“Have you found those twin sorceresses?”
Seeing the ssage from ng Yan, Qi Ping’s heart remained largely untroubled; he was confident he could handle two cultivators at the ninth level of Qi Refinent.
It was just that he had originally planned to cultivate uninterrupted until he reached the eighth level of Qi Refinent. Being interrupted now brought a faint tinge of regret.
However, returning to his cultivation later wouldn’t significantly impact him.
He had accepted a task, and he would see it through faithfully.
Since Qi Ping had already given ng Yan his word, he would naturally fight alongside him in the ti to co, doing everything within his power to help ng Yan achieve victory and preserve his life.
This was the principle Qi Ping adhered to, as his understanding of his own Dao Heart grew clearer and firr.
To take, one must also give back.
He held his own inner scales of judgnt. He would not act like those petty individuals who only know how to take without giving, nor would he allow himself to be bound and shackled solely by a sense of obligation.
Seeing that the hour of Zi was approaching, Qi Ping made careful preparations.
Bees, Ya Ya, talismans… He dared not be the slightest bit negligent in his combat preparations and planning.
Even with ample confidence, the possibility of capsizing in a narrow drain existed. There were far too many examples of those who, through carelessness, were killed by enemies weaker than themselves.
Moreover, the combat power of these twin sorceresses when working together had nearly overwheld ng Yan—a disciple of an elder who had comprehended the true intent of law. No one could say for sure if these two were hiding even greater strength.
After making complete preparations, Qi Ping transford into a Mo Jia Bee and approached the agreed-upon location just before the Zi hour.
Before entering the designated spot, Qi Ping first dispatched his bee swarm to carefully scout the area.
Through the bees’ observations, he saw that ng Yan was already waiting there ahead of ti.
What surprised Qi Ping was that even though the bees’ reconnaissance was very discreet, ng Yan still detected so anomaly. Fortunately, the number of bees was small, and they retreated promptly, avoiding provoking ng Yan to investigate further.
His perceptual acuity seed even sharper than that green-clothed woman’s.
After confirming there was no danger, Qi Ping resud his human form, adopting the face of that middle-aged man, while using the Fetal Breath Art gifted by ng Yan to conceal all his aura.
A short mont later, Qi Ping saw ng Yan standing under a tree, his figure robust and solid like an iron tower.
“Brother Qi, I’ve finally been waiting for you!”
Upon seeing Qi Ping’s figure, ng Yan revealed a smile.
“My apologies for keeping you waiting, Brother ng!”
“Your timing is just right!”
“What’s the situation with those two sorceresses? You ntioned they seem to have other helpers with them?”
“So scum from the Tianhuo Pavilion. His strength isn’t remarkable—an ordinary ninth level Qi Refinent cultivator. He wouldn’t even be a match for Ya Ya. With your assistance, Brother Qi, his presence won’t make much difference.”
“Good. How should we proceed with the fight?”
“They, along with that Tianhuo Pavilion disciple, are currently on Tianqing Mountain, preparing to jointly open a hidden cave dwelling. It’s the forr abode of a Foundation Establishnt cultivator. But in truth, over a decade ago, an elder from the Qingyuan Sect cleared it out completely. Apart from the defensive formation, there’s nothing of value inside. We’ll move in to surround and kill them once they’ve expended significant energy attacking the formation.”
At this point, ng Yan shook his head slightly, a hint of helplessness in his expression.
“These talented sect disciples always think they are favored by fortune. They love exploring secret realms and fighting for resources on their cultivation path. But they fail to realize that so places are specifically designed as traps and graves for them…”
These words sent a chill through Qi Ping’s heart.
ng Yan’s statent didn’t just apply to those talented sect disciples; many rogue cultivators harbored the sa mindset.
But Qi Ping had always felt that talk of serendipitous encounters was the most unreliable, especially concerning things like secret realms and legacies.
He could never quite grasp one thing: under what circumstances, and with what mindset, would an individual or a sect specifically leave behind opportunities and inheritances for later generations?
Having pondered the fundantal nature of humanity on this matter multiple tis, Qi Ping always concluded that the likelihood of a trap far outweighed that of a genuine opportunity.
This was also why he had always been wary of tales about secret realms and fortuitous encounters.
The world of cultivation certainly held instances of inexplicable kindness, but Qi Ping was unwilling to believe such a thing would happen to him, or rather, he was unwilling to gamble on it happening to him.
Why would anyone willingly give away what they had painstakingly accumulated over a lifeti to strangers?
Searching his own heart, Qi Ping knew he would absolutely never do such a thing.
So, more than relying on chance encounters, Qi Ping believed in mutual benefit and cooperative Win-win.
Recalling his past experiences:
He had saved Sister Nan, and through their subsequent interactions, earned her trust, which eventually led him, by a twist of fate, to obtain the Insect Rearing Manual.
Acquiring the Lihuo Crow was also based on long-standing trust and cooperation with Boss Gao.
And what about the Demon Insect King beneath the Blood Ginseng? If he had recklessly dug down and entered initially, the outco would most likely have been his soul shattered by the Insect King.
In summary, Qi Ping did not believe in unconditional love.
Sister Nan, Boss Gao, Old Man Zhou—they were willing to trust him based on his past actions and character, a principle Qi Ping strictly adhered to.
Building on trust, cooperating through mutual exchange of benefits, allowing both parties to gain sufficiently…
Qi Ping even felt that without Boss Gao’s endorsent, he might not have had the chance to connect with ng Yan.
It was just a pity that most people suffered from survivor bias, always thinking that they might be the special one, that they might be the lucky one…
ng Yan’s words today served as another warning for Qi Ping: Do not trust seemingly fortuitous opportunities!
The cave dwelling those sorceresses now happily believed they had luckily discovered was clearly nothing more than a monitoring device and trap set up by the Qingyuan Sect.
This also made Qi Ping more wary of the cave dwelling on Mountain #7 in Sector Jia, where Sister Nan had obtained the Insect Rearing Manual.
Without absolute certainty and complete preparations, he must never, ever attempt to open it!
Otherwise, he might be stepping into a fatal trap!
Upon reaching the foot of Tianqing Mountain, ng Yan suggested they wait here for now.
During this ti, ng Yan occasionally glanced at a strange black stone in his hand.
Qi Ping couldn’t detect any abnormality or change in it; it seed only ng Yan could perceive sothing.
Although curious, since ng Yan didn’t offer an explanation, Qi Ping didn’t ask. Instead, he made a conscious effort not to let his gaze linger on the object, silently reminding himself to be even more cautious. The world of cultivation was full of too many unknown thods; it was easy to inadvertently fall into soone else’s trap.
This subtle action of Qi Ping’s inadvertently raised a sliver of goodwill in ng Yan’s heart.
Cooperating with an ally who understood boundaries was indeed more comfortable and inspired more trust. Who knew what a foolish ally with no sense of propriety might do at a critical mont?
After the two had waited at the foot of Tianqing Mountain for quite a while, a smile finally tugged at the corner of ng Yan’s lips:
“Brother Qi, the ti has co. We can make our move!”
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