Starting at the Nascent Soul stage, a rogue cultivator is incredibly poor.

Half a day later, at the mountainside.

Lu Zhou stepped steadily onto the dark mountain rocks.

The place is filled with demonic energy and the spiritual energy is thin, so one must carefully manage one's magical power. Fortunately, his physical body is strong, so climbing mountains and crossing valleys is not difficult for him.

He paused as he scanned the area ahead with his divine sense.

A cave entrance is clearly visible, with fresh signs of damage to the rock walls, indicating that it was forcibly broken open not long ago.

"Master," Lu Zhou lowered his voice, "that hidden stone chamber you mentioned... it wouldn't be this cave up ahead, would it?"

"A cave?" The old voice in the necklace paused, then realized something was wrong. "Go look elsewhere; perhaps there's another entrance."

Lu Zhou followed his instructions and searched the surrounding area carefully again. The area on the mountainside was not large, and apart from the damaged cave in front of him, there was nothing unusual.

The necklace suddenly floated up, and dark demonic energy surged out from it, swirling and circling.

"Impossible..." the aged voice murmured, filled with disbelief, "Unless a Nascent Soul level expert comes in person, how could they possibly find the concealment formation I set up back then?!"

The voice suddenly became urgent:

"Quick! Let's go in and take a look!"

Lu Zhou frowned. He first used his divine sense to probe the cave to confirm that there were no ambushes or traps before cautiously stepping inside.

The scene inside the cave came into view.

A circular stream flows through the center, with a stone island in the middle. The island is completely empty, save for a few withered remnants of roots. There are six tiny holes in the rock wall next to the island, resembling traces left after the battle flags were removed.

Everything seemed to have been beaten to it by someone else.

"No! No! No! Who...who is it?! Which son of a bitch! I ***"

The aged voice suddenly rose, turning from shock to rage, and then to a distorted roar:

"Who stole my Demon Dragon Flower?! Where's my formation? Where's my formation?! They even took the formation?! If I find out... I'll tear their soul out and torture them for eternity!!"

The sound waves reverberated in the stone chamber, and rubble fell from the rock walls.

"Achoo!"

At this moment, Qingyouzi, who had already run far away, wiped her nose, her expression immediately turned serious, and she looked around.

"This Demon Zhou Mountain is indeed strange. I, a dignified Nascent Soul cultivator, actually sneeze."

Inside the cave, Lu Zhou held his breath, not daring to utter a single word.

After a long while, the sound gradually subsided, but it still carried an uncontrollable chill.

"Disciple..." The aged voice took a deep breath, "Quickly go to the depths of the secret chamber. I set up a double array back then; this is only the surface. The real nurturing chamber is still inside."

Following the directions, Lu Zhou strode towards the end of the stone chamber.

Before them stood a solid stone wall, seemingly natural, but upon closer inspection, faint fluctuations of an array could be detected.

"Fortunately... the inner formation remains intact." The aged voice seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "More Demon Dragon Flowers were planted inside. After a thousand years, I wonder how many will survive."

"So that person must be at least a Nascent Soul cultivator to have been directly teleported into my secret chamber. Damn it, even luck isn't on my side."

The necklace shot out a beam of dark, demonic light, which struck a spot on the stone wall.

"Click..."

With a soft click, the stone wall slid open to both sides.

A surge of pure, almost solidified demonic energy rushed towards him! Lu Zhou's breath caught in his throat, and he felt a dull ache in his meridians from the impact of this demonic energy.

Behind the stone wall was an even smaller secret room, where three demonic dragon flowers grew quietly on the central stone platform, their petals exhaling demonic energy, and were more full and vigorous than the one in the outer room.

"Three plants left... that's enough." The old voice whispered. "Disciple, go inside. It's time... to fulfill the promise between us."

Lu Zhou stood at the entrance of the secret chamber, gazing at the three Demon Dragon Flowers. His eyes surged with emotions—killing intent, grief, and determination—before finally settling into a deathly silence.

He stepped inside.

The stone wall slowly closed behind him.

In the darkness, an aged voice suddenly let out a cold laugh, barely audible:

"Do you really think my Demon Dragon Flower and the array... are so easy to obtain?"

At the same moment, on the other side of the cliff of Mozhou Mountain.

Three cyan silk threads, like venomous snakes, coiled around the necks of the three Golden Core cultivators. The threads tightened, digging into their flesh, and blood dripped down their sides.

"We didn't know you were a Nascent Soul cultivator, senior! We shouldn't have attacked! Please spare our lives! Senior... we're just rogue cultivators, forcibly recruited by Beiting! We... we've always longed for Heavenly Immortal City and Southern Profound!"

One of them begged for mercy in a trembling voice.

Qingyouzi remained expressionless.

"Who gave you the courage to do this to me, Liang Jingru?"

"We don't know who that person surnamed Liang is, we don't recognize him, senior, you've misunderstood..."

Before he could finish speaking, the thread suddenly twisted.

"Pfft—"

The bodies of the two Golden Core cultivators were severed into several pieces, their flesh and blood flying everywhere. The three storage bags were rolled back by the green silk and fell into his hands.

The last man's face was ashen, and he was about to speak when Qingyouzi pressed a palm down on his crown.

Soul Searching Technique!

The cultivator screamed in agony, his eyes quickly losing their light. A moment later, Qing Youzi released his grip, his brows furrowing slightly.

"He's quite the lecher, the scene was rather exciting, cough cough cough, but unfortunately there's not much useful information."

He casually snapped the neck and threw the body off the cliff.

He looked up towards the mountaintop, where the demonic energy was densest and lightning flickered, indicating that Nascent Soul cultivators were already fighting there.

"There are more than a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators in the mid-to-late stages. I won't go to the battle at the top of the mountain," Qing Youzi muttered to himself. "I'd rather seek some opportunities on the mountainside or at the foot of the mountain, and make further plans after things have calmed down."

There might be an ambush outside Mozhou Mountain. It would be safer to take refuge here for now.

As he was pondering this, he turned a corner around a rocky outcrop.

I bumped into someone!

Both of them were startled and retreated rapidly!

A blood-red dragon, carrying overwhelming force, charged towards Qingyouzi in an instant.

Qingyouzi quickly summoned the Demon Dragon Shield, which immediately conjured eighty-one smaller shields in front of him, easily dissolving the attack.

Qingyouzi felt a chill run down her spine:

"This person's concealment skills are so superb that I didn't notice them at all, and the magic they used is exceptionally powerful. I must be very careful!"

Azure threads instantly wrapped around his body, and ancient azure demonic fire flickered and burned on the threads, ready to be unleashed.

The man opposite retreated even further, now holding a blood-red battle flag that fluttered in the wind, exuding a menacing aura.

I had no idea...

The white-bearded old man had a solemn look in his eyes.

"This person's concealment skills are no less than mine, and the fact that he could so easily withstand an attack from me using four layers of mana suggests he's at the mid-Nascent Soul stage. His strength is definitely not inferior to mine; I cannot be careless and must proceed with caution!"

The two faced off, the atmosphere tense and strained.

After a moment, Qingyouzi, using the faint light filtering through the cracks in the rock, was able to see the other person's face clearly.

He paused for a moment, then slowly took off his black straw hat.

"So it's you, fellow Daoist." Qing Youzi's tone softened slightly. "I saw you before in the Southern Xuan camp. I wonder if you... still recognize me?"

The white-bearded old man saw Qingyouzi's face clearly, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

The hand holding the battle flag trembled slightly.

He stared at Qingyouzi, then looked at the faint blue threads appearing around him, and finally his gaze fell on the spiritual shield blocking Qingyouzi.

He had recognized the shield earlier, but hadn't immediately thought of it. After the other person mentioned it, he instantly remembered it.

"I recognize it..." the old man's voice was hoarse. "How could I not recognize it? The Demon Dragon Shield that Fellow Daoist Qingyou used to resist Xue Wuyai earlier... was my junior brother's magic weapon."

Qingyouzi's heart sank.

The myriad threads within his sleeves quietly gathered power, causing the ancient azure demon fire to burn even more fiercely.

"You are... Qi Sha's senior brother."

He spoke slowly and deliberately:

"Five Killings".

The old man and the Five Fiends nodded slowly, the blood-red battle flag lowered, but not completely put away.

"Exactly."

The air seemed to freeze between the two of them.

On this mountainside shrouded in demonic energy, two people who should have been facing each other stood silently gazing at each other.

Qingyouzi's black hair moved freely within her sleeve.

The Five Fiends slightly raised their battle flags.

Neither of them made the first move.