38: The missing elder...Xu Nianyun!

The White Crane in Blue Clouds Painting was worth a hundred gold, and it secretly contained a Cultivation Technique; it was no small matter. Li Qi, preparing to flee, naturally wouldn't leave it behind.

Today, the main person arrived. Li Qi didn't say much and immediately took out the White Crane in Blue Clouds Painting.

"This Junior's Cloud Crane Sword Dance... it came from this."

Taking the scroll and looking at it, Wang Huan's expression changed drastically.

"This painting?!"

"This is Xu Nianyun's handwriting!!!"

Wang Huan exclaimed.

The moment he saw the White Crane in Blue Clouds Painting, he knew what was going on.

Technique hidden in the painting!

The painter, with their exceptional brushwork and painting skill, sealed the sect's ultimate technique, the Cloud Crane Dance Sword, within it. If someone could discern the subtle mysteries within, they might be able to comprehend the Sword Qi hidden there.

And Li Qi had indeed obtained the Pine Crane Longevity Sect's secret Sword Technique from this very painting!

But the key wasn't the painting itself... it was the painter!

"How did you get this painting?"

"My father passed it down to me."

"And where did your father get it?"

"He bought it."

"Where is your father now?"

"Three months ago, the rebel army passed through, and my father was killed by them."

"......"

Wang Huan took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "This isn't the place to talk. Come with me."

Saying that, Wang Huan grabbed Li Qi's wrist and pulled.

Under Li Qi's horrified gaze, everything he saw in front of him rapidly stretched and distorted. In the space of a breath, he had crossed a distance of a thousand zhang and arrived in an uninhabited forest.

Wang Huan held the White Crane in Blue Clouds Painting, his heart agitated: "Tell me clearly, how exactly did you get this White Crane in Blue Clouds Painting?"

Li Qi had no choice but to explain everything carefully to Wang Huan.

His thoughts seemed to be pulled back to the past; scenes of living with the Old Scholar reappeared before his eyes, and Li Qi slowly recounted his past experiences.

When he mentioned that the Old Scholar had bought the White Crane in Blue Clouds Painting from someone suspected of being a tomb raider, Wang Huan's voice changed, and he exclaimed.

"A tomb raider?!"

"How is that possible? You're saying this White Crane in Blue Clouds Painting was dug out of a tomb?"

"Xu Nianyun is dead?!!!"

As soon as these words came out, even the two young men who had been silent beside them panicked. One of them even shouted, "Impossible! This guy must be lying!"

"How could Junior Martial Uncle Xu die?"

"Even if everyone in the Pine Crane Longevity Sect died... Junior Martial Uncle Xu wouldn't die!"

At this, Wang Huan's face darkened, and he backhanded the boy on the head with a sharp rap.

"Muh Han, what nonsense are you spouting?"

"What do you mean everyone in the Pine Crane Longevity Sect died?"

"If the other Elders hear you... you'll be confined for at least half a year."

Despite getting hit on the head, the young man still looked stubborn.

Li Qi looked at the young man named Muh Han in surprise, as if the person named Xu Nianyun was very important to him.

"Who is Xu Nianyun?" Li Qi asked.

Wang Huan and the others exchanged glances, then explained a few things to Li Qi.

It turned out that Xu Nianyun was also a member of the Pine Crane Longevity Sect, a third-generation Disciple of the sect, on the same generation as Wang Huan, and also one of the Elders of the Pine Crane Longevity Sect.

But just a year ago, Xu Nianyun left the Pine Crane Longevity Sect for some reason and never returned. At that time, many people went to search for Xu Nianyun's whereabouts but couldn't find her.

To this day, there are still people in the Pine Crane Longevity Sect searching for Elder Xu, but she has been missing for a long time.

Until today, Wang Huan found Li Qi. He originally thought Li Qi was a thief who had secretly learned the sect's Sword Technique using some method, but they never expected that the Cloud Crane Dance Sword Li Qi had learned... was actually related to the runaway Xu Nianyun.

Li Qi was also stunned. He hadn't expected this Sword Technique to be related to a long-missing Elder of the Pine Crane Longevity Sect.

Is Xu Nianyun really dead?

This was the question in everyone's hearts.

Wang Huan calmed the unease in his heart and quickly considered all the possibilities.

"That tomb raider sold this White Crane in Blue Clouds Painting for a mere three taels of silver... This in itself is very abnormal."

"This indicates that the other party is definitely not a professional tomb raider! Which of those true tomb raiders isn't sharp-eyed? How could they not see the value of this painting? They would never sell it for so little!"

"So, it should have been a local farmer who, due to the difficulties of the chaotic times, had improper thoughts and dug up Nianyun's tomb, which is how the White Crane in Blue Clouds Painting from the tomb circulated."

"Since that's the case... let's find Nianyun's tomb first."

Wang Huan explained his conjecture, and everyone felt it made a lot of sense.

"Shu Zhiyou."

"This Disciple is here."

"Go to the villages near Chuan Prefecture and see if there's a tomb belonging to your Junior Martial Uncle Xu. If you find it, don't act rashly; come back and tell me immediately."

"Yes."

The Disciple named Shu Zhiyou was very skilled in tracking and searching techniques and immediately took the order and left.

After arranging for his Disciple, Wang Huan looked at Li Qi with a puzzled expression and asked.

"So, you were originally a scholar, and three months ago you entered the Jianghu and began practicing martial arts. Then you comprehended the Cloud Crane Sword Dance from Xu Nianyun's White Crane in Blue Clouds Painting?"

"Uh... yes."

"You, in just three months... broke through the Body Tempering limit? Achieved the Peak True Qi Realm?"

Li Qi could only nod in affirmation.

Muh Han, who was beside him, let out an exclamation, looking at Li Qi with the eyes of a monster.

Someone, in three months, breaking through from an ordinary person with no Foundation to the Peak True Qi Realm?

What kind of monster is this?

Could it be an Immortal's Reincarnation?!

At this, even Wang Huan's breathing became a few shades heavier. The hostility in his gaze towards Li Qi was gone, replaced by a hint of eagerness.

"Show me your Cloud Crane Sword Dance."

Li Qi nodded without saying much. He held his fingers together like a sword and lightly slashed to one side.

The Cloud Crane Dance Sword's Crane Cry Autumn Water!

A clear crane's cry resounded.

A wisp of Sword Qi flew from Li Qi's fingertip, slashing towards a boulder taller than a man nearby.

Since Wang Huan asked him to show off... then Li Qi didn't mind showing a little more.

With a thought from Li Qi, the Martial Dao True Qi in his body surged, and the Sword Qi still in the air suddenly vibrated!

The Sword Qi twisted and connected at its ends, forming a circular sword ring!

The sword ring let out a sharp shriek, shattering the nearby boulder into pieces!

At this sight, Wang Huan was almost startled off the ground.

"Sword Qi Solidification?!"

"Sword Technique... Grandmaster!!!"