As he spoke, the captain clearly used some unknown method to sense Xu Qing's state. Hence, the door of the secret chamber Xu Qing was in silently opened.
The captain walked in with a smug expression and waved his right hand.
"How is it, Little Qing? Isn't my method of opening the secret chamber's door through the restrictions and array formation very magical?"
"Let me tell you, this move was taught to me by a good friend I made after coming to the Imperial City."
Xu Qing lifted his head and looked at the captain before looking at the secret chamber's door. A strange feeling rose in his heart. One had to know that he had also other than the restrictions in this secret chamber, he had also put some formations and rest them a few times.
Although it couldn't be said to be perfect, it was extremely difficult to open it so simply and silently.
However, the captain actually opened it so easily.
"What technique is this?" Xu Qing couldn't help but ask.
These words made the captain feel proud and incomparably comfortable.
"Since I arrived in the capital, I haven't just been wandering around. I've adopted a new identity and made many friends, especially this one who is quite mysterious."
"However, you also know my personality. How can I let just anyone know me? Hence, I rejected her. She was anxious and taught me this trick in order to be friends with me."
"Let's not talk about this. You're done cultivating, right? Follow me."
As he spoke, the captain's face was filled with anticipation as he pulled Xu Qing's arm.
Xu Qing was helpless. There were only a few people in this world whom he couldn't refuse. Eldest Senior Brother was one of them.
"What are you up to now?"
Xu Qing stood up and glanced at the sky outside.
"Accompany me to the Star Emperor Supreme Sect to steal something," the captain said in a low voice. He pulled Xu Qing and headed outside.
Xu Qing stopped in his tracks and rejected. He didn't have a death wish.
Seeing this, the captain coughed.
"It's a branch sect, not the main sect. It's fine. The strongest among them is only at Nihility. As long as we don't make a scene and attract the attention of the main sect, it'll be fine."
Xu Qing thought about it before agreeing.
In the pitch-black world, the wind whistled. The surface of the lake outside Ning Yan's residence rippled as Xu Qing and the captain's figures swept past it.
"I made an arrangement with that mysterious friend to go to the Star Emperor Supreme Sect's branch sect's restricted area tonight and retrieve something."
As he sped, the captain transmitted his voice. At the same time, he took out a mask and threw it to Xu Qing.
"Put it on. Before we came to the Imperial City, I stole this from the old man's treasure vault. It can hide our identities as long as we restrain our aura a little. No one will be able to see our true appearance for a short period of time."
"After all, I'm not sure about the background of that friend of mine. There's a high chance that she is using me to hide her identity and has other motives. However, I do have to make a trip to the Star Emperor restricted area."
"There's something I want there. It's related to a major event in the future."
"However, I'm still not at ease about her, but I'm certain that she shouldn't have guessed my true identity. Hence, I am bringing you along. You'll be outside keeping watch for me. If she has ill intentions toward me, we'll kill her!"
"Also, after I enter with her, if she comes out alone first, help me stop her. I'm worried that if she leaves first, she will sell me off."
A cold glint appeared in the captain's eyes. Xu Qing nodded when he heard this. He then took the mask and wore it.
The material of this mask was very special. There was no discomfort when he put it on. It seemed to fuse with his face.
Xu Qing touched the mask on his face and sped up. As for helping the captain do such a thing, it wasn't his first time. As he followed, he pondered over the Variant Immortal School's cultivation art and tried to weave various things in his mind.
'In theory, with my current divine source soul threads, I can weave the second form...'
'However, my control over the soul threads hasn't reached the microscopic level yet. It will take some time to weave it and it's difficult to form it quickly. I need to practice again and again to perfectly control it and instantly reveal it.'
'However, the first form is much simpler. There are enough soul threads that can allow me to instantly pile it up.'
'Moreover, its form can also change...'
'This is very suitable for me to hide my identity when I do some things in the Imperial City.'
Xu Qing pondered and continued to weave in his sea of consciousness. His aura also changed. The captain immediately sensed it and glanced at him in surprise. However, at this moment, he had something major on his mind, so he didn't ask immediately.
Just like that, the two of them took advantage of the darkness and concealed their tracks as they sped forward. Two hours later, they finally arrived at the northwestern part of the Imperial City.
This place was far away from the city and was a mountain range. In the pitch-black world, this place was filled with snowflakes and was hazy.
However, there was a mountain peak among the mountains that seemed to be able to absorb starlight. Its body was resplendent and especially obvious. The snowflakes in the surroundings also reflected rainbow light.
This place was the territory of a branch of the Star Emperor Supreme Sect. There must be another space inside and this was the entrance.
"We're here."
The captain looked at the resplendent mountain in the distance. With a sway, he arrived at a nearby mountain in the shape of a rooster crown. He squatted there and licked his lips before turning to look at Xu Qing behind him.
Xu Qing closed his eyes and was weaving in his sea of consciousness.
The aura emitted by his body kept changing, completely different from before.
When he sensed the change in Xu Qing's aura again, the captain finally couldn't help but ask.
"Little Qing, what's wrong with you? I asked you to restrain your aura and not change it so drastically. How did you manage to do this? Especially now that you're wearing the mask, you seem unfamiliar to me..."
"I recently learned a new cultivation art."
Xu Qing opened his eyes and didn't explain too much.
The captain was curious and was about to continue asking. However, at that moment, a soft whistling sound rang out from afar. The captain and Xu Qing looked up at the sky.
A woman with a graceful figure but an ordinary face, dressed in black robes, appeared before Xu Qing and the captain, walking through the wind and snow. Her gaze swept over Xu Qing and finally settled on the captain.
"Chen Daqing, this is?"
Hearing the other party's address, Xu Qing glanced at the captain and knew that Chen Daqing should be the captain's alias.
"This is my brother, Ergou. He was worried about me coming alone, so he accompanied me to provide support."
The captain blinked and calmly spoke.
This woman didn't comment on this. She only glanced at Xu Qing again before retracting her gaze and looking at the Star Emperor Supreme Sect.
"Then, according to our agreement, let's set off now?"
"Let's go!" The captain took a deep breath. After giving Xu Qing a look, he flew out.
The woman also took a step forward, walking side by side with the captain, heading towards the radiant mountain.
Xu Qing kept watch. Soon, he saw that after the two of them got close to the mountain, they suddenly blurred and disappeared at the same time.
Xu Qing wasn't surprised by this scene.
The captain had many methods, and to be able to make him say that she was mysterious, she was clearly not an ordinary person. In addition, since she dared to target the Star Emperor Supreme Sect, she must have some confidence.
However, when he thought of the captain's suicidal personality, Xu Qing hesitated a little. His body swayed and he left this place, waiting at another mountain.
Time slowly passed. The Star Emperor Extreme Branch Sect was completely silent and there were no changes at all. Two hours later, the void suddenly distorted outside the dazzling mountain and the woman's figure appeared.
After walking out, she didn't hesitate at all and was about to leave into the distance. However, at the next instant, the woman stopped in her tracks. In the void in front of her, Xu Qing's figure appeared and stopped her.
"Fellow Daoist, there's no hurry to leave. It'll be safest if we leave together after Daqing comes out."
Xu Qing calmly spoke.
The woman frowned and her eyes gleamed with coldness. She looked at Xu Qing and calmly spoke.
"Scram!"
As she spoke, the woman's body emitted a dangerous aura. The void in front of her instantly froze, as though it had transformed into a mirror that enveloped Xu Qing's left and right, instantly shattering.
She didn't hesitate at all and continued forward. However, at the next instant, her eyes narrowed. In the void in front of her, Xu Qing's figure appeared again with a calm expression.
"Stop."
The woman's eyes narrowed and her expression turned solemn. After sizing up Xu Qing a few times, she suddenly lifted her right hand and pressed forward. The wind and snow in the surroundings immediately shook and their forms changed, transforming into ice needles that moved closer to Xu Qing.
An afterimage appeared on her spot as she headed straight for Xu Qing.
Xu Qing was expressionless. His left hand formed a seal and he waved it. Immediately, a field of black flames spread out from his body. His body swayed and he rushed toward the woman.
The two of them instantly came into contact and exchanged blows. Their spells intertwined and in the span of a few breaths, they had exchanged a hundred moves.
They were restraining themselves and didn't make a sound or cause too much energy fluctuations.
Ten breaths later, the woman became anxious and her expression revealed impatience.
"After Chen Daqing entered, he disappeared without a trace. There's no reason for you to stop me. If you still don't get out of my way… I'll kill you!"
"You can merely leave following he comes out."
Xu Qing calmly spoke.
"You're asking for death!" The woman's eyes glinted with coldness as she suddenly formed a hand seal with her right hand. A fissure split open on her forehead, and a white needle shot out with an ethereal sensation, breaking through the void and appearing in front of Xu Qing.
The aura it emitted was different from the power of cultivators and the pressure of gods, but its domineeringness was even more astonishing.
It was as though the essence of this force was that it was the merely supreme existence in the world.
For the first time, Xu Qing's pupils constricted. He felt a sense of danger. At this moment, he didn't hesitate at all. The 310,000 soul threads in his sea of consciousness instantly erupted and directly formed a sinister figure outside his body.
This figure was a beetle. Its entire body emitted dense divine fluctuations, giving off the feeling of being close to a god. It was none other than the earth child in the comprehension images recorded in the Variant Immortal School.
The highest cultivation level of a divine creature like the earth child was merely the Spirit Repository. However, this one's cultivation level was indeed at the Nihility Realm. It was created by Xu Qing using the soul thread weaving technique.
After it appeared, more than 300,000 soul threads surged and were about to collide with the strange needle.
When the woman saw this, her expression changed drastically. She retreated and hurriedly spoke.
"Stop!"
"Fellow Daoist Ergou, if this continues, it will be disadvantageous for both of us. The special restrictions I set up in the surroundings will also reveal flaws and we will be discovered. Let's not fight anymore. I'll stay and wait with you!"
As she spoke, she raised her hand in fear and recalled the white needle.
Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. With a wave of his hand, the earth child disappeared and his soul threads were hidden.
If the other party still wanted to attack, he could instantly form it again.
The storm continued. As the two of them stopped fighting, the mountain turned quiet.
Tens of breaths later, the woman gazed at Xu Qing, unable to hide the shock in her eyes. She took a deep breath and mentioned uncertainly.
"Fellow Daoist Ergou, did you use the Variant Immortal School's technique merely now?"
"These hundreds of thousands of soul threads… are too terrifying…"
"There's indeed someone in the world who can cultivate the Variant Immortal School's art to such an unprecedented level. Who… are you?"
