The entire face of Zhu Hanshan, his arms, body, and legs gradually appeared on the cliff face.
His body was covered in a layer of soil and gravel, adorned with moss and vines.
He seemed to have merged with the cliff, but in reality, he had not.
Seeing this, Chen Xiao suddenly understood, "I get it, so this is where you hide your physical body after separating it from your spirit, right?"
"Heh heh, as expected of Mr. Chen, you understand at a glance!"
A smile spread across Zhu Hanshan's old face, covered in gravel, and tiny pieces of sand and stone cascaded down along the contours of his face.
"Mr. Chen, although the Qingmu Lingzhong is currently ownerless, it is not easy to subdue it. Whether you succeed or not will depend on your skill!"
"Mr. Chen, are you ready?"
Zhu Hanshan asked loudly.
"I'm ready, let's begin."
Chen Xiao nodded.
Then, Zhu Hanshan's body, hidden within the cliff face, actually began to move.
Although the movement was strenuous and slow, Chen Xiao could confirm that he was indeed moving.
Swish—
A streak of verdant light shot out from the gap left by Zhu Hanshan's movement.
As Zhu Hanshan moved further, more of the verdant light burst forth.
"Mr. Chen, with my abilities, I can only create a gap this large. If you squeeze, you should be able to get in."
Zhu Hanshan said, panting, as sand and stone continued to fall.
Beside his body, a gap of about twenty to thirty centimeters appeared on the cliff face.
Chen Xiao turned sideways and passed through perfectly.
After Chen Xiao squeezed in, with a thud, the gap in the stone wall behind him quickly closed.
It had taken a considerable amount of time to open, but it closed in an instant.
"Old man, can you still hear me?"
"Grandpa Zhu?"
"Hey, old man..."
Chen Xiao called out a few times, but Zhu Hanshan did not respond, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.
"Damn it, how am I supposed to get out later?"
After muttering, Chen Xiao was captivated by the scene before him.
It was a cave, not too large or too small, about the size of an ordinary person's bedroom.
The entire cave was filled with an extremely dense mist.
It was a green mist, and without any light source, the mist itself emitted a verdant green glow.
Chen Xiao sensed it slightly and was delighted to discover that this green mist was actually pure spiritual energy.
Furthermore, this spiritual energy exuded an extremely vigorous vitality.
If it were any other time, Chen Xiao would have immediately sat down to cultivate upon encountering such mist-like spiritual energy, determined to absorb all of this highly concentrated spirit mist.
However, Chen Xiao did not care about the mist now, because the sacred relic he was looking for was within this space.
Hum—
The Yin-Yang Jade on his chest vibrated violently, making Chen Xiao's chest feel numb and itchy.
Hum—
At the same time, another vibrating sound suddenly echoed.
Chen Xiao looked in the direction of the sound and saw a walnut flying in mid-air.
The walnut hovered in the air, vibrating at an extremely high frequency.
The humming sound originated from this.
While it was called a walnut, it wasn't a real walnut.
It merely resembled a walnut, but it was entirely verdant in color.
Moreover, what kind of walnut could fly?
Needless to say, this small verdant object must be the sacred relic mentioned by Zhu Hanshan, the Qingmu Lingzhong!
This Qingmu Lingzhong was very pleasing to the eye, its green color was full and moist.
If collectors of antique curios and bracelets saw it, they would undoubtedly want to hold it and polish it.
Amidst the humming, the Qingmu Lingzhong slowly flew towards Chen Xiao.
Chen Xiao was almost certain that the Qingmu Lingzhong's speed was far from this.
It flew towards Chen Xiao because it was attracted by the Yin-Yang Jade vibrating on Chen Xiao's chest, but its flight was slow, as if it were wary of Chen Xiao.
Chen Xiao did not act rashly, as Zhu Hanshan had warned him that subduing the Qingmu Lingzhong would not be easy.
Only when the Qingmu Lingzhong was less than a palm's distance from his chest did Chen Xiao suddenly reach out to grab it.
Swish!
Chen Xiao grabbed at empty air.
Chen Xiao stared in disbelief, unable to believe his eyes.
He had exerted his utmost speed to catch the Qingmu Lingzhong.
Yet, it had easily evaded him.
Hum—
Hum—
Hum—
The Qingmu Lingzhong did not fly far, remaining beside Chen Xiao, emitting a series of highly rhythmic vibrations, as if mocking Chen Xiao.
Perhaps not "as if," Chen Xiao was almost certain it was mocking him.
"Ah, I, a dignified cultivator, can be mocked by a magic artifact?"
Chen Xiao's stubbornness kicked in, and he rolled up his sleeves.
Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey—
He spat on his palms, regrouped, and reached for the Qingmu Lingzhong again.
Hum—
Hum—
Hum—
The result was obvious; Chen Xiao was met with another round of mocking hums.
"Damn it, I refuse to believe it! I killed a Nascent Soul expert with a single sword strike, and I can't even catch you!"
...
Half an hour later, Chen Xiao was squatting on the ground, exhausted like a dead dog.
Hum—
Hum—
Hum—
"You mother..."
Hum—
Hum—/
Hum—
The humming sounds above were from the Qingmu Lingzhong, while the humming sounds below were from the Yin-Yang Jade.
Chen Xiao was on the verge of collapse. It was one thing for the Qingmu Lingzhong to mock him, but why was the Yin-Yang Jade also mocking him? Was it not on his side?
Extreme mockery led to extreme anger.
Chen Xiao was furious; he couldn't remember the last time he had been this angry.
The next moment, he began to dart around in the narrow space.
If anyone were present, they would not be able to catch Chen Xiao's figure, only feel gusts of wind rushing past their ears.
onethousandyearslater...
Chen Xiao had once again become a dead dog, squatting on the ground, panting.
Hum—
Hum—
Hum—
Hum—
Hum—
Hum—
The vibration frequency of the Qingmu Lingzhong and the Yin-Yang Jade had become identical, emitting a resonance-level mockery!
"..."
Chen Xiao was speechless, a thought of giving up crossing his mind.
But as soon as this thought surfaced, he dismissed it.
"Damn it, I just don't believe in evil..."
Chen Xiao reignited his fighting spirit, but this time, he did not continue to act like a brute.
Instead, he used his mind to sense and capture the location of the Qingmu Lingzhong.
After calming his mind, Chen Xiao discovered a strange phenomenon.
That was, the spirit mist in this space was also resonating at the same frequency as the Qingmu Lingzhong.
Hum—
Hum—
Hum—
...