568: Chapter 568 Taking Qingming Away

[On the fourth day, you gave the immortal medicine and the nine-leaf green lotus to Qin Yu and discussed some matters with her.]

[On the sixth day, you had Liu Jinfeng and Liu Ruyan leave the Tianhuang Secret Realm.]

[On the eighth day,]

[You looked up at the sky.]

[The mirror formed by the pseudo-artifact spirit hung in the sky, hazy and grey, like a half-closed eye silently overlooking the Tianhuang Continent.]

[You slowly raised your hand, your fingers gripping the void, and gently closed them.]

[The mirror's surface began to crack, the fissures spreading in all directions like a spider web.]

["Crack—"]

[A mournful cry echoed from the sky, shrill and brief, cut short halfway through.]

[Then, it fell silent.]

[Next, after disguising your face, you swept your hand across the air, tearing a rift in the Void Realm. With one step, you arrived at the Qingming Hall.]

[Inside the hall, two Liu Clan Disciples were dozing against a pillar. Seeing you appear out of thin air, one gaped while the other stared wide-eyed, both stunned.]

[Before they could figure out what was happening, they felt their bodies beginning to dissipate—starting from their limbs, peeling away layer by layer.]

[When they looked down, their legs were gone.]

[Looking up again, their hands were gone as well.]

[Before they could cry out, they turned into nothingness, not even leaving behind a speck of dust.]

[You glanced back at the qingming mirror and beckoned with your hand. The mirror's body shook slightly before transforming into a streak of light and entering your body.]

[Then, you took a step forward—]

[The Void Realm beneath your feet seemed to shatter. The world shrank rapidly under your stride; mountains and rivers turned into blurred lines, and the wind and clouds froze in mid-air like a still painting.]

[The scene shifted rapidly as the land receded past you.]

[When your foot landed, you were already a million miles away.]

[Just as you were about to move again, you slowly lowered your raised foot.]

[You turned your head to look back, your gaze piercing through the Void Realm—there, another person was also watching you.]

[It was Liu Qingtian.]

[In the next second, his figure moved, and he appeared opposite you.]

[The two of you faced each other from a distance, like two mountains confronting each other across a canyon.]

["Fellow Daoist, I wonder where my Liu Clan has offended you?" Liu Qingtian's voice was calm, betraying no emotion. "Why did you steal my clan's qingming mirror?"]

["The qingming mirror belongs to your Liu Clan?" You smiled slightly, a hint of killing intent flashing in your eyes.]

[Just as you were about to strike, you suddenly remembered—you didn't have the fourth immortal slaying sword.]

[As such, you couldn't perform the Four Symbols Sealing Heaven.]

[The opponent was, after all, a Integration Stage Cultivator. Without a corresponding finishing move, you weren't certain you could kill him.]

[If he were determined to flee, you were even less certain you could stop him.]

[If you couldn't kill him and instead exposed the immortal slaying sword, the loss would outweigh the gain.]

[After some thought, you withdrew your killing intent.]

[However, that fleeting killing intent had already made Liu Qingtian's heart tremble.]

[He was puzzled—why was there such killing intent upon their first meeting?]

[He even felt that in that moment just now, he was only a hair's breadth away from death.]

[A Integration Stage Cultivator is extremely sensitive to such killing intent; he didn't believe it was just his imagination.]

[He frowned, his tone softening slightly: "Fellow Daoist, you look familiar. May I ask which power you hail from?"]

["Wuji Immortal Sect," you blurted out.]

[Liu Qingtian's heart sank, but he quickly calmed down and put on a smile: "My Liu Clan believes we have never offended your esteemed sect. I wonder why Your Excellency is acting this way?"]

["Heh—" You chuckled, your tone impatient. "Are we fighting? If not, I'm leaving."]

[Before your voice finished echoing, your Body Integration Late Stage Aura exploded outward like a sweeping gale.]

[Liu Qingtian's figure stiffened slightly under the pressure of that Aura. He suppressed his anger and gave a dry laugh: "Why must you be angry, Fellow Daoist? Since you like the qingming mirror, just take it."]

[Judging by this Aura, he knew he was no match for you.]

[Furthermore, this was in the Liu Clan Territory—if they fought here, he would be the one to suffer.]

[He wouldn't do something so self-defeating.]

[You smiled faintly, and with a movement, you arrived at Tianshu City.]

[Liu Qingtian did not leave; he followed you, hovering in the sky above Tianshu City.]

[After landing at the Teleportation Plaza, you spoke indifferently: "Activate the array."]

[The guards responsible for guarding the Teleportation Array immediately surrounded you.]

["Your Excellency, please show your teleportation credentials, otherwise..."]

["Activate the array and let him go," Liu Qingtian's voice came from the sky.]

["Yes, Clan Chief!"]

[The Liu Clan guards' expressions changed, and they immediately turned to drive away the people still waiting to be teleported.]

["Get lost, hurry up!"]

["Move it, move it! Don't block the way!"]

[The waiting Cultivators were pushed and scolded, scrambling to get away. Someone tripped but didn't even care about the pain, scrambling up to run out.]

[A group of people huddled in a corner of the plaza, craning their necks to look over here, whispering among themselves.]

["Who is that? The Liu Clan Patriarch personally seeing him off?"]

["I don't know... I've never seen the Patriarch be so polite to anyone."]

["Polite? It's more like... it's like he's seeing off a plague god."]

["Shh... keep it down. Do you want to die?"]

[The humming of the Teleportation Array began, and rings of spiritual light lit up one by one, like ripples on the surface of water.]

[You stepped into the array, and the spiritual light flashed brilliantly, illuminating the entire plaza.]

[When the light faded, you had vanished.]

[Watching you leave, Liu Qingtian's tense nerves finally relaxed, and he let out a heavy breath of turbid air.]

[At this time, the space beside him fluctuated slightly, and Liu Suifeng appeared by his side: "Patriarch, why did you let this person go?"]

["The feeling he gave me..." Liu Qingtian paused, his voice lowering, "his strength is likely not inferior to my elder cousin."]

[The elder cousin he spoke of was naturally Liu Tianxing.]

["Once we fight," he looked up toward the teleportation array, his gaze profound, "the Clan Territory will surely be devastated."]

[Liu Suifeng's brow furrowed: "I just received news that the qingming mirror is lost. Could it be related to him?"]

[Liu Qingtian didn't speak, only nodding.]

["Then should we..."]

["No need." Liu Qingtian waved his hand, interrupting him. "Keep this matter a secret. If it gets out, our Liu Clan cannot afford the loss of face."]

[Liu Suifeng was silent for a moment, then asked: "Patriarch, could this person have a significant background?"]

["Wuji Immortal Sect."]

[Liu Suifeng's brow furrowed tightly, and he didn't ask further.]

[It wasn't that Liu Qingtian hadn't suspected you were lying.]

[But such a thing could be verified with a single check.]

[If you really weren't from the Wuji Immortal Sect but dared to act in the name of the Immortal Sect, wouldn't you be offending both sides?]

[At that time, the Wuji Immortal Sect wouldn't let you go, and the Liu Clan certainly wouldn't either.]

[How could someone survive in this Immortal Realm after offending two top-tier powers?]

[He thought about it and felt no one would be that stupid.]

[So, he believed it seventy to eighty percent.]

[He just couldn't understand—why would a grand Body Integration master like you specifically steal the qingming mirror?]

[It was merely a grotto-heaven magical treasure. In his eyes, it was like one of ten pigpens kept by a wealthy Mortal merchant.]

[What on earth were you after by stealing one of those "pigpens"?]

[He couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried.]

[On the tenth day, you and Qin Yu parted ways. She took the qingming mirror and went to the Kunlun Dao Academy, becoming a Disciple of the Killing Dao Academy.]