Volume 3 Chapter 53

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Volume 3 Chapter 53: The Back Mountain

The back mountain of Jiuhua looked exactly the same as Xu Qingfan remembered. It remained peaceful and serene, seemingly unaffected by the chaos in the front mountain, with stretches of greenery, scattered blue stones, and a gentle breeze, painting a picture of paradise.

Seeing the back mountain still so tranquil, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but feel relieved as he hurried there.

"It seems that the changes in Jiuhua haven’t affected the back mountain. Ting’er should be fine, right?" Xu Qingfan thought to himself as he flew.

Even though he thought this, Xu Qingfan flew faster instead of slowing down because while Ting’er might be safe, his longing for home and Ting’er hadn’t diminished at all. In fact, as his worries lessened, his longing grew even stronger.

Having lived in the back mountain for decades, Xu Qingfan knew the paths extremely well, and in a matter of moments, he reached his hideout there.

But the scene before him gave Xu Qingfan a huge shock.

The "Three Element Array" that Xu Qingfan had set up two years ago was gone, and instead, the ground was a mess.

With the absence of the white mist outside the formation, Xu Qingfan could now clearly see the state of the two wooden cabins where he had lived for decades. One of the corners of the smaller cabin was destroyed!

The smaller cabin was the room Xu Qingfan had given to Ting’er!

Could it be that something happened to Ting’er during the Jiuhua turmoil after all?

Thinking of this, Xu Qingfan wasted no time and pushed his speed to the limit, instantly flashing into Ting’er’s room. There, he found that aside from the destroyed corner, everything was perfectly normal. The furniture had not fallen, the tables and chairs remained in place, and even the bedding was neatly arranged. Apart from the destroyed corner, only Ting’er was missing from the room.

Although Xu Qingfan was very worried about Ting’er’s safety at this moment, he forced himself to calm down. Having experienced so much, Xu Qingfan knew that anxiety would not help in this situation and might make him miss a crucial opportunity.

After forcing himself to calm down, Xu Qingfan began to carefully consider the possible events of the whole situation.

The destroyed corner was near the door. Xu Qingfan crouched down to investigate closely and found the area was charred, clearly burnt by some fire spell. There was a faint trace of demonic energy, obviously caused by Ting’er’s unique black demon fire.

Other than that spot, there were no other abnormalities, suggesting Ting’er unleashed the black demon fire when she discovered someone entered. Yet, not only did she fail to harm the intruder, but she was also subdued by them in an instant.

Although Ting’er was still only at the middle stage of the Qi Refining Stage, she could wield the powerful black demon fire with natural talent, mastering magical arts with impressive skill. Even ten years ago, Xu Qingfan was a bit inferior. Combined with her heightened senses after the modification by the demon orb, anyone who could subdue her in a moment must have at least a late stage of the Inedia Stage cultivation.

Beyond the late stage of the Inedia Stage, there are three realms: Lingji Stage, Condensed Core Stage, and Mahayana Stage.

Xu Qingfan first ruled out the possibility that it was the work of a Mahayana Stage master.

The "Three Element Array" he had set up before wasn’t extraordinary, but it was quite powerful, especially with the special formation disk enhancing it, significantly boosting its power. So, unless it was a Mahayana Stage master, no one could silently break this array.

However, Mahayana Stage masters are extremely rare in the whole cultivation world, with only about a dozen known, and even with those hidden ones, the number does not exceed fifty. On Jiuhua Mountain, the last master-level cultivator passed away 500 years ago.

Therefore, it’s basically impossible for a master-level expert to take action, and even if a Mahayana Stage master existed, their pride would prevent them from lowering themselves to target a little girl.

When the room was destroyed, Ting’er must have noticed the intruder breaking the array.

Reflecting on the chaotic state of the outer area of the original "Three Element Array," Xu Qingfan felt slightly reassured because if someone had to go through such lengths to break the array, it showed they also lacked Condensed Core Stage cultivation. If it were a Condensed Core Stage expert, they couldn’t do it silently but could certainly do it efficiently.

Considering all this, Xu Qingfan could basically determine that the intruder had Lingji Stage cultivation. Thinking of this, Xu Qingfan breathed a slight sigh of relief because if it was just a Lingji Stage cultivator acting, Xu Qingfan was confident he could safely retrieve Ting’er.

Although Xu Qingfan was just a middle stage Lingji Stage cultivator, his skills, magical tools, and battle experience were far superior to ordinary Lingji Stage cultivators. Not to mention he also had the secret weapon, the "Wutong branch."

Seeing that there was no evidence left in the room, Xu Qingfan strode out without even glancing at Yue Qingru’s grave, his mind solely focused on where the intruder might have taken Ting’er.

Since there was still Spirit Qi fluctuation in the corner of Tinger’s destroyed room, it was clear that she had not been taken long ago. However, for a Lingji Stage cultivator, this short time was enough to travel a hundred miles.

Furthermore, Xu Qingfan didn’t even know the direction the person had left.

Just as Xu Qingfan was about to use the "Floating Blossoms" technique to search the area within ten miles for any clues, he suddenly stopped because he distinctly heard a sound coming from another larger wooden house.

That was the room Xu Qingfan had been staying in.

Could it be that the intruder was hiding in the other room and hadn’t had time to leave?

Upon hearing the sound, Xu Qingfan swiftly dashed towards his room, channeling Spirit Qi into his artifact, the "Azure Spirit Arm Shield." A small blue dragon appeared, coiling around him to guard against any sudden attacks.

But what Xu Qingfan saw when he entered the room made his heart skip a beat.

Ting’er, who he thought had been taken, was lying on his bed with eyes closed, breathing steadily, unaware of his sudden entrance—clearly unconscious.

On the table in front of the bed, a pot and two cups were placed, and a young man leisurely poured and drank by himself. The sound Xu Qingfan heard was from the wine being poured into a cup.

Looking closely at the man’s appearance, it was shockingly Xu Qingfan’s junior brother, the murderer of Yue Qingru, who had been missing for a long time—Nangong Qingshan.

Seeing this scene, Xu Qingfan suddenly stopped in his tracks and then coldly stared at Nangong Qingshan.

Ten years ago, Xu Qingfan personally destroyed Nangong Qingshan’s abilities. With his spiritual sea shattered, his weakened body was less than that of an ordinary person. If he tried to capture Ting’er, it seemed unlikely.

Yet, based on the current scene, Ting’er’s unconscious state was obviously caused by him.

Thinking of this, Xu Qingfan began to observe Nangong Qingshan carefully but found that although Nangong Qingshan’s face was pale, he showed no signs of weakness, not appearing as if his spiritual sea had been destroyed.

Moreover, even though Nangong Qingshan had no trace of Spirit Qi or an imposing presence, Xu Qingfan distinctly sensed a very dangerous aura from him.

An aura that could make someone at the Lingji Stage feel threatened was definitely not simple.

Vaguely, Xu Qingfan felt that the dangerous aura seemed familiar, as if he had encountered it before, yet he couldn’t recall where.

"You’re here? A moment later than I expected." When Nangong Qingshan saw Xu Qingfan enter, there wasn’t a trace of tension or hatred on his face. Instead, he calmly finished the drink in his glass before looking up and smiling at Xu Qingfan.

"What have you done with Ting’er? Did you already anticipate my arrival? Does that mean you knew everything that happened at Jiuhua?" Xu Qingfan’s confusion grew as he observed Nangong Qingshan’s demeanor.

Without mentioning why Nangong Qingshan showed no sign of weakness after his spiritual energy was destroyed, or where the dangerous aura around him came from, just from his current expression and reactions, it was clear his personality had undergone a significant change.

If before, Nangong Qingshan’s gloom was outwardly visible, now he still appeared serious and somber, but had deeply buried his darkness within the depths of his heart.

In Xu Qingfan’s memory, Nangong Qingshan was the traitor who, twenty years ago, vowed revenge after being defeated, the scoundrel who ten years ago wore a cold smile after severely injuring Yue Qingru, and the villain who boasted before his duel with him.

Yet seeing Nangong Qingshan now, there was not a trace that connected him to words like traitor, scoundrel, or villain. It seemed he had turned over a new leaf, or had buried his former wickedness so deeply it couldn’t be detected, but it still ran through his bones.

If before Nangong Qingshan had used arrogance to mask his inner weakness, now he appeared serene due to a genuine self-confidence, a firm belief in his own power.

"Yes, I knew you would come. In fact, I have come to understand everything about you over the years, more than you might imagine." At this point, Nangong Qingshan paused briefly before continuing, "I had prepared a pot of light wine, thinking we could each have half, but you came so late that out of boredom, I drank it all myself."

As he spoke, Nangong Qingshan picked up the wine pot and shook it, deliberately avoiding Xu Qingfan’s second question.

"What have you done to Ting’er?" Xu Qingfan persistently asked.

"Ting’er? Is it this little girl?" After Xu Qingfan asked again, Nangong Qingshan finally responded directly, "My master is very interested in her, so he ordered me to protect her to avoid any incidents during Jiuhua’s chaos, and then bring this Ting’er to him."

When Xu Qingfan heard Nangong Qingshan mention his master, for some reason, he suddenly thought of the orchestrator on Huandao Island, and the "that person" mentioned by Zhang Hualing and Zhou Huahai.

However, Nangong Qingshan continued, "Originally, I was planning to leave with this little girl right away, but then I realized that we haven’t seen each other for so long, so I stayed here to catch up with you."

At this point, Nangong Qingshan seemed very pleased as he smiled at Xu Qingfan.

But Xu Qingfan was well aware of what Nangong Qingshan meant by catching up.

Nangong Qingshan, this enemy he had tangled with for decades, had come to seek revenge today.