Lu Xueqi stood still on the spot, quietly waiting for a moment.
All around was silent, with no further sound from that mysterious person.
Her delicate brows slightly furrowed as she fell into brief contemplation, then helplessly shook her head. In a flash, her figure vanished, leaving the pavilion behind Xiaozhu Peak.
Today's experience had struck her like a warning bell in her heart.
She silently reminded herself to be even more cautious and vigilant from now on.
Most of these transmigrators possessed systems, and many of them had special abilities to conceal their auras.
Under such circumstances, even if her spiritual power far exceeded that of ordinary people, it would still be difficult to detect potential dangers.
It seemed that in the future, she must avoid acting alone as much as possible to prevent falling into unforeseen peril.
On the other side, Qi Hao stumbled back to the rear mountain of Longshou Peak in a fluster, his face still bearing traces of lingering panic.
Only after confirming that Lu Xueqi was not behind him did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Recalling the battle with Lu Xueqi just moments ago, his heart was filled with confusion.
Lu Xueqi’s strength had become far greater than the last time they met, vastly exceeding his expectations.
He even suspected that Lu Xueqi might have already broken through to the Upper Purity Realm.
“Could it really be that my transmigration to this world triggered a butterfly effect, making the original Lu Xueqi's talent become so terrifying?”
Qi Hao speculated inwardly.
Suddenly, he remembered the mysterious voice that had appeared just as he was about to succeed at the rear mountain of Xiaozhu Peak. His brows involuntarily furrowed tightly.
That voice, though deliberately altered, felt strangely familiar to Qi Hao.
The rear mountain of Xiaozhu Peak was the residence of the Qingyun Sect’s female disciples, and had always been a forbidden area, strictly off-limits to male disciples.
Yet, just as he was about to succeed, that person suddenly spoke out, as if they had been hiding in the dark all along, closely watching his every move.
At this thought, Qi Hao felt a chill run down his spine.
“Could it be that my actions all this time have been monitored?”
The moment this idea surfaced, Qi Hao broke out in a cold sweat.
He quickly turned his head in alarm, scanning the surroundings with his eyes darting back and forth through the dim forest.
After confirming there was no one else around, he finally let out a slight breath of relief.
Then, he hurriedly pulled out an ancient jade bottle from his robes, poured out a healing pill, swallowed it without hesitation, and sat cross-legged at the rear mountain of Longshou Peak. He began circulating his energy to refine the medicinal power, silently recovering from his injuries.
At this moment, he dared not return to the front mountain of Longshou Peak so easily.
He knew that if Master Cang Song saw him in his heavily injured state, it would undoubtedly raise suspicion.
What’s more, after the painful experience at Black Wind Cave last time, he had already developed a deep fear of that place and refused to step foot there again.
Although this sneak attack on Lu Xueqi had failed, at least he hadn’t alerted Master Shuiyue or the other experts of the Qingyun Sect.
Even if Lu Xueqi reported him, as long as there were no witnesses, he could still forcibly deny everything.
So now, the most important thing was to recover as quickly as possible, then find a chance to return to Longshou Peak.
During his recuperation, Qi Hao’s thoughts unconsciously drifted to his future plans.
Currently, the three layers of protective golden light on his body had been completely depleted.
Without the protection of the system, he no longer had the courage to step foot on Xiaozhu Peak again.
Lu Xueqi’s strength was unfathomable. With his current cultivation, confronting her would be like throwing an egg against a rock.
Even if he managed to evade the patrols of Xiaozhu Peak disciples and successfully approached Lu Xueqi, with her slightly irritable nature, she would likely cut him down on the spot without hesitation.
Thinking through this, the plan to bind Lu Xueqi would have to be put on hold for now.
The urgent matter at hand was to quickly bind other genius disciples in order to boost his own strength.
At the very least, he needed to break through to the Upper Purity Realm as soon as possible.
Because only after breaking through would he be able to gain another opportunity to bind someone. At that time, it would not be too late to find the right moment to deal with Lu Xueqi again.
At this thought, Qi Hao began carefully sorting through the many genius disciples within the Qingyun Sect in his mind.
After some contemplation, two candidates gradually became clear.
One was Tian Ling’er from Dazhu Peak.
Since transmigrating and possessing this body, the original Qi Hao had interacted with Tian Ling’er quite a few times and had even succeeded in winning her favor.
Looking at it this way, binding Tian Ling’er shouldn’t be too difficult.
The other was the junior disciple of Longshou Peak—Lin Jingyu.
Lin Jingyu possessed extraordinary talent, even surpassing Tian Ling’er in many respects.
However, the thought of binding a male still left Qi Hao feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
But for the sake of increasing his strength, he quickly cast aside that awkwardness.
After all, Lin Jingyu was right here in Longshou Peak. It would be extremely convenient to find him on any given day, making him the perfect candidate for now.
Just as he was plotting, a sudden noise came from the area where he was healing, startling Qi Hao.
“Senior Brother Qi Hao, what are you doing here?”
Hearing that voice, Qi Hao’s entire body instantly tensed, alarms ringing loudly in his heart.
Although his injuries had improved somewhat with the help of healing pills, his complexion still looked unusually pale.
If another disciple from Longshou Peak discovered him like this, and news of it reached Master Cang Song’s ears, it would undoubtedly cause him endless trouble.
In that instant, he even had the thought of silencing the witness.
However, when he turned to look in the direction of the voice, his expression changed dramatically.
The person who had arrived was none other than Lin Jingyu—the very one he had just been planning to target!
Qi Hao couldn't help but feel ecstatic inside, thinking,
‘Searched high and low, only to find it without effort.’
He had just decided to bind Lin Jingyu, and now the other party had shown up on his own—this was simply heaven itself lending a hand!
The moment Qi Hao recognized the newcomer as Lin Jingyu, the surging killing intent in his eyes receded like a tide.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips, and he looked warmly at him.
“Ah, Junior Brother Lin, what brings you to the rear mountain today?”
Lin Jingyu paused slightly, a pleasantly surprised look appearing appropriately on his delicate features.
“Senior Brother! I’ve been feeling restless in my cultivation lately and thought I’d take a walk in the rear mountain to relax. I didn’t expect to run into you.”
His gaze suddenly fell on Qi Hao’s pale face, his pupils shrinking slightly as he casually inquired.
“Senior Brother, your face looks so pale, and your aura is disturbingly weak. Did something happen?”
This seemingly concerned question was like a thorn, causing Qi Hao to instinctively narrow his eyes.
The killing intent boiling in his chest almost burst forth—but in the next second, he remembered the purpose of his visit.