Xiao Yi had grown a bit taller, and now she looked like a maiden in her prime.
This was true of her appearance, but in some aspects, she already possessed the charm of a mature woman.
Mo Qi ate some of the food as he watched Xiao Yi and the Twin Flowers enjoy their meal.
Zi Luo stared at him, her eyes wide. "You weren't like this before, were you?"
"Before? You knew me before?"
"...Of course. If I didn't, who killed you?"
"That's true. But do you have to emphasize that? I was almost forgetting about it."
"I'm sorry."
"You should be sorry to yourself, because I might poison the medicine I'm giving you."
Zi Luo: "...Didn't you say we should let bygones be bygones?"
"Only if I still have my sanity. If you keep reminding me of what you did to me, I might lose it."
"..."
"I have a question for you. Where is Yuwen Yan, who was with you?"
"I don't know. I never noticed her."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know either."
"Did you use any methods to deliberately suppress her soul?"
"No."
"You didn't kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of you," Mo Qi said coldly.
"I know."
The group walked forward. Mo Qi had many things to discuss with Zi Luo, so he walked beside her at the front.
Sun Qian tried to eavesdrop on their conversation and hurried forward, but Xiao Yi kept pestering her with questions, preventing her from hearing anything.
She assumed the two were exchanging sweet nothings and felt very displeased.
After a long while, when Mo Qi had finished talking with Zi Luo, Sun Qian seized an opportunity to catch up, her tone somewhat sharp. "Didn't you say you just wanted to take on the bounty? How did you bring the princess out so quickly? Was the bounty resolved? Did King Liang bestow your marriage?"
"It was an elopement!"
"Elopement? You...!"
"No, you actually believed that?" Mo Qi gave a wry smile. "I can't cure her immediately, but there's a possibility of recovery, so I had to bring her along. A doctor's duty is like that of a parent; she's seriously ill, am I supposed to abandon her?"
Zi Luo said, "Don't worry, I have a feud with him, so I won't marry him."
A feud? Sun Qian's eyes lit up. "A feud of extermination?"
"Yes!" Zi Luo replied.
"Good, very good!" Sun Qian said.
"What's good?"
"I mean, the weather is nice today."
The group continued their journey, passing by a place called Black River Valley.
It was a lively place, bustling with experts from various countries and even beyond the Red Leaf Kingdom.
What were they here for?
It was rumored that an unparalleled fire seed had been born here: the Azure Lotus Fire.
Legend had it that it was the essence born from the cultivation of this tree world, its dominance and power unimaginable.
Possessing the Azure Lotus Fire meant possessing a sure-kill technique.
With the Azure Lotus Fire, one could temper their physique and continuously improve their cultivation.
Therefore, the allure was self-evident.
Upon arriving here, Mo Qi truly witnessed the experts of this world.
There was Qi Ba, a trusted minister of Gonggong, and Jiang Li and Chu Fen from the River Domain world.
And also the Blood Chi!
Chi were the demons of this world!
Or rather, they were superior to demons, possessing more ferocious killing power.
The Chi had been invading this world for a long time.
But they had their own territories, openly expanding their land, unlike in the Star World where they infiltrated silently.
The Holy Emperor had also arrived!
Of course, he was accompanied by A Wu and A Zhi.
The Holy Emperor's cultivation had improved, but he was still far from his peak.
Therefore, he needed something like the Azure Lotus Fire, which was why he had come!
He had arrived full of confidence!
From a distance, Mo Qi sensed that the gap between him and these people was still too great. Direct confrontation was not advisable.
If a direct conflict occurred, he would surely be annihilated without a trace.
Therefore, he planned to exploit opportunities and take shortcuts.
However, many shared his thoughts, everyone wanting to fish in troubled waters.
At this moment, the Azure Lotus Fire had begun to burn in the cave. It was a flame rising from the trunk of the tree, shaped like a lotus. The fire was azure, and once it appeared, it would burn continuously until it was extinguished.
Therefore, those who wanted to obtain it, if they hadn't acquired it before it burned out, would have wasted their efforts.
Moreover, the sooner it was obtained, the more benefits one would gain from it.
Thus, Qi Ba, A Zhi, A Wu, and others, who had initially planned to sit back and watch the tigers fight, waiting for others to weaken before swooping in to reap the benefits, couldn't wait any longer!
Waiting meant missing out!
Therefore, these top experts began to fight first.
Because only these top experts were competitive, the others were not a threat.
So, these minor figures sat on the sidelines, watching the battle.
Mo Qi, Xiao Yi, and the others hid on a hillside, watching the fight from afar.
At this moment, A Zhi was fighting the Blood Chi, A Wu was fighting Qi Ba, and Jiang Li was fighting Chu Fen.
Among these individuals, only Jiang Li and Chu Fen had physical forms; the other four did not. They appeared as wisps of mist tearing and colliding with each other.
Jiang Li was a handsome young man, while Chu Fen was a maiden who had remained unmarried for tens of thousands of years. In these tens of thousands of years, her body had been continuously gaining weight, so one could imagine how fat she was now.
Therefore, the fight between Jiang Li and Chu Fen was like a strand of noodles twirling around a large pillar.
The noodle would occasionally wrap around the pillar, causing the pillar great discomfort.
She constantly changed her form, trying to evade Jiang Li's entanglement. "You pervert! I'm still a maiden, and you shamelessly cling to me."
"I don't want to cling to you either. I feel so itchy all over right now, I estimate I'll be vomiting for three days and three nights after this, but I have no choice. I must obtain the Azure Lotus Fire," Jiang Li said helplessly.
Chu Fen stomped her foot in anger, wildly slapping the air. Light energy flashed, and with each slap, a mountain nearby collapsed. The rumbling was incessant.
The observers hidden around were suffering!
From time to time, someone was hit by the light energy, and cries of agony erupted, resulting in numerous casualties.
The fight between A Zhi and the Blood Chi was like a ball of white mist and a ball of blood mist tearing at each other. But between the tearing of the blood mist and the white mist, white and red dots would fall from the clouds, striking the people around. Once they landed on those people, they became small dots, piercing the body. Then, the holes would expand rapidly, the emptiness consuming the skin, and in an instant, the person would be gone.
The fight between A Wu and Qi Ba was similar. Both sides exchanged blows, neither gaining a clear advantage, but the people around suffered, with countless casualties.
Therefore, even trying to take advantage of the situation was difficult!
The few top experts, while appearing to fight without specific intent, were actually quite deliberate.
During their battles, they intentionally launched surprise attacks on the observers to prevent anyone from benefiting from their struggle.
Due to the disparity in strength, they didn't need to be overly intentional; a slight leakage of power was enough to cause devastation and leave nothing behind.
The people around who had tried to gain an advantage quickly suffered heavy losses, with the survivors fleeing in disarray.
People then realized that while it was said that when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits, the saying about the fire at the city gate bringing disaster to the fish in the moat was everywhere.
The survivors, clinging to life, began to evade the "natural disaster" and fled into the distance, not daring to linger.
Mo Qi unfolded his teleportation technique, pulling Xiao Yi and Sun Qian, weaving through the air, constantly dodging attacks from all directions, above and below.
Zi Luo also employed a certain movement technique, moving back and forth, seemingly at ease.
The Holy Emperor used spatial techniques to dodge back and forth, also appearing to be quite at ease.
However, the attacks from the sky became increasingly dense. As more people around fell and many of the remaining ones escaped, fewer people lingered in the area. The combatants in the sky, like Qi Ba and A Zhi, took time between their battles to concentrate their firepower on the surviving individuals.
At this time, the Azure Lotus Fire was burning fiercely.
Everyone's heart felt like the burning Azure Lotus Fire.
Thus, everyone's attacks in the sky became even more ferocious.
Visibly, with every collision between A Zhi and the Blood Chi, sparks flew. White and red specks sprayed out in all directions like fireworks. Each collision seemed to be bone-jarring, making those watching from afar's hair stand on end and their skin crawl.
The other two pairs' attacks were also extremely fierce, their blows vicious, aiming to wound to the bone.
And with each collision, the destructive power they inflicted on space grew. The surrounding trees had long since turned to charcoal, the river water boiled and churned restlessly. Black River Valley was repeatedly filled and then carved out again.
There were no longer any observers.
No matter how good Mo Qi and the others' movements were, they couldn't evade the indiscriminate attacks. The mountains had been leveled; where could they hide?
Thus, they had no choice but to unfold their forms and flee into the distance, seeking refuge where the combatants could not reach them. Then, they turned back to watch from afar.
At this time, the Holy Emperor was also hovering nearby, using spatial techniques to move back and forth.
He kept glaring at Mo Qi, wishing he could call A Zhi and A Wu to deal with him, but he knew A Zhi and A Wu were occupied and felt helpless.
His heart was shocked. In his memory, Mo Qi should have ceased to exist.
Yet, he stubbornly clung to life, shamelessly so.
If A Zhi and A Wu knew about this, they would likely be furious!
Mo Qi, on the other hand, was observing the Holy Emperor's spatial techniques. In fact, he had once studied spatial techniques through the secret manuals of the Yuqing Sect, though he hadn't mastered them. Now, by observing the Holy Emperor's casting, he seemed to have gained some insight.
However, there was a layer of window paper that was almost broken but not quite.
It made him feel very uncomfortable!
He took out the secret manual and reread it, but it was still just short of something.
In a fit of anger, he went to chase and attack the Holy Emperor.
He directly unleashed the Star Sea Illusion Flow, sending a sky full of starlight towards the Holy Emperor.
Indeed, the Holy Emperor had no other recourse. He simply drew a line in the air, and the air wrinkled, appearing like a mirror, or perhaps the space folded, causing the attack to change direction and head towards Mo Qi instead.
Under normal circumstances, Mo Qi should have used his teleportation technique to dodge, but at that moment, he seemed to have grasped something.
With a flash of inspiration, he also drew a line in the air. The air trembled, wrinkles appeared, and space folded once more.
The Star Sea Illusion Flow fiercely struck the Holy Emperor again!
The Holy Emperor was stunned!