Seeing Hua Qiyue sit limp on the ground, Yun Shimo's face darkened. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. I need to ingest some Spiritual Qi!" Hua Qiyue did not look at him, quickly ingesting the Spiritual Qi around her. Yun Shimo frowned. This woman was so powerful. She had suffered from the hallucinatory poison of the world's foremost poisoner and still remained unhurt save losing all her Spiritual Qi.

Faint silvery fumes converged from all around her, congregating in Hua Qiyue's body. They crept noiselessly into her.

The cave was quite stuffy, though it wasn't really hot. A cool breeze wafted out of the opening.

Yun Shimo also sat down. He had expended more than half his Spiritual Qi after directing that rare toxic fume out. He had to recover quickly. If Shui Qianruo attacked again, his energy would be at an ebb and he wouldn't be able to resist him.

At the time he recovered, Hua Qiyue was still ingesting Spiritual Qi. Her face started to flush. He knew she was about to end.

As expected, after a while, Hua Qiyue slowly retracted her palms and exhaled a long breath. "The Spiritual Qi here is plentiful. It's a treasured feng shui spot. Seems like His Majesty knows how to choose!"

She was right. How could the backhills of the palace have poor feng shui? The palace was surrounded by mountains and waters. It was said that when they selected the capital, they had consulted several hundred feng shui masters. They only chose this spot after getting the approval of 100 feng shui masters. The founding Emperor of the Changjing Kingdom finally decided to locate his palace here.

Yun Shimo flicked away the earth and dust on his robe. "It's getting late. We must go."

"But Shui Qianruo has just poisoned us. We have no evidence against him at all. We have to find a way to deal with that disgusting fellow." Hua Qiyue stood up, knitting her brows. She had recovered her energy and was feeling much better.

Yun Shimo shook his head. "Shui Qianruo isn't that easy to handle. Leave him to me!"

"Yun Shimo, are you implying that I am useless? Humph!" Hua Qiyue coldly snorted with a flushing face. Alright, so it was Yun Shimo who had brought her here. If it weren't for him, she would have died in the hands of Shui Qianruo or Chongxiao.

Yun Shimo did not express a denial. "Why state the obvious?"

"Yun Shimo... you...!" Hua Qiyue was so furious that she leaped up. Yun Shimo was obviously Tianci's benefactor. Yet his words were always so mean. Every time she met with him, she would lose her temper.

This guy was either giving her the cold shoulder, or showing her a scowling face. Hua Qiyue tried hard to recall how she had offended him.

While Hua Qiyue was getting enraged, two booms were suddenly heard. The cave immediately blacked out. It became pitch-dark before their very eyes. They could not see their fingers even if they held them up.

"Good heavens, what has happened?" Hua Qiyue could not remain calm. Why was she always losing her calm with this man?

"Maybe the cave opening is blocked." Yun Shimo's quiet voice came over to her. He took out a luminous pearl from his inner robe linings in the darkness.

Instantly, a gentle light lit up the cave. The cave was not big and was padded with a lot of withered grass. Someone seemed to have lived here in the past. Yet no one seemed to attach any importance to this cave.

Because the caves which the Emperor valued would be studded with luminous pearls and paved with white jade. They would look magnificent. In comparison, this cave was really shabby.

Hua Qiyue and Yun Shimo turned their heads simultaneously. They found the cave's opening sealed by a gigantic boulder. The boulder was deep black and had slipped down from above. It seemed to be a natural rock.

"Are there some mechanisms here?" Hua Qiyue wanted to walk over and touch the boulder with her outstretched hand. But Yun Shimo stopped her, pulling her back.

"This is a strange cave. Don't touch anything!" Yun Shimo remarked coldly. Although Hua Qiyue was high in her Qi Art cultivation, she had very little experience in the outside martial arts world. Yun Shimo was much more experienced.

Hua Qiyue quickly retracted her hand. Yun Shimo also retracted the hand pulling her back. The atmosphere became a little awkward.

Yun Shimo emitted an aura of Spiritual Qi with his palms faced down. He placed it slowly on that huge boulder.

An icy feeling made Yun Shimo knit his brows. It seemed to come from a distant antiquity, carrying with it a primitive simplicity.

Yun Shimo tried to push the boulder but it did not move. He used all his body's remaining Spiritual Qi to shove it. He heard a muffled sound, but the boulder did not even budge an inch.

As she looked on from the side, Hua Qiyue was dumbfounded. Who was Yun Shimo?

Someone whom even the Changlong Emperor had to concede to, sometimes. He regarded Yun Shimo as a very important personage of the kingdom. And his Qi Art cultivation was even higher than Hua Qiyue's.

Yet he could not even budge the huge boulder. What kind of a situation was this...

"Let me help you!" Hua Qiyue walked up and said in a low voice. Then, she extended her arms as Yun Shimo quietly retracted his. They pushed hard together, hitting the huge boulder. But the heavy boulder remained completely unmoved.

Hua Qiyue could also sense that air from the distant antiquity. Her body shook and for some reason, a sadness made her experience an odd, mournful feeling.

Soon, however, she recovered herself. She must resolve this problem first.

However, the two of them pushed and hit the boulder together. They even tried kicking it, but it remained stationary. It blocked the opening coldly and waywardly. It announced their entrapment in the cave for an indefinite period of time.

Hua Qiyue finally sat down, panting as she wiped away her perspiration. Since her reincarnation, she had been able to resolve all her problems. This was the first time she had to face an unsolvable problem. And Yun Shimo was with her.

Why so strange? Hua Qiyue just could not get it. Why was her luck so especially bad each time she encountered Yun Shimo?

As Hua Qiyue wondered what to do, two whizzes resounded in the cave. Yun Shimo immediately shielded their bodies with his Spiritual Qi with great alertness. He had discovered something flying in the cave.

Those two "whizzes" were made by a flying bird encircling the top of the cave.

A bird which neither Hua Qiyue nor Yun Shimo had seen before. The animal had a body like a hare's, but its eyes were green. It had two silver-white wings which shone like its eyes. It had a bird-like beak. Hua Qiyue started to shake, almost laughing out loud.

The body of a hare, the beak and wings of a bird. Put them all together and you would see a very adorable pet.

"Hey hey hey.... it's been 10,000 years. Finally, someone's here!" The bird started to speak in human tongue. Yun Shimo was looking very solemn, without a trace of a smile. Hua Qiyue was flabbergasted. She had never met a beast or a bird that could talk.

There must have been very few Qi Artists in the past who had seen such talking creatures. They were recorded in books, those spirit animals that could converse in human tongue. They had powerful Spiritual bodies and the ability to learn human languages. So they could converse with humans.

In other words, this strange, cute bird had a powerful Spiritual Body?

"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir. Can I ask what place this is?" Yun Shimo was quite calm, cupping his fists to ask a polite question. He was very knowledgeable and knew that this strange creature was no ordinary bird.

The strange hare began to chuckle. Hua Qiyue had to smile wryly and helplessly. "Sir, we are trapped here. What do you mean by this?"

"Hey, I've waited for 10,000 years. I must make you two stay! If you haven't ingested all the surrounding Spiritual Qi, I will be still hibernating. Thank you, young girl, for waking me up." The little creature had a delicate voice but its authoritative tone sounded conceited. Its words made Hua Qiyue realize that it must be at least 10,000 years old.

A 10,000-year-old creature was very terrifying. If they displeased this creature, they could never defeat it even if they joined forces.

"Don't mention it. But can we go now?" Hua Qiyue tilted her head, sizing this little creature up.

The little creature gave a strange shriek of laughter, its eyes shining with a tinge of derision. "I have lived for over 10,000 years. I don't even remember my age. So many people tried to butter me up. Why do you, a young girl, want to leave so quickly?"

Hua Qiyue was speechless. Yun Shimo glanced at her and said calmly,"Don't be angry, sir. She isn't knowledgeable and is just a housewife. No need to fuss over this woman."

Housewife?

Hua Qiyue almost spat out blood. "Yun Shimo, you are the housewife!"

"You even have a son. Aren't you a housewife?" Yun Shimo paused for a while and snorted contemptuously.

Hua Qiyue was extremely upset. She could not find the words to rebut Yun Shimo at the moment. Technically speaking, Tianci was only an "adopted son." She was still a virgin--although her spirit no longer was.

At least, in Hua Qiyue's heart, Tianci would always, always be her biological son. If she denied this, how hurt would Tianci be!

When it saw them quarrel, the little creature started to chuckle. "Alright, alright. Now isn't the time to argue. Ho ho ho... the test is about to begin. If you two can pass the test, I will impart my skills to you... if not, there is only one way out--die!"

The little creature was so amused. Yet when it spoke the final sentence, its tone suddenly became very sinister. Hua Qiyue stared at the creature's cold eyes and realized that it wasn't joking.

Yun Shimo and Hua Qiyue looked at each other and instantly realized how knotty the problem had become.

Their abilities marked them out as very powerful people in Changjing Kingdom. Yet they probably could not match even this creature's little finger!

Hua Qiyue wrinkled her brows. She just wanted to get home as quickly as possible to be with Tianci. It looked like that wasn't possible for the time being.

"Sir, may I ask, why must we pass your test?" Hua Qiyue asked in a low voice.

"Ho ho, I've been trapped in my enemies' formation for 10,000 years. Of course, I need to find someone powerful to break the formation. If you two pass the test, I will impart all my skills to you and help you break this formation. If not, you two will surely leak my secret after you leave... then, when the descendants of my enemies learn about me, I shall have to die!"

The little creature said, chuckling.

Hua Qiyue paused for a while. She had become even more confused.

"Your enemies' descendants? Sir, if your enemies have trapped you here, surely their descendants will know?" Yun Shimo asked, quite baffled.

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