The head master has a new female apprentice

Chapter 371 Zhou Qing is probably in grave danger (6k views, please vote for me at the end of the month!)
"Young man, do you need any help?" Sikong Yan stepped out from the void with a smile, a playful curve on the corner of his mouth beneath the mask.

Looking at him, Zhou Qing couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration.

Despite years of planning going awry, this person can still talk and laugh with ease; his mentality is truly remarkable.

Before he could answer, Sikong Yan suddenly grabbed his wrist: "Two Spirit Severing Realm experts are chasing us. If you get caught, it won't be good if you betray me!"

"What good would it do to confess?" Zhou Qing said. "You have nothing to hold you back."

"That's not quite right." A sly glint flashed in Sikong Yan's eyes. "I prefer to operate in the shadows. If my identity is exposed, how can this game continue?"

Before he finished speaking, he raised his left hand, fingers pointing like a sword, and was about to tear through space—

"Lock!"

A loud shout rang out from behind.

Xuanyuan Hao held a bronze seal in his hand, on which nine dragons coiled, radiating a dazzling golden light.

The space within a radius of a hundred feet instantly froze like iron, even the flow of spiritual energy was halted.

Sikong Yan's pupils contracted slightly: "Nine Dragons Locking the Sky Seal? It's actually a secret treasure that can restrain the Spirit Severing Realm. Wasn't it damaged many years ago?"

Without a second thought, he grabbed Zhou Qing's wrist and shot forward.

The two pursuers followed closely, maintaining a perfect distance to ensure that the other could not tear through space.

Whenever the distance shortened, Sikong Yan would throw out several purple flames without turning his head.

The flames transformed into the shape of a demonic lotus in the air, blasting the pursuit route into pieces.

“Activating this treasure requires consuming the essence of their primordial spirit; they definitely won’t last long.”

Sikong Yan spoke very quickly, and hurriedly asked, "Where is the nearest node to the Hidden Dragon Path?"

Zhou Qing dared not be careless. His mind raced, and spiritual energy at his fingertips intertwined like threads, instantly outlining the phantom of a miniature teleportation array in the void.

As the array patterns flowed, they clearly pointed to the northeast direction.

"Northeast!" he shouted in a low voice.

A glint flashed in Sikong Yan's eyes, and a smile curved his lips: "Good!"

Before he finished speaking, his purple robe billowed, and a dazzling purple-gold light suddenly burst forth from his body.

The two suddenly increased their speed, leaving a long trail of purple-gold flames in the air.

Behind them, Xuan Yuanhao and Xuan Yuansha's attacks became increasingly fierce.

Golden dragon shadows, blood-red blade light, and cyan sword energy—various supernatural powers of the Spirit Severing Realm poured down like a torrential rain.

But Sikong Yan changed his strategy at this moment. He stopped trying to defend and instead poured all his spiritual power into his escape speed.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Three golden arrows grazed past Zhou Qing's temples, the force of the wind leaving several bloody marks on his face.

Sikong Yan, carrying Zhou Qing, moved like a fish through the gaps in the attacks, sometimes suddenly changing direction, sometimes plummeting down, dodging all the attacks from the Spirit Severing Realm.

“Old fogies, come on if you can catch up!” Sikong Yan didn’t forget to turn back and taunt, his voice full of mockery.

But Zhou Qing could feel that the hand holding his wrist was trembling slightly.

Clearly, such focused dodging consumes an enormous amount of spiritual energy.

At this moment, many people in the inner city looked up in confusion at the sky.

There, three streaks of light vanished in an instant, but wherever they passed, the clouds were torn apart, and the air emitted a sharp, explosive sound.

Sure enough, half an incense stick later, Xuan Yuanhao's face turned pale, and large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He had no choice but to hand over the ancient seal to Xuan Yuansha.

His speed suddenly decreased, clearly due to overexertion.

"The opportunity has arrived!" Sikong Yan's eyes lit up. "Listen, there's only one of those treasures. The fact that you were able to return alive from the border in such a short time means you have a special method to tear through space."

He explained quickly, "Because I'm not sure if Xuanyuan Shuo has returned. If he intercepts us, we'll both be in danger."

"Now, let's go our separate ways! Don't worry, that treasure will definitely be used on me."

Before Zhou Qing could respond, Sikong Yan suddenly swept him up in his arms, his muscles bulging, and hurled him like a javelin towards the northeast: "Good luck, kid!"

Zhou Qing felt a gentle force enveloping his entire body, and the wind whistled past his ears.

The last thing he saw was Sikong Yan's back as he turned and sped away in the other direction.

In the distance, Xuan Yuan Sha's face was ashen: "All three pills are in the hands of that man in green! This Xuan Yi Spirit Slayer has been covering for him from the very beginning!"

Xuanyuan Hao wiped the golden blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes turning sinister: "This person could have easily escaped on his own, but he insisted on taking that kid with him. The whereabouts of the pills are quite obvious."

"Not necessarily." Xuan Yuan Sha narrowed his eyes. "Perhaps this person is also a Spirit Severing Realm cultivator in disguise, just to deceive us."

"Split up and chase them!" Xuan Yuanhao decided immediately.

The two separated instantly.

Without the Nine Dragons Locking the Void Seal's restriction, Xuan Yuanhao directly tore through space, and the next second, his figure appeared like a ghost directly in front of Zhou Qing!

"Boom!" Golden dragon energy sealed off all directions. Zhou Qing abruptly stopped, his expression under the mask changing drastically.

Xuanyuan Hao stood in mid-air, nine golden dragon phantoms swirling around him, his killing intent almost tangible.

"The three-colored magic array can explode so easily, it's truly extravagant..."

Before Xuan Yuanhao could finish speaking, Zhou Qing flipped his hand, and four ancient array flags of different colors and an array plate engraved with tortoise shell patterns appeared out of thin air.

This is the perfect-level four-color magic array [Xuanjia Guiyuan Array] that I obtained when I killed Yan Sen in Kunpeng Palace.

When I gathered ten thousand spirit seals to advance to the fourth level of array master, I also used it for protection.

"burst!"

At that moment, Zhou Qing threw out the array plate without hesitation. The four-colored array flags unfolded in the air on their own, instantly forming a giant array that covered a hundred feet.

As the array patterns flowed, a phantom image of a black tortoise, as large as a mountain, condensed and took shape within the array.

The black tortoise was dark gold in color, with ancient runes covering its carapace, and each shell shimmering with a metallic luster.

"Roar--!!!"

The black tortoise raised its head and let out a deafening roar, the sound of which shattered all the clouds within a hundred miles.

Its four feet tread on air, and each step it takes creates ripples in the space.

But the next moment, the cracks on the array plate spread rapidly, and the phantom of the Xuan Turtle began to twist violently, emitting a heart-wrenching wail.

Xuanyuan Hao's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly realized something, cursing, "You madman!"

He retreated rapidly, his hands quickly forming hand seals as he tried to tear through space and escape.

Just as his fingertips touched the spatial barrier—

The phantom of the Xuan Turtle exploded with a roar, and a four-colored sphere of light with a diameter of over a thousand feet instantly expanded outwards.

The four energies of blue, red, white, and black intertwine and entwine, forming a destructive spiritual storm.

The air at the center of the explosion was completely sucked out, creating a brief vacuum that even swallowed up sound.

The destructive light waves rushing towards him were reflected in Xuan Yuanhao's pupils, and his gesture of tearing space was abruptly stopped.

He instantly realized that an explosion of this scale would inevitably cause spatial turbulence, and rashly escaping into the void would likely result in getting lost in the spatial rift!

"Nine Dragons Supporting the Sky!"

At the critical moment, Xuanyuan Hao bit his tongue and spat a mouthful of blood onto the jade pendant on his chest.

Nine golden dragons soared into the sky from his body, connecting head to tail to form a spherical barrier.

Each golden dragon let out a painful roar, its scales peeling off piece by piece under the impact of energy.

"puff--!"

The barrier shattered after only three breaths, and Xuan Yuanhao was struck as if by lightning, spitting out a mouthful of golden blood.

He was thrown hundreds of feet by the aftershocks of the explosion, his dragon crown shattered, his hair disheveled, and his magnificent dragon robe torn to shreds.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qing had already fled thousands of miles away using the recoil from the explosion.

Silver light flashed beneath his feet as he pushed the Silver Dragon Step to its limit, leaving a lingering silver afterimage in the void with each step.

The terrifying explosion behind him sent chills down his spine, but he dared not turn around for even a second.

He once crafted a three-colored protective array for the Taiqing Sect. The sect leader's senior brother alone spent several months collecting various materials in Lingyun Prefecture, and the cost was enormous.

Not to mention the countless sleepless nights he endured carving out the array patterns.

Needless to say, the four-color magic array is an invaluable treasure with no market value.

He was certainly heartbroken, but keeping the [Mysterious Armor Returning to Origin Formation] on his body would only be a disaster.

It cannot be sold for cash, and there are rarely opportunities to use it. Instead, one must always be on guard against being discovered by the Yan family.

Instead of living in constant fear, we should make the most of what we have.

It's worth it to trade it for my life today.

"Not fast enough." Zhou Qing's eyes flashed with a cold light as he flicked three talismans from his sleeve.

The moment the talisman was affixed to his leg, it transformed into three streaks of blue lightning that coiled around his body.

Its speed increased by another 30%, heading straight for the spatial node that was already almost upon it...

At the epicenter of the explosion, the smoke and dust gradually dissipated.

Xuanyuan Hao knelt on one knee, his breath weak. He wiped the golden blood from the corner of his mouth and stared at the silver light that was about to disappear in the distance, his eyes surging with raging anger.

He knew better than anyone the value of the four-color magic array, just like the [Seven-Star Demon-Binding Array] on the border.

It took a lot of royal resources and the help of a master of formations from the Jiuli Dynasty to successfully set it up.

Even the royal treasury only uses a three-colored restriction called the "Nine Heavens Net Restriction".

"Very well, very well indeed." Xuan Yuanhao laughed in anger, and a golden light flashed in his hand, and a long sword with its entire body gilded appeared out of thin air.

The sword is entwined with dragon patterns, and its blade emits a three-inch golden light. It is the Dragon Abyss Sword, the most treasured artifact of the Xuanyuan royal family.

He stared menacingly in the direction Zhou Qingyuan had gone, his heart churning with anger.

Recently, foreign cultivators have been frequently appearing within the territory of the Holy Martial Dynasty, targeting the Xuanyuan royal family at every turn.

That silver-haired woman brazenly destroyed my royal family's array hall.

The mysterious Spirit Slayer even killed the Grand Eunuch Gao Xianzong in the street.

Today, this purple-robed Spirit Slayer not only trespassed into the royal treasury, but also dared to forcibly enter the ancestral land to steal the Spirit Slayer's secret medicine.

What's even more hateful is the person in front of me, who casually detonates level three and level four array plates, which is simply outrageously extravagant.

Such a feat could not be supported by ordinary forces.

Do you really think my Xuanyuan family is easy to bully?

Xuanyuan Hao snorted coldly, and the Dragon Abyss Sword suddenly burst forth with dazzling golden light.

He took a step forward, and the space in front of him was torn apart like cloth, revealing a dark void rift.

"Trying to escape?" He sneered, and with a flash, stepped directly into the crevice.

……

At the same time, Zhou Qing felt a violent fluctuation in the space behind him, and his heart sank.

"They caught up really fast!"

Sensing the spatial node that was almost within reach, he immediately took out an ancient jade talisman given to him by Elder Mo.

It must be said that asking Elder Mo for those spatial runes before heading to the border was a wise move.

As spiritual energy was injected, the jade talisman shattered instantly, transforming into a beam of silver light that shot into the sky, tearing open a spatial rift above his head.

Without hesitation, he leaped in and went straight inside.

However, just as the crack was about to close—

"Did I say you could leave?!" Xuan Yuanhao's figure suddenly appeared, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

He didn't chase after them directly, but instead flipped his wrist.

The Dragon Abyss Sword burst forth with dazzling golden light. Wherever the sword's edge pointed, a golden sword aura, condensed to its extreme, burst forth from the sky and surged into the closing spatial rift like an angry dragon!

"boom--!"

The moment the sword energy pierced the crack, the entire void trembled violently!

-

"puff!"

Zhou Qing felt as if he had been struck hard in the back, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The once stable space was shattered by this sword strike, the surrounding spatial barriers cracked like glass, and violent spatial turbulence surged forth.

"Oops!"

He endured the excruciating pain, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.

Quickly take out the "rideshare" token you've crafted.

"open!"

He let out a low shout, and the token's blue light surged, forcefully tearing open a stable spatial passage in front of him.

Zhou Qing immediately plunged in!
"Boom!"

The instant his figure disappeared, the original spatial rift completely collapsed, and the terrifying aftershocks of sword energy shattered the void within a radius of a hundred feet.

If he had been even half a breath slower, he would have surely died!

-

Outside, Xuanyuan Hao sheathed the Dragon Abyss Sword, his gaze coldly fixed on the now completely closed spatial rift.

"died?"

He quickly released his divine sense, covering an area of ​​a hundred miles, carefully examining every inch of spatial fluctuations.

However, a moment later, his brows furrowed deeply.

"He... he's not breathing anymore?"

He was certain that Zhou Qing was not at the Spirit Severing Realm, otherwise he would not have been forced to flee in such a sorry state.

But at this moment, the other party's aura seemed to have vanished into thin air.

"Hmph, you've hidden it well!"

Xuanyuan Hao sneered, but did not leave. Instead, he stood in mid-air, waiting patiently.

He concluded that Zhou Qing must be hiding in the spatial interlayer, and given his serious injuries, he would eventually reveal himself if he wasn't swallowed up by the spatial turbulence!

Then, he took out a jade slip for communication, probed it with his divine sense, and inquired about the situation of Xiang Xuanyuan Sha.

"Still chasing?"

Xuanyuan Hao frowned.

Although the Nine Dragons Locking the Sky Seal is powerful, it consumes a great deal of spiritual and mental energy, and Xuan Yuan Sha cannot maintain it for long.

If this drags on any longer, the purple-robed spirit-slaying warrior is very likely to escape!

Just as he was pondering a solution, another jade slip suddenly lit up.

"Ok?"

He scanned the area with his divine sense, and a hint of joy flashed in his eyes.

"Uncle Wang is back?!"

He quickly sent a message: "Uncle Wang, come and help me immediately!"

-

A moment later, space was torn apart again, and a burly figure stepped out.

The newcomer wore a black python robe, his face was as cold and stern as if carved by a knife, and his brows exuded a murderous aura honed by a thousand years of battlefield experience.

It was Xuanyuan Shuo who had once again turned back from the border!
"Uncle Wang!" Xuan Yuanhao's eyes flashed, and he quickly stepped forward to briefly explain what had happened.

Xuanyuan Shuo closed his eyes slightly, and his powerful divine sense swept across the void for thousands of miles around like a tide.

That divine sense was so solid that even the air seemed to freeze wherever it passed, and it captured every subtle fluctuation hidden in the depths of space.

A moment later, he suddenly opened his eyes, a cold smile creeping onto his lips: "Interesting."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his right palm, his five fingers like hooks, and grabbed fiercely at the void—

"boom!"

The entire world seemed to be gripped by an invisible giant hand, and the space within a radius of a thousand feet was violently distorted.

Visible ripples spread wildly from the center of his palm, causing rocks to crumble, ancient trees to shatter, and even light to become distorted and broken wherever they passed.

"Well hidden." Xuan Yuanshuo snorted coldly, his left hand forming a sword shape as he suddenly thrust it out at a certain point in the void.

A dark gold sword aura, condensed to its extreme, pierced through the air, shattering space wherever it passed.

"laugh--"

The sword energy pierced through three layers of spatial barriers, exploding into a dazzling golden light in the void.

However, apart from the scattered remnants of spiritual energy, there was nothing there.

Xuanyuan Shuo frowned slightly, then suddenly changed his tactics again.

He clasped his hands together, unleashing a terrifying pressure from his body: "Ninefold Tremor!"

"Boom boom boom!"

Nine consecutive spatial oscillations spread out from him, each oscillation being several times stronger than the previous one.

By the seventh level, the ground within a radius of a thousand feet had begun to collapse, and by the ninth level, even the sky had spiderweb-like spatial cracks.

however--

They still couldn't force anyone to show up.

"The other party is either already dead or has already left!" Xuan Yuanshuo stopped and stood up, the dark golden ripples gradually subsiding.

Xuanyuan Hao frowned: "He should only be at the Nascent Soul stage—"

"This world is far more vast than we can imagine." Xuan Yuanshuo gazed into the distance, his black python robe fluttering in the air.

“Some beings may seem like ants, but they can still harness the power of heaven and earth; their cultivation level is merely a superficial appearance.”

Xuanyuan Hao nodded and bowed respectfully: "Uncle's teachings are correct."

"Oh, by the way, I brought Mu Qian back." Xuan Yuan Shuo suddenly changed the subject. "As for Yi Chen..."

His voice was low and deep. "No trace of his body remains. The six-armed monster you last saw with the soul-protecting mark you left on him has also vanished without a trace."

Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Hao sighed, but then remembered something: "What about Zhou Qing? How could he be at the border? The timing doesn't make any sense."

“I have questioned Mu Qian and Wu Zhenyue and others,” Xuan Yuanshuo said in a cold tone. “Although I don’t know how he got there, Zhou Qing already knows that it was Yi Chen who revealed his identity to Nangong Xiong Ba. He came here to demand an explanation.”

"How is this possible?" Xuan Yuanhao's pupils shrank sharply. "This matter is extremely secretive. How could he..."

“That’s the most puzzling part.” Xuan Yuanshuo slowly shook his head, a hint of solemnity flashing in his eyes. “What’s even stranger is that Nangong Xiongba is dead.”

"What?!" Xuan Yuanhao was stunned, even his breath caught in his throat.

Xuan Yuanshuo continued, "I personally investigated the scene. Apart from the traces of Zhou Qing's battle with that ghost, there were no other signs of fighting in that area. But what's strange is..."

He paused, a hint of apprehension flashing in his eyes: "But there, a domain of obsession has formed, which only appears when a Spirit Severing Realm expert falls."

"Moreover," Xuan Yuanshuo raised his hand, a faint golden afterimage appearing in his palm, "the imperial mark I left in Nangong Xiong Ba's body can no longer be sensed at all."

His voice grew increasingly heavy: "To be able to annihilate a Spirit Severing Realm expert in an instant, without even allowing the mark to transmit a message... that monster is probably far beyond our imagination."

"What about Zhou Qing?" Xuan Yuanhao asked eagerly.

Xuanyuan Shuo shook his head, a complex look flashing in his eyes: "No news of him. Since that day, no one has seen any trace of him. I'm afraid... he's probably in grave danger."

But soon his gaze sharpened, and his aura suddenly became fierce: "The most urgent task at hand is to rush to the aid of Wuxiang Mountain."

"My elder brother is currently engaged in a fierce battle with a foreign Spirit Slayer Realm expert, and the situation is critical. You must go immediately to assist Xuan Yuan Sha in pursuing the person who has intruded into our ancestral land. I must go ahead first."

Having said that, he tore through the void with a flick of his sleeves.

Before leaving, he gave Xuanyuan Hao a meaningful look: "Remember to act with caution."

As the spatial rift closed, Xuanyuan Hao stood in the void, his brows furrowing even deeper.

"These past few days have truly been a turbulent time."

He sighed softly, swallowed a healing pill, and then raised his hand to open a spatial passage, rushing off in the direction of Xuan Yuan Sha's aura.
……

In a mountain range outside the city, the void suddenly tore open, and a disheveled figure stumbled out.

"cough--"

Zhou Qing clutched his chest and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

His face beneath the mask was deathly pale, and his robes were torn to shreds by the spatial turbulence, leaving his exposed skin covered in fine bloodstains.

"Nobody's here."

He endured the excruciating pain and quickly scanned his surroundings with his spiritual sense.

Once it was safe, its figure transformed into a blurry afterimage, speeding towards the most secluded corner of the valley.

"boom!"

The moment he landed, he kicked up a cloud of dust. Zhou Qing didn't have time to catch his breath and immediately took out a pill from his storage bag and swallowed it.

As the pill entered his stomach, it transformed into a scalding heat that swept through his limbs and bones. The tearing pain and the numb, itchy feeling of repair intertwined, causing fine beads of sweat to seep from his forehead.

But that's not enough—

He suppressed his discomfort, sank his consciousness into his sea of ​​consciousness, and quickly mobilized the golden flower within it.

The stored pure blood essence surged forth like a burst dam, flowing through the meridians and resonating with the power of the elixir.

A short time later, a touch of color finally appeared on his pale face.

Then, he let out a long sigh of relief, and when his gaze fell on the three dark red pills in the storage bag, a complicated look flashed in Zhou Qing's eyes.

"Ah"

He suddenly laughed at himself.

When he first saw the hidden recipe in the royal treasury, he was indignant and disgusted by this evil method of refining human lives, and even looked down on it.

But now, without that dirty process, when three ready-made pills were placed in front of him, he almost lost his life for them.

Human nature is truly laughable!

They talk a righteous game, but when faced with temptation, their so-called bottom line is so fragile.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his complex emotions, and looked up at the sky.

"I wonder if Sikong Yan escaped or not."

Putting aside past grievances, this time, whether it was seizing the pill or escaping for his life, this guy finally acted reliably for once.

However, this guy now has a forbidden area all to himself, and who knows how many good things he's "opened" from there over the years, he shouldn't die.

After a brief moment of rest, he took out the map and examined it carefully. Once he confirmed his location, he flashed off and sped towards Wuxiang Mountain.
PS: Today is the last day of July. My monthly tickets are about to expire and reset. I'm asking for a monthly ticket here.

Any remaining amount can be given to the three lines.

By the way, the audiobook is already out. You can listen to it on "The Master" and Himalaya. It's really good. The various music and the female voices are absolutely amazing.

(End of this chapter)