Lou Yi thought for a moment, and to avoid making the other party awkward, he also appropriately reacted by returning the embrace.

His hands wrapped around the other's slender waist; all he felt was a softness like boneless flesh, with skin smooth to the extreme.

At the same time, he could not help but feel a little touched in his heart.

After all, You Qingyi didn't know his strength, and coming back was taking a huge risk to her life.

The two embraced tightly for a long time before You Qingyi released her grip, somewhat afraid to look at Lou Yi, with two enticing blushes appearing on her jade-like cheeks.

"You... It's so good that you're okay." A voice as soft as a mosquito or fly sounded.

"Fortunately, an expert passed by and scared that evil cultivator away." Perhaps due to the pearl, Lou Yi instinctively concealed the fact that he had killed the evil cultivator.

Besides, no one would believe it if he said it.

"That's great. The next time we meet that expert, we must thank him properly..." You Qingyi didn't care about the truth in Lou Yi's words.

As long as she saw that he was alive, she was already very happy.

A moment later.

"Brother Lou, since the evil cultivator is missing, why don't we return to the sect?"

You Qingyi's emotions had completely returned to normal, and her face once again showed the usual cold expression.

This made Lou Yi feel a bit regretful; perhaps it would be difficult to see such an unguarded expression from her again.

"Alright." Lou Yi nodded in agreement, thinking for a moment, then added, "The expert who helped me scare off the evil cultivator today doesn't want others to know."

You Qingyi gave Lou Yi a deep look and replied, "Alright, I will keep it a secret. Once back, I will say we both luckily escaped."

You Qingyi was no fool; she could guess that Lou Yi's story might not be true, but she was willing to unify the narrative with Lou Yi.

The two organized the bodies and belongings of Zhang Zhiqiang and Yang Haiying and put them into the storage bags.

To avoid further complications, they hurried back to the sect on the same day.

The death of two Inner Sect Disciples was no small matter.

The Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall summoned them for questioning and also called over Du Xing, who was the first to return to the sect.

You Qingyi and the other two had a consistent account of the events prior to encountering the evil cultivator; there was nothing much to say about that.

As for the events after encountering the evil cultivator.

The three of them maintained a similar story, claiming they were no match for the late-stage Qi Refining, so they fled in different directions.

Unexpectedly, two were unlucky and were chased down and killed by the evil cultivator.

Their account was very logical, and the Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall had no questions.

Only his expression was gloomy, issuing a True Inheritance level task, preparing to continue investigating the whereabouts of the evil cultivator.

The three of them left the Law Enforcement Hall.

"Junior Sister You, Junior Brother Lou, it's really great that you both are alright." Du Xing, this hook-nosed man, acted as if he didn't remember fleeing first and leaving the two as scapegoats.

He greeted Lou Yi and the others quite naturally, "About that incident before... After all, Senior Brother is only at the Qi Cultivation Middle Stage, no match for that late-stage evil cultivator.

But don't worry, I have already gathered the treasures I need. Once I return to seclusion, I will definitely break through to the late stage, and similar things won't happen again."

As he spoke, Du Xing deliberately emphasized the words 'break through to the late stage'.

As if that could make Lou Yi and You Qingyi apprehensive, eliminating unnecessary thoughts.

"Senior Brother Du, don't take it to heart; self-preservation is human nature." Lou Yi said indifferently.

There's no need to mention fellow disciples. Even spouses or siblings, in times of danger, running for life separately is not uncommon.

However, Du Xing deceived them into fighting the evil cultivator as cannon fodder and then privately ran away himself, which is quite a different matter.

If the opportunity presents itself in the future, Lou Yi wouldn't mind teaching him a harsh lesson.

As for You Qingyi, unwilling to make any pleasantries, she didn't even bother looking at Du Xing and just turned to leave.

Causing Du Xing to frown and his expression to turn gloomy.

On the way back to the Disciple Peak.

"Brother Lou, you saved my life again. How should I repay you?" You Qingyi said softly.

The gentle tone evoked endless imagination.

"Miss You, don't worry too much. At the time, I was also saving myself." Lou Yi smiled. "But if you have the time, you could help me keep an eye out for some treasures, like Moonlight Dew or Ice Soul."

"Okay, you've mentioned it to me before. I remember."

"If there's a task that interests me, please also help take it on." Lou Yi made another request.

Under the new regulations of the Corpse-Driving Sect, Outer Disciples can take on tasks originally exclusive to Inner Sect Disciples, but must have an Inner Sect Disciple participate.

Lou Yi needs to enhance his Spirit Root and increase his Yin Affinity, requiring early knowledge of the whereabouts of Yin creatures.

This naturally requires the assistance of the Corpse-Driving Sect's vast intelligence system.

Such tasks may involve stopping Yin creatures causing trouble in Zhao Kingdom, requiring a disciple to handle it.

By taking on such tasks, one could achieve two objectives with one action.

Seeing Lou Yi had no other requests, You Qingyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, yet felt inexplicably wistful.

Back in his cave abode, Lou Yi continued researching the pearl.

He found it greatly beneficial to Lou Er, able to neutralize the long-accumulated chill in his body, making his complexion gradually become rosier, akin to a human.

'If that's the case...' A bold idea emerged in Lou Yi's mind.

However, the time was not yet ripe; he would wait until the neutralization was nearly complete before implementing that idea.

Meanwhile, Lou Yi began organizing his belongings.

He had about ten talismans, including Divine Movement Talisman, Armor Talisman, and Clear Heart Talisman.

He also obtained an unknown black talisman paper from the evil cultivator, which, after consulting Rong Xuejian, was called the Enchanting Talisman.

It's useless to cultivators but can confuse weak-minded mortals into revealing the desired information.

There were three weapons.

An axe made from Meteorite Iron, which was significantly damaged during the fight with the evil cultivator.

This also made Lou Yi notice the inadequacies of mortal weapons. They are easily damaged when clashing with Immortal Dao Magical Artifacts.

'I need to find a sturdier material and have an axe crafted using Immortal Dao techniques,' Lou Yi considered.

The other two were a Flying Sword from the Five Elements Sect female Daoist, and the Child-Mother Black Nail Magical Artifact obtained from the evil cultivator.

A cultivator wants to use a Magical Artifact; it requires Qi Cultivation Middle Stage and the birth of Spiritual Sense to achieve that.

Although Lou Yi believed his Divine Sense Cultivation was not weaker than that of a Qi Cultivation Middle Stage cultivator.

Yet, since there was no method tailored for Divine Sense, he still fumbled with controlling Magical Artifacts.

The unknown grey pearl should be the most precious item he possesses and must not be easily revealed to others.

Additionally, there was a storage bag from the Five Elements Sect female Daoist, which he also needed to figure out how to unlock later.

He sensed there were definitely treasures inside, and the feeling of guarding a treasure mountain without being able to excavate it was quite unbearable.

While Lou Yi was organizing his items.

Several black-robed figures suddenly appeared in the forest where the evil cultivator had been killed, each shrouded tightly from head to toe, exposing only a pair of scarlet eyes.

"This idiot, he didn't know how to be secretive in his actions, and sure enough, was killed by the Corpse-Driving Sect members; even his body was completely burned, showing no apparent cause of death."

"It doesn't matter that he died, but he also lost the Pure Yang Tribulation Pearl, a crime truly deserving death!"

"Stop chattering, we need to retrieve the Tribulation Crossing Pearl quickly. The master is already furious; let's not end up taking the blame ourselves."

"Investigate which disciples from the Corpse-Driving Sect survived the mission; no matter what methods, we must retrieve the master's treasure!"

A hoarse and unpleasant voice, like a saw cutting a tree, exchanged rapidly and intensely.

A moment later, these black-robed figures disappeared from the spot.

Where they once stood, the ground was charred black.

Within a hundred-meter radius, the vegetation had turned yellow and dry, birds and insects became a mere pile of corpses, turning the place almost into a wasteland.

...

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