Standing beside the young man were three men and a woman, all with faint smiles on their faces. One of the men, who was around thirty and had a strong physique, spoke, "I have heard that Lu Tianyue from Lingdong Mountain is also here?"

The woman laughed softly, looking at him, "What's the matter, Qing Ge, still have your eye on that flower?"

The young man who had spoken earlier also laughed, "Qing Ge has been interested in Lu Tianyue for quite some time. However, the old coot of Lingdong Mountain is known to have a bad temper. He once announced that anyone who dared to have any designs on his disciple would meet their death."

"Hmph..." Qing Ge, the sturdy man, exhibited a semblance of disdain and said lightly, "Lingdong Mountain is nothing but a place relying on a bunch of hopeless old-timers who failed to refine their spirits. One day, I will personally set foot on Lingdong Mountain and take Lu Tianyue away!"

"Hahahaha, we will accompany Qing Ge when the time comes!" The others all burst into laughter.

After they had their fill of laughter, Qing Ge spoke again, "I've heard that this time, a superclass strongman might come. When the time comes, you guys help me keep an eye out. Don't let Lu Tianyue get hurt. As for the others...heh, it'll be better if they all die."

"You wouldn't even care about your future father-in-law?" The woman asked with a teasing smile.

"Future father-in-law? He is nothing but a family head of a small, insignificant family, hardly anything to be taken seriously," Qing Ge commented indifferently.

"Well, it might be so, but tonight is bound to be anything but peaceful," the man who spoke first commented lightly, "However, we must also try to get ahead of those people and obtain the greatest benefits within those ruins!"

"Yeah... the legendary Qingxu Sect's ruins!" Qing Ge couldn't help but sigh, "Remember how powerful the Daoist Qingxu was in those legends? It was said that at the age of fifty, he reached the peak of the Primordial Infant stage, stepped into the Spirit Refining stage, and ascended to the Immortal Realm... He left behind the Qingxu Sect, a grand and magnificent sect, which was ruined in just three thousand years by its disciples. A sect that was once glorious and mighty is now nothing but ruins. If not for the awakening of that treasure inside, I reckon these ruins would still lie dormant in time."

"That treasure, is it really True Phoenix Blood?" the woman asked eagerly, "It's said that back then, Daoist Qingxu became the top Heavenly Genius in the entire Spirit Realm because of that drop of True Phoenix Blood, isn't it?"

Qing Ge shook his head, "It is not entirely accurate to say that Daoist Qingxu rose to power relying solely on that drop of True Phoenix Blood. Because when he first got the blood, he couldn't use it at all! That drop of blood was too heavy. Based solely on our Spirit Realm cultivators' skill level, it was impossible to refine it! However, undoubtedly, he benefited enormously from the True Phoenix Blood."

"Why didn't he take it with him when he ascended?" one of the young men asked.

"He couldn't! The True Phoenix Blood... it's something with real divine spirit energy, not everyone can take control of it," Qing Ge explained enthusiastically, appearing to know a lot, "Even if we do find that drop of True Phoenix Blood, it still depends on fate. But what I want here... is another weapon that everyone else has overlooked!"

"Weapon?" the others were all slightly stunned, looking at Qing Ge in confusion.

Qing Ge nodded and said, "That weapon is a knife. They say it's a true divinely empowered weapon! It's kept alongside that True Phoenix Blood! Legend has it, it was that knife that cut the True Phoenix, and with that drop of True Phoenix Blood, fell into our Spirit Realm."

Looking at their shocked faces, Qing Ge said, "In other words, both the knife and the True Phoenix Blood do not belong to our world. The knife is even more ferocious... I heard that when Daoist Qingxu first got it, he had wanted to use it. But he couldn't even lift it. In the end, he could only regard both the knife and the blood as the treasures of the Qingxu Sect. Many people say that Daoist Qingxu was broad-minded, detached from worldly concerns. Even such divine artifacts were left for future generations. In fact, he just couldn't take them."

"Qing Ge, you certainly know a lot," the youngest man looked at Qing Ge with admiration.

However, Qing Ge shook his head with a sigh, "I am here to retrieve that knife as per the task given by the elder. Furthermore, he told me all these things."

"The elder is indeed good to you, Qing Ge," the woman said enviously.

"Wu Man, remember one thing," Zhao Qing suddenly became serious, looking at the woman.

"Hmm?" the woman looked at Zhao Qing curiously, "What are you going to say, Qing Ge?"

"Never say anything bad about the elder, anywhere, anytime," Zhao Qing said, looking at the other three men, "Sun Hai, Sun Song, and Song Wan, remember my words too."

"We would never dare to..." the others replied in unison.

Wu Man looked at Zhao Qing and said, "Qing Ge, you're joking. Without the elder, where would we be today? Who would dare to speak ill of him behind his back?"

"No, you don't understand," Zhao Qing looked at them, "We belong to the same sect, but your masters... don't really count for anything in front of the elder."

The faces of Wu Man and the others changed slightly at Zhao Qing's words. In their view, although the founder of the sect held an extremely honored position, their respective masters weren't weak either! They were regarded as the five elders along with the founder and were supremely respected.

However, it seemed that in the eyes of their senior brother Zhao Qing, their status was quite low?

"If we were in the sect, I wouldn't dare to tell you these things, even if it cost me my life. We might not share the same master, but we grew up together since we were children and are as close as siblings," Zhao Qing looked at the other four seriously, "There are many things I can't tell you in detail, but just remember my words, your masters... are not as respected as you think!"

"Qing Ge... I don't understand..." the young man who spoke first, named Sun Song, frowned as he looked at Zhao Qing.

"You don't need to understand," Zhao Qing waved his hand to interrupt Sun Song's words, speaking lightly, "Just remember that I won't hurt you."

Sun Song seemed to want to say something else, his brother, Sun Hai, said in a deep voice, "Enough, our senior brother certainly has his difficulties. Some things you just need to know, you don't need to know too much, it won't do you any good."

Sun Song thought for a moment, his lips moved slightly, but in the end, he kept quiet.

Wu Man looked at Zhao Qing with her sparkling eyes for a moment before smiling softly, "Our senior brother has been the kindest to us since childhood. The elder is the most fond of him, so naturally, he knows more than we do. It's just typical. Anyway, I believe the senior brother will never harm us no matter what."

Zhao Qing glanced at Wu Man affectionately. He truly considered these people as his younger brothers and sisters and did not want them to encounter any accidents. He thought for a moment and said lightly, "Originally, the elder would come personally this time, but he was hindered by some matters. So, he sent me to retrieve the knife. As for the True Phoenix Blood... the elder has never cared about it!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Man and the others sucked in a breath, looking at Zhao Qing with thoughtful expressions on their faces.

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