One person: Orochi, starting with Feng Baobao's Eight Heroes.

Master Hutu shouted a stern rebuke, the veins on his forehead throbbing.

"Be careful!"

Chen Qi glanced at the embarrassed faces of the three elders of Wudang and changed the subject at the right moment.

"How are the wounded?"

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's heads. Zhang Shoucheng's expression changed drastically, and he turned and ran towards the ravine.

"I almost forgot! Old Zhou's child from family 623 had his meridians invaded by demonic energy!"

The crowd scattered, revealing more than twenty wounded people lying haphazardly behind them.

The most seriously injured had turned pale, and the ice crystals that had formed on their wounds had an eerie purple hue.

That was the lingering cold poison from Shuten-dōji.

Wang Ai walked over, leaning on a dragon-patterned staff. The jade inlaid on the staff head gleamed faintly in the snow.

"The Guan family girl sent word that all the seriously injured should be sent to Grandma Bai's place."

"The medical skills of the Bai Xian lineage are indeed appropriate for the condition."

The head of the Gao family nodded in agreement, then suddenly lowered his voice.

"However, given Mr. Chen's current condition..."

Chen Qi had already walked to the middle of the wounded and squatted down, his fingers resting on the wrist of a young girl.

His movements were very light, but the bearskin coat still made a faint rustling sound as it rubbed against each other. He looked up after a moment.

"The cold poison has penetrated into the marrow and must be removed within two hours."

"I organized people to build sleds."

Uncle Lu acted swiftly and decisively, turning around to start calling out names.

"The Lü family, your Ruyi Jin can level the ski slopes, right?"

The head of the Lü family snorted coldly, but had already begun to press his Qi into the ground.

With a dull tremor, the snow within a hundred meters ahead suddenly became as smooth as a mirror.

Fengping suddenly jumped to the side of the wounded and clasped his hands together with a "slap".

"I'll keep you warm!"

After saying that, orange-red flames shot out from his palm, hovering precisely half a meter above each wounded person, neither burning them nor dispelling the cold.

Chen Qi looked at the busy crowd and suddenly pressed his temples and shook them.

Zhang Shoucheng keenly noticed this subtle movement, and the old Taoist priest immediately grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't be stubborn!"

"It's okay, it's just..."

Chen Qi paused mid-sentence, his gaze passing over Zhang Shoucheng's shoulder and looking north.

"There is a problem with the Qi configuration of the imperial mausoleum."

This sentence was like pressing the pause button; everyone's actions froze for a moment.

Wugensheng, unaware of when, stood at the edge of the crowd, still wearing that tattered straw hat.

He spoke slowly.

“I know a shortcut.”

A dozen or so wary eyes immediately shot over.

Zhou Sheng's fingers were already on the scabbard's spring mechanism, and Master Hutu's prayer beads spun loudly.

Chen Qi, however, seemed to be deep in thought.

"Are you familiar with this Qi formation?"

"I walked this path three years ago."

Wugensheng's smile appeared harmless, but his eyes, hidden in the shadow of his straw hat, were unfathomable.

"At that time, it was to collect a medicinal herb."

A suffocating silence lasted for a full ten seconds. Finally, Zhang Shoucheng broke the deadlock.

"Let's split into two groups. I'll take ten skilled men and go with... this friend to explore the Qi formation."

He deliberately avoided mentioning Wugensheng's name.

"Chen Qi led the wounded down the mountain."

Surprisingly, no one raised any objections.

The Gao family head stroked the iron gall bladder thoughtfully, while Uncle Lu and the Lü family head exchanged a glance, and even the most radical Zhou Sheng only snorted coldly.

"Ok, deal."

Chen Qi made the decision and turned to walk towards the sled that was being made.

He walked with a slight limp in his left leg, but his back remained straight, and his bearskin coat left deep marks on the snow.

Two hours later, the setting sun dyed Qishan Mountain blood red.

Twelve makeshift sleds were neatly arranged, each carrying two wounded people.

Fengping's fireball shrank to the size of an egg and hovered precisely over the chest of each wounded soldier.

"Lu Jin, Lü Ci, come with me."

After inspecting the straps of the last sled, Chen Qi suddenly frowned.

Where is Zhou Sheng?

Master Hutu sighed.

"They went after Wugensheng's team."

Chen Qi shook his head and said no more. He walked to the front of the line and sat down cross-legged.

Chapter 277 The Qimen Pattern

He needs to recover some of his vital energy to deal with unexpected situations.

As his breathing became longer and more even, the snow within three inches of his body began to slowly melt.

Just as he was taking his seventh breath in meditation, Chen Qi suddenly felt a piercing gaze.

It wasn't the gaze of a living person, but more like... being spied on by something across the boundary between life and death.

He maintained a calm exterior, but his intuition followed his senses and traced the source of his feelings.

His consciousness pierced through layers of snow, and in a mountain valley three miles to the north, he "saw" a strange formation.

It was an incomplete "Earth-borne Array," and the Xun position, which should have been guarding the center, was strangely empty.

Standing at the center of the formation was none other than the Quanzhen Wuliu Sect Taoist priest who had had his life essence drained by the Yellow Spring Woman three days prior!

The Taoist priest's robe was tattered into strips, and his exposed skin clung tightly to his bones, making him look like a skeleton wrapped in human skin.

Most terrifying of all were his eyes—two dark holes from which flickered eerie green flames.

When Chen Qi's spiritual sense swept over it, the "skull" suddenly raised its head, its mouth torn to the roots of its ears, revealing a smile that no human could possibly make.

He was the only one in the formation.

Chen Qi opened his eyes and found Lu Jin squatting in front of him, holding a steaming copper kettle in her hand.

"Have some ginseng tea."

Lu Jin handed over the copper kettle, then suddenly lowered his voice.

"You look even worse than the wounded."

When Chen Qi took the copper kettle, he found his fingers were trembling.

The hot tea went down my throat, and the bitterness of the ginseng slices washed away the lingering bloody taste on my tongue.

He carefully considered his words before speaking.

"Was Master Meng of the Wu-Liu School... confirmed dead at that time?"

Lu Jin was stunned.

"Of course, I personally collected the body. The heart had been pierced by the Yellow Springs Woman's tongue..."

He suddenly realized something halfway through his sentence.

"What did you see?"

"nothing."

Chen Qi stood up, and snow fell softly from his bearskin coat.

"It might be due to excessive energy expenditure causing hallucinations."

But as he turned to check the sled, his left hand had already quietly reached into the lining of his overcoat.

There were seven thunder talismans sewn there, each one drawn with his lifeblood.

In the direction of the northern mountain valley, the setting sun was being swallowed by rolling dark clouds, as if an invisible giant mouth was devouring the light of the sky.

When the sled team started moving, Chen Qi walked at the very front to clear the way.

He deliberately adjusted the route to keep the team as far away as possible from that strange and unpredictable formation.

However, as he rounded a bend in the mountain, he caught a glimpse of a dark figure crawling on all fours on a distant snow slope in a way that no human could possibly do, at an astonishing speed.

The thing seemed to sense that it was being watched, and suddenly stopped moving, turning its neck 180 degrees to stare straight at it.

Even from hundreds of meters away, Chen Qi could still clearly see its open mouth.

It has no tongue, only dense barbs—this is the mark of the Yellow Springs Woman.

The cold wind howled, and the snowflakes were like knives.

Chen Qi suddenly stopped, his black Taoist robe fluttering in the wind.

His right hand unconsciously rested on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

That feeling of being watched returned—like a thorn in my back, as if a cold gaze were piercing through the wind and snow, straight to my heart.

0 ······Requesting flowers··· ·········

"Senior Brother Chen?"

A young disciple's questioning voice came from behind.

Chen Qi did not turn around, his gaze sweeping across the cliff to his left like lightning.

The rock face that should have been covered in snow was now vaguely visible in the wind and snow, revealing a strange outline.

His pupils suddenly contracted—it was clearly a human figure!

"You should go to Bai Xian's place first."

Chen Qi's voice was deep, and he made a wind-avoiding hand gesture with his left hand.

"I'll be there shortly."

"But my martial uncle instructed..."

... .. ...

"go!"

Chen Qi let out a sharp shout, his true energy surging within him, causing the surrounding snowflakes to swirl backward.

The disciples dared not say anything more, and after a quick bow, they continued down the mountain path.

After everyone disappeared into the snowstorm, Chen Qi lightly touched the ground with his toes and darted towards the cliff.

The closer you get, the stronger the feeling of being spied on becomes, as if countless tiny needles are pricking your skin.

Chen Qi stopped abruptly three zhang away.

Behind the snow curtain, a figure dressed in a tattered Taoist robe stood quietly.