just then, the other child finished cultivating. Like Yi Xuan, she rose and spoke with deep reverence to Tang Qianqiu: "Master, you’re here!" Her voice confirmed Lou Yun’s guess—she was Yi Ru!

Tang Qianqiu nodded lightly. "En, I’m here to check on you. Your training progress is good. To manifest an evil weapon in just a year is impressive—keep at it." After speaking, he turned and left the room. The two children sat down again but didn’t talk, as if they’d resumed cultivation.

Lou Yun waited patiently until Tang Qianqiu started cultivating and entered a meditative state. Then, like a lizard, he silently crawled down.

Standing still, Lou Yun’s heart churned with emotion. If not for hearing their voices firsthand, he couldn’t have believed they were here. Whatever the reason, he resolved to rescue both of them. After all, they were his disciples!

Once decided, Lou Yun noiselessly moved to another wall section. The building had numerous windows, one almost every meter, allowing the valley’s evil qi to flow freely inside, probably to aid the evil weapons masters’ cultivation. This arrangement also helped Lou Yun. He slipped in through a first-floor window and headed to the basement entry point from his earlier mental image.

The man who’d spoken with Tang Qianqiu earlier had already gone down to the basement, leaving the door open, so Lou Yun stepped inside and descended the stairs.

As he walked, Lou Yun carefully listened to the activity below. Inside, the sounds were clearer: shouts and curses flew, clearly threats aimed at forcing information from the Tianjiao people under torture.

Closing his eyes, Lou Yun visualized the scene from the sounds. The basement was empty, with chains embedded in the walls. Two people were bound there, their energy waves faint and weak. Three others stood before them, hurling the insults.

Though Lou Yun’s mental picture couldn’t show the captives’ faces, he could see their builds. Neither was Tie Sha or Wen Hou.