98: Is this weakness serious?

My heart tightened, a sharp blade in hand, and I couldn't help but become more vigilant, ready to act if anything went wrong.

“Daoist friend is truly cautious; I didn’t expect to be seen through.”

“But you guessed wrong~”

“We were merely trailing the Purple Cloud Sect, originally intending to observe if their disciples had any particular habits, hoping to use that opportunity to request a batch of pills.”

“Who would have thought we’d witness Purple Cloud Sect disciples being tied up?”

“Fortunately, our methods of concealing our aura are exceptionally good, so those three villains didn't discover us.”

“Daoist friend, rest assured, although those three villains are powerful, they are only in the Entering Profundity and have not yet reached Reaching the Profound, otherwise, it would be impossible for us to appear here safely.”

With a bitter smile, his acting was keenly perceived by Xu Xi, and Xie Qingzhou, after some thought, could only tell the truth.

Of course, he still concealed some parts, not telling Xu Xi everything.

Behind Xie Qingzhou, Ye Gou and Roufu also gradually tensed up, observing Xu Xi's guarded movements and simultaneously adopting a combat stance, ready for defense.

“What you said is very hard for me to believe.”

“Do you really want to fight me?”

“I am a genius from Central Province; how many people in Ying Province can fight me?”

After listening to Xie Qingzhou’s words, Xu Xi sighed deeply, choosing not to believe him.

It now seemed that without some unconventional means, he wouldn't get any useful information.

He couldn't help but feel a headache; he had clearly disguised himself as Yi Zhusheng.

Thunderclap Pavilion of Central Province, though not a top sect, at least had some reputation, so why was it so ineffective in Ying Province, yet so useful against the Acacia Sect?

The Zhao Dynasty wasn't much stronger than the Acacia Sect.

In fact, due to the Acacia Sect’s special connections, it even held a slight advantage.

“Whether I can win or not, I’ll only know after trying. Your strength is not weak, but I also have some confidence in myself.”

Still as gentle-faced as before, like a spring breeze, Xie Qingzhou, apart from his initial surprise, seemed unperturbed by any situation.

He reached out and pulled out a jade flute, placed it to his ear, and slowly began to play.

As the melody began, waves of sound circulated, and Xu Xi could feel the change in the surrounding aura; any slight movement would be restricted.

“Sound-based cultivation technique?”

“Very good. They say the dynasties of Ying Province are skilled in combined attack techniques, but it seems that you martial arts sects haven't learned much of them.”

“Do you really think you can beat me one-on-one?”

“Thunder Law — Thunder Dragon Soaring!”

Thunder surged forth; if the opponent wanted to fight, Xu Xi wouldn't back down.

Just like when he fought Liu Xuanfeng, a long thunderous dragon coiled upwards, emitting roars and wails, clashing with Xie Qingzhou's melody.

As the sound waves collided, Xie Qingzhou and Xu Xi remained motionless, but Ye Gou and Roufu behind Xie Qingzhou were affected.

“Ah—”

A scream suddenly came, from Ye Gou, who was writhing on the ground in unbearable pain, whether from the invasion of the sound waves or some other reason.

At the same time, his right sleeve was torn, revealing a pale forearm, on which a dark brown vein pulsed continuously between the clearly visible blood vessels, as if drawing on Ye Gou’s vital energy.

“Roufu, quickly suppress it! I will channel spiritual power to you from the side.”

The moment he heard the wail, Xie Qingzhou’s heart was in turmoil. He no longer cared about fighting Xu Xi, quickly stopped, completely disregarding the possibility of Xu Xi's attack gravely injuring him.

His tone was anxious, lacking the calmness from before, which even surprised Xu Xi.

However, a moment later, Xu Xi’s surprise intensified.

Because, as Xie Qingzhou’s melody shifted, the original 肅殺 was replaced by gentleness. Xu Xi even felt a warmth throughout his body, and his spiritual power inexplicably recovered, a profound and wondrous feeling.

Dispelling the Thunder Dragon, Xu Xi, seeing this, no longer had the intention to continue attacking.

His attention was on Xie Qingzhou, and he also observed Roufu, who was channeling spiritual power. Xu Xi was somewhat curious.

This woman, following behind Xie Qingzhou, had not spoken much during all the events so far, merely acting silently.

As she raised her hand, blue lotuses bloomed, scattering towards Ye Gou, who was lying on the ground, directly targeting the area where the black vein appeared on his right forearm.

Washing over him again and again, with Xie Qingzhou’s spiritual power augmentation, Roufu’s spiritual power did not stop for a moment, until the black vein on Ye Gou’s right arm was completely suppressed, only then did she cease.

After all actions were completed, Roufu herself was panting, immediately sat cross-legged on the ground, swallowed a pill, and began to recover.

Of course, during this period, Xie Qingzhou’s flute music never stopped, constantly assisting Roufu.

“Squeak squeak~”

“Squeak squeak~”

Inside the storage bag, within the transparent container, the originally quiet Gu worm became agitated.

“The Gu worm is acting strangely; could Ye Gou’s abnormality be caused by a Gu worm?”

“And it’s even of the same origin as my Gu worm?”

Witnessing everything, Xu Xi, having stopped early, had been observing. Sensing the agitation of the Gu worm in his storage bag, he couldn't help but feel strange.

However, for now, Xu Xi could only tell that the Gu worm inside Ye Gou's body was related to his own Gu worm. As for whether it was the other missing one, Xu Xi was not entirely sure.

Given the special circumstances, Xu Xi found it inconvenient to take out his Gu worm to channel spiritual power and sense its location.

“Do you need help?”

Standing still, Xu Xi found it boring to just stand there. Looking at the anxious Xie Qingzhou, he calmly asked.

After all, things had come to this partly because of Xu Xi; otherwise, such a situation wouldn't have occurred.

Although he wore Senior Apprentice Yi Zhusheng's beast-like face, Xu Xi himself was still a good young man with strong moral principles.

“If Senior Apprentice Yi could infuse spiritual power to help my Junior Apprentice Sister recover, that would naturally be excellent.”

Currently playing the flute to soothe Ye Gou and accelerate Roufu’s spiritual power recovery, Xie Qingzhou, hearing Xu Xi’s words, did not refuse at all, not even fearing that Xu Xi might have ulterior motives.

Perhaps through various actions, Xie Qingzhou also knew that the Xu Xi before him did not have too malicious intentions, which was why he dared to accept Xu Xi's kindness.

“Then I’ll proceed. First, take some medicine.”

“The pill you just took didn’t seem very effective. When traveling, you should prepare more recovery-type medicines.”

Seeing Xie Qingzhou agree, Xu Xi was not polite. He walked forward, then sat cross-legged, simultaneously taking out a bottle of pills and handing them to Roufu. Immediately after, he condensed spiritual power in his palm and channeled it into Roufu’s body.

“Ding, a targetable character has been detected. The system panel is being generated for the host.”

“Ding, the system panel has been generated. Host, please check it yourself.”

【Name: Roufu】

【Critical Hit Spot: Jade Feet】

【Number of Battles: 0】

【Weakness: Fondness for Food】

【Affection: 30】

“Searched high and low to no avail, yet found it without effort. System, are you messing with my mind?”