Chapter 129: Guests? No way!

The song ended, and the wind dispersed.

Lü Qi ceased her earlier wild laughter, returning to her gentle and dignified demeanor. She had long grown accustomed to such shifts in personality.

Inside the dilapidated temple, silence reigned once more.

Lü Qi looked toward the bottom of the main hall, where Guilong and Guisha remained on the ground with their eyes wide open.

Soon, blood began to leak from their seven orifices, and their hearts ceased to beat. They were completely and utterly dead.

Two of the Seven Apostles of the Demon Sect had been dealt with by Lü Qi just like that.

While it appeared somewhat easy, the step-by-step preparations involved were anything but simple. A single misstep would have resulted in total defeat.

Lü Qi possessed the ability to command the gale, earning her the title “Child of the Wind God” in the outside world. This caused many people to overlook the sound of her lute.

The pieces Lü Qi played possessed a “magic” capable of controlling the spirits of others, a power she had obtained from the Lute Demon, Dugu Ling.

However, because Lü Qi’s cultivation was not as high as Dugu Ling’s, she could not completely control an opponent’s mind with a single melody.

She needed to proceed gradually, drawing her targets into her trap bit by bit.

The wind served as the perfect bait.

When dealing with Guilong and Guisha just now, Lü Qi had used her wind phantoms to restrain the two and draw their attention. During that time, the continuous lute music began to invade their minds.

If one did not understand Lü Qi’s abilities well enough to stop the music or prevent themselves from listening beforehand, it was easy to fall victim to her trap.

Without even realizing it, Guilong and Guisha had their spirits dominated by Lü Qi.

She had transported them to the Ancient battlefield, forcing them to face a primal fear from the dawn of time. Their spirits were like the lute strings Lü Qi plucked—they would snap with just a little force.

If the spirit died, the physical body lost its purpose for existing, effectively ending their lives.

Aside from those whose spirits and willpower had already surpassed mortal limits and ascended to another realm, even practitioners with the cultivation of a Grandmaster might not necessarily survive Lü Qi’s mental control.

The seven disciples of Among the Colorful Clouds were all overpowered, and that was no exaggeration.

Just then, several Fengqing Sect disciples who had been hiding in the surroundings appeared. They found two items: a map and two eyeballs taken from the Buddha statue.

The antique lute in Lü Qi’s hands dissolved into flowing wind, as if a wind god were clinging to it, and vanished. Afterward, she slowly descended on the breeze, appearing as elegant as an immortal.

“Lady Child of the Wind God, please look at this,” a Fengqing Sect disciple said, presenting the map and the Buddha statue eyeballs together.

“This is… a map of Yuanzhou?” Lü Qi’s willow-like brows furrowed slightly.

She then discovered that the dilapidated temple she currently occupied had a prominent marking on the map. There were two other similar markings elsewhere on the map.

“It seems they intended to go to these places to retrieve certain items.” Lü Qi quickly determined Guilong and Guisha’s intentions.

She picked up the two Buddha statue eyeballs and looked them over, but she couldn’t see anything special about them. They appeared to be nothing more than two ordinary stone balls.

However, Lü Qi knew well that the more ordinary something appeared, the less one could afford to be careless.

“Lady Child of the Wind God, should we return the Buddha statue’s eyeballs?” the Fengqing Sect disciples asked.

“No, I must take them back and study them thoroughly,” Lü Qi replied. “Perhaps once the other items are found, I can discover the connection between them and learn the purpose of these eyeballs.”

“My Lady, do you intend to…” They couldn’t help but tremble when they heard this.

After several years of instruction, these Fengqing Sect disciples understood Lü Qi’s personality very well. They had likely guessed what she wanted to do next.

“Yes. All of you get ready. We are going to investigate the locations marked on the map right now,” Lü Qi said.

‘As expected…’ The disciples had already guessed it would be like this.

In fact, from the moment they left the sect to track Guilong and Guisha, they had not closed their eyes until now.

Even though the energy of a Martial Dao Practitioner far exceeded that of an ordinary person, going several days without rest and without a full meal still took a significant toll on the body.

“Lady Child of the Wind God… no one has closed their eyes for nine days. Our bodily functions have all declined. Perhaps you could…”

“What? Do you want to slack off?” Lü Qi said with a stern face.

“No, no… we just feel that proper rest can lead to higher efficiency. You should also rest, My Lady. You might not have noticed, but you have dark circles under your eyes…”

“They are just dark circles; what’s the big deal? I’m not afraid of being seen like this, nor do I care about the opinions or evaluations of others.”

Lü Qi completely ignored her personal image, then lectured the disciples: “Your point about balancing work and rest is correct, but there is a new Demon Sect force lurking in Yuanzhou right now. How can we be so negligent?”

“Uh…” The disciples all hung their heads with bitter expressions, not knowing what to say.

However, while Lü Qi was a workaholic, she was also reasonable.

Seeing that the disciples before her were dispirited, she no longer forced the issue and sighed.

“Fine, let us return to the sect first. I will have others take over your Mission. Of course, since you are being replaced halfway through, the final rewards you receive will be partially split with the others, all right?”

“That’s fine! That works! Thank you, Lady Child of the Wind God!!”

“Thank you, Lady Child of the Wind God!”

The disciples hurriedly cupped their hands in thanks. Rewards weren’t important at all; they just wanted to take a good bath, eat a full meal, and then have a beautiful sleep.

Lü Qi entered the main hall and bowed to the neglected Great Buddha, apologizing for the “commotion” that had just occurred there. Then, she turned to the Fengqing Sect disciples and said, “Let’s go.”

The group left the temple and returned to the Fengqing Sect.

The Fengqing Sect was located in the central part of Yuanzhou. Similar to Among the Colorful Clouds, it was situated atop a high mountain.

It was precisely because the environment here was similar to Among the Colorful Clouds, giving her a sense of home, that Lü Qi had chosen to join the Fengqing Sect.

***

Early the next morning, Lü Qi returned to the sect with her group of disciples.

When she reached the mountain gate, Lü Qi saw a familiar figure.

Successor Disciple Fu Yi was waiting for her return.

“Lady Child of the Wind God.” When Fu Yi saw Lü Qi return, she took the initiative to step forward and cup her hands in greeting.

“Fu Yi, how is your daily patrol work going?” Lü Qi returned the greeting and asked with a gentle smile.

“I have found no abnormalities. Please rest assured, My Lady.”

“That is good.” Lü Qi nodded and asked further, “Has anything unusual happened within the sect over the past few days?”

“Nothing unusual. Everyone is practicing hard and has not been negligent. However, a guest arrived yesterday and is currently waiting for you.”

“A guest?”

Lü Qi’s smile faded upon hearing this, and her willow-like brows knitted.

“Fu Yi, why didn’t you turn that guest away on my behalf? You should know that a new Demon Sect has appeared recently. I cannot be negligent; I simply have no time to meet guests.”

“I know, Lady Child of the Wind God,” Fu Yi replied. “But you should rest for a few days and go see that guest.”

“Who is this guest? Why must I see her?” Lü Qi asked.

“Well… that guest hopes I can keep her identity a secret for her. It is temporarily inconvenient to inform you.”

“Playing mysteries… I won’t see her!” Lü Qi shook her head. “Go pick a few people for me. I need to set out immediately.”

‘Where did this eccentric person come from, thinking they can interrupt my work?’