Twists and Turns

"Since you want the cultivation techniques so badly..." "Seeing as you know how to please others, I'll give them to you." "However, I have a condition." Hearing Heavenly Venerable Yixin's words, Li Qing was slightly taken aback. From the shadows, a tall, voluptuous woman stepped out slowly. Appearing in her thirties, she looked far more mature and sensuous than the youthful Senior Sister Zhao seated before him. "You performed quite well in the illusion. I wonder what you're capable of in reality?" "If you can satisfy me, who knows? In my pleasure, I might even gift you a few extra cultivation techniques." The mature Senior Sister Zhao brought her index finger to her lips, lightly licking it. Her eyes were languid as she gazed at Li Qing, her face flushed crimson, as though water could be wrung from it. "Very well!" Li Qing nodded, agreeing without hesitation. Moments later... A straight black sword materialized before Li Qing. The tip of the sword pointed straight at Heavenly Venerable Yixin. Li Qing looked solemn. "I have a sword strike. Senior Sister, please enlighten me!" His voice was like thunder, reverberating throughout the grand hall for a long time. The coquettish expression on the mature Senior Sister Zhao's face instantly froze. Giving Li Qing a deep look, her body recoiled and vanished into the darkness in an instant. "Get lost!" A streak of silver light flew toward Li Qing. Recorded within it were none other than the Profound Heaven Sect cultivation techniques Li Qing had been longing for. Aside from the arts he already knew of—such as the Heaven and Earth Mutual Conquest Rhapsody and the Eternal Sole Self Incantation—there were two additional techniques he had never heard of before: The Secret Scripture of Sitting and Forgetting and the Record of the Three Perils, Ghosts, Gods, and the Netherworld. Li Qing was overjoyed. "Many thanks, Heavenly—" Before he could finish his sentence, a wave of dizziness washed over him. In the next instant, his surroundings shifted abruptly. He was no longer within the Dadao Sect; Senior Sister Zhao had kicked him out. He had returned to the territory of the Five Elders Association. *It seems Senior Sister Zhao was quite angry at being rejected in the heat of the moment,* Li Qing chuckled inwardly. Relying on his various cards, he had successfully exchanged for the Profound Heaven Sect techniques from her. Yet Li Qing had not let it go to his head. He still harbored deep reverence and dread toward a Longevity Heavenly Venerable. Falling into indulgence in the illusion was because he had lost his true self. But if he were to indulge in intimacy with a Longevity Heavenly Venerable in reality... There would surely be unforeseen risks. Thus, Li Qing had refused decisively. *I must remain vigilant at all times,* Li Qing admonished himself once more. Looking around, he oriented himself to determine the route back. Although his mission was accomplished and his original self had simultaneously learned of his experiences, every one of these Profound Heaven Sect techniques contained a vast, boundless expanse of content. They could not be read through in a short time; they needed to be brought back to his original self as quickly as possible. *This place seems rather unfamiliar. I wonder which Heavenly Venerable's territory in the Five Elders Association this is.* Having no intention of asking anyone, Li Qing merely pinpointed the general location of his original self. He then sped off in that direction. At first, just like when he arrived, all went smoothly. He encountered no questioning from Five Elders Association cultivators. However, as he was about to cross the boundary of this province, an accident occurred. Suddenly, three figures flew up from the ground, blocking his path. Li Qing's heart tightened. Before he could react, one of the three ahead asked, "Who goes there? Where are you bound?" Li Qing was about to make up an excuse to brush them off. Yet the words twisted abruptly the moment they reached his lips: "I am Li Qing of the Profound Heaven Sect! Having infiltrated the Five Elders Association and obtained cultivation techniques, I am on my way back!" As if bypassing his brain entirely, he blurted out his deepest secrets! The moment these words left his mouth, Li Qing's face changed drastically. The three Five Elders Association cultivators responsible for questioning him froze at first. Then, shock and terror dawned on their faces. "There's—" Before they could take any action, however, a black sword shadow flashed like lightning, slashing swiftly through their bodies. *Bang!* In an instant, the three cultivators burst into clouds of blood mist, leaving not a trace of bone or flesh behind. The phenomena of fallen cultivators began condensing in the sky. Seizing the opportunity, Li Qing fled at top speed. *The Country of Truth!* *Senior Sister Zhao is truly petty!* Just moments ago, what was meant to be a perfunctory lie had turned into the unvarnished truth. That instantly made Li Qing realize where he was. *The power of the Truth Heavenly Venerable is indeed extraordinary!* Fleeing in haste while reflecting on what had just happened to him, Li Qing was secretly shaken. With his mental fortitude, he had failed to sense anything amiss throughout the entire process. Only after the words left his mouth did he realize something was wrong. He even sensed that even now, knowing the rules of this place, he would be utterly incapable of fabricating a lie even if he tried! Such was the power to invert the principles of Heaven and Earth! *Enticing and manipulating the mind is truly the hardest to guard against.* With a sinking feeling, Li Qing accelerated further. Although his identity had been exposed, fortunate for him was that this region lay deep within the Five Elders Association's interior, which had enjoyed peace for so long. Defenses were not overly strict, and no pursuers gave chase for the moment. Furthermore, Senior Sister Zhao had likely only meant to scare him, with no intention of truly harming him; otherwise, wouldn't their transaction have been in vain? Thus, the location where she had teleported Li Qing was merely near the border of the Country of Truth. Before long, Li Qing had crossed back into the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals. However, crossing the Alliance's boundary defense line brought another minor episode. During his time in the Five Elders Association, the boundary's protective arrays had been completely altered. The vulnerabilities his original self had previously passed to him were now obsolete, nearly causing him to be discovered by Alliance patrolling cultivators. Fortunately, his original self detected the situation and cracked the formations in the nick of time. Only then was Li Qing spared from exposing himself. Soaring once more through the territory of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief. *Though I managed to obtain the techniques, the return journey has been plagued by relentless twists and turns.* *Is this what they call 'the course of true success never did run smooth'? I hope nothing else goes wrong now.* With that thought in mind, Li Qing hurried toward the Spirit Wood Realm. Yet perhaps some invisible force of fortune was indeed at play; just as he was about to reach the entrance to the Spirit Wood Realm, for some inexplicable reason, Li Qing was locked onto by a Sky-Patrolling Arrow patrolling high above. The arrow's light burst forth. Caught completely off guard, Li Qing had his body pierced right through. Had he not formed his grotto-heaven using a wonder of Heaven and possessed extraordinary strength, unleashing thousands of sword daos at the critical moment of impact to neutralize a portion of the arrow's power, this single strike would have killed him on the spot! Even so, Li Qing was severely injured. Moreover, the firing of the Sky-Patrolling Arrow drew the attention of Alliance cultivators. Fortunately, Lin Ling, who had been ordered to receive him, arrived quickly and carried the grievously wounded Li Qing away. By the time the Alliance cultivators reached the scene, all they found was a massive crater and scattered flecks of blood. Within the Spirit Wood Realm, Li Fan personally tended to his clone's wounds.