Then there are only two possibilities.
First, that Tianshan Child Maiden has already begun to revert to childhood.
And the "Eight Desolations, Six Harmonies, I Alone Am Supreme" technique is truly miraculous, to the point where even he couldn't detect the slightest anomaly.
Second, that Tianshan Child Maiden has already been captured and taken down the mountain by that Wu Laoda.
His gaze turned toward the imposing Lingjiu Palace complex.
With a flicker of his form, he entered.
He walked through the palace complex as if it were an empty space.
Even when people passed by him, they didn't notice his presence.
This was his current near-perfect manipulation of spiritual power and the forces of heaven and earth—anyone below the Grandmaster level would find it hard to detect him.
After wandering through Lingjiu Palace for over an hour, he finally found the secret chamber mentioned in the original text.
Focusing his mind, he looked at the stone wall carvings in the chamber.
Immediately, his eyes lit up slightly.
A faint golden glow appeared in his eyes, and the patterns on the stone wall seemed to come alive.
A unique force emerged, vaguely forming a human silhouette, demonstrating profound martial arts.
After about half an hour, Li Daoqiang slowly withdrew his gaze, in a good mood.
The three martial arts—"Eternal Youth Longevity Technique," "Tianshan Plum-Breaking Hand," and "Tianshan Six Yang Palm"—were all embedded in this stone wall.
Now, he had obtained them.
Although he didn't have the secret of the "Life-and-Death Talisman," he figured that once he cultivated the Tianshan Six Yang Palm to a certain level and pondered it deeply, deducing the secret of the Life-and-Death Talisman wouldn't be too difficult.
One of the main goals of this trip was nearly achieved.
As for the "Eternal Youth Longevity Technique" and "Tianshan Plum-Breaking Hand," even if he practiced them, they wouldn't seem to enhance his strength much.
But they were still resources for his future martial path.
A decent gain, nonetheless.
He glanced at the stone wall again, hesitated briefly, but decided not to destroy it in a hurry.
He would deal with it after handling Wu Xingyun.
With a step, his figure vanished, and he left Lingjiu Palace.
Dozens of miles outside Lingjiu Palace.
Ding Chunqiu and Duan Yanqing were waiting there.
The two stood several zhang apart, both silent.
A faint air of wariness and vigilance hung between them, clearly showing they didn't trust each other at all.
After a while, Ding Chunqiu suddenly spoke with a faint smile: "Brother Duan, you and I are kindred spirits, now in the same stronghold.
Why be so guarded against me?"
His tone carried an obvious intent to build rapport.
Duan Yanqing gave Ding Chunqiu a cold glance, his voice as calm and indifferent as ever: "If you have something to say, say it."
Ding Chunqiu's smile froze, seemingly caught off guard by Duan Yanqing's bluntness, which defied convention.
A flicker of hesitation crossed his face before he replied with a friendly smile: "Nothing much. I just heard that some of my unworthy disciples have ended up under your command, Brother Duan."
"They're all members of Black Dragon Stronghold, not under my command." Duan Yanqing understood immediately and replied flatly.
Ding Chunqiu snorted inwardly—this was a direct refusal before he could even start negotiating.
"Brother Duan, the road ahead is long. Why let a few worthless disciples sour our relationship?" Ding Chunqiu said with a smile.
"Do whatever you want. I don't care." Duan Yanqing said calmly.
Ding Chunqiu grew angry. "Don't care" meant he did care.
His disciples were now in Black Dragon Stronghold, effectively under Duan Yanqing's authority.
The stronghold's rules were strict, forbidding mutual killing.
Without Duan Yanqing's cooperation, how could he make his disciples disappear one by one without a trace?
He gritted his teeth and held back.
No rush. He'd find an opportunity slowly.
He withdrew his gaze and fell back into silence.
Duan Yanqing sneered inwardly, not even bothering to look at Ding Chunqiu.
Such a shameless man, who had disgraced the Grandmaster title, was beneath his contempt.
After a while.
Li Daoqiang's figure appeared before them.
"Chief!"
Both bowed.
"Let's go." Li Daoqiang casually said a single word and flew off in one direction.
The two didn't dare ask questions and followed closely.
Having been fixated on the Life-and-Death Talisman for so long, Li Daoqiang had naturally been preparing.
Though he didn't know much about the movements of the Thirty-Six Islands and Seventy-Two Caves, finding them wasn't difficult.
By evening.
At a certain place.
Several figures screamed and collapsed to the ground, staring in terror at the three figures before them.
"Where is the little girl you took from Lingjiu Palace?" Li Daoqiang said calmly.
The figures grew even more frightened.
Wu Laoda trembled all over and said with reverence: "May I ask who you are, senior?"
Li Daoqiang had no interest in dealing with him. Ding Chunqiu immediately understood and stepped forward with a cold laugh, sneering: "Didn't you hear? If you don't speak, you can all die.
No, I'll make you wish you were dead."
Wu Laoda and the others couldn't hold out any longer and quickly nodded: "I'll talk, I'll talk. She's in a cave ahead."
Ding Chunqiu glanced at Li Daoqiang, caught on, and said coldly: "Lead the way."
"Yes, yes, yes." Wu Laoda and the others struggled to their feet and walked ahead.
After a while, a sack was opened before Li Daoqiang, revealing a little girl as delicate as carved jade.
A timid expression appeared on her face, vivid and flawless.
"Senior, this is the little girl I brought out of Lingjiu Palace," Wu Laoda explained fearfully.
Vaguely, he had already guessed the identities of the people before him.
That Grandmaster with the double crutches was too distinctive. With enough knowledge, calming down and thinking about it would reveal who he was.
And realizing that, he had no will to resist, only awe as he looked at the leading figure.
Li Daoqiang naturally ignored Wu Laoda. He looked at the little girl, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
He still couldn't detect anything unusual.
He reached out and touched her, activating his perception to its limit.
After a breath, a smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
The girl looked at Li Daoqiang with a confused, fearful expression, showing no cracks.
Li Daoqiang withdrew his hand and walked outside, an invisible force grabbing the little girl and bringing her along.
Ding Chunqiu and Duan Yanqing took a deep look at the little girl before following.
"Senior."
Suddenly, Wu Laoda knelt down, kowtowing repeatedly with reverence: "I beg you, senior, to save the people of the Thirty-Six Islands and Seventy-Two Caves.
If you act, we of the Thirty-Six Islands and Seventy-Two Caves will serve you with all our might, loyal and unwavering."
"Wait."
With those two words left behind, Li Daoqiang and the others vanished.
Wu Laoda, as if hearing heavenly music, collapsed to the ground in a daze, sweating profusely and laughing foolishly, as if he had encountered something wonderful.
"Wu Laoda, do you know who those people are?" someone asked nervously.
Wu Laoda looked at them with eager anticipation, speaking slowly and solemnly: "That man with the double crutches and a fierce face—think carefully about who he is.
And who would he follow?"
After a moment of silence, someone suddenly understood.
"Could that man be Duan Yanqing! And the one Duan Yanqing follows is—"
The cave fell into dead silence.
The few exchanged glances, all seeing the excitement and hope in each other's eyes, as if they had found a glimmer of hope.
In a forest dozens of miles away.
Li Daoqiang stopped, set down the little girl, and smiled at her: "Tianshan Child Maiden, truly worthy of your reputation. If I hadn't checked you myself, I wouldn't have noticed anything off."
As soon as he spoke, Ding Chunqiu and Duan Yanqing's expressions changed.
They stared at the little girl, disbelief in their eyes.
This little girl, showing no trace of martial arts, was the infamous Tianshan Child Maiden!
The timid expression on the little girl's face remained. Hearing this, she looked at Li Daoqiang, seemed to understand something, and calmed down.
A hint of authority appeared on her childish face.
"Who are you? Why are you looking for me?"
Her words, laced with caution, fully convinced Ding Chunqiu and Duan Yanqing.
They looked at Tianshan Child Maiden with curiosity and surprise.
"Ding Chunqiu, you blind dog, can't even recognize your own senior master?"
The next moment, as if holding back anger for a long time, Wu Xingyun glared coldly at Ding Chunqiu and scolded him without restraint.
"You."
Ding Chunqiu bristled, his eyes turning cold.
In the past, he feared this senior master he had never met. Now that she was clearly in trouble and with Li Daoqiang as a powerful backer, he had no fear.
Just then, Li Daoqiang casually waved his hand, and Ding Chunqiu dared not say more.
Wu Xingyun looked at Li Daoqiang with even more wariness.
For Ding Chunqiu to be so respectful and obedient, this man was no ordinary figure.
Perhaps...
"I am Li Daoqiang, chief of Black Dragon Stronghold. As for why I'm looking for you, Child Maiden, there's naturally a reason." Li Daoqiang said with a gentle smile, unhurriedly.
"Li Daoqiang of Black Dragon Stronghold!"
Wu Xingyun frowned deeply, surprise in her voice.
Seeing Li Daoqiang nod, she glanced at Ding Chunqiu with disdain: "No wonder this unworthy junior of mine is so obedient. So it's Chief Li."
Ding Chunqiu couldn't help but fume again. This old witch.
"Ding Chunqiu willingly became my slave and dog some time ago, Child Maiden. Don't belittle him." Li Daoqiang said in a friendly tone.
Ding Chunqiu didn't react much, but Wu Xingyun's face changed. A chilling aura radiated from her, stabbing at Ding Chunqiu like ice, her anger surging: "As a disciple of the Carefree Sect, you became someone's slave and dog!"
Years of accumulated authority made Ding Chunqiu instinctively flinch, but he quickly recovered and sneered: "Heh, I'm willing. What kind of man is Chief Li?
Being his slave and dog is my honor."
Li Daoqiang's smile grew a shade warmer.
Duan Yanqing couldn't help but shoot Ding Chunqiu a contemptuous look.
Wu Xingyun was so furious her small body trembled, her face murderous.
"Wretch, I truly regret not killing you with my own hands earlier."
"Heh, Senior Master, don't get so worked up. You should take a good look at the world.
What's the Carefree Sect?
Can it compare to Chief Li?" Ding Chunqiu grew even more smug, grinning.
Wu Xingyun looked ready to jump up, her eyes blazing with fury.
"Enough, Child Maiden. Take a look at this."
Li Daoqiang stopped the farce, a ring appearing in his palm.
Wu Xingyun's face twisted as she looked, then froze.
"The Seven Treasures Ring! How do you have it?"
Then, as if a thought struck her, murderous intent erupted.
"Did you kill Wuyazi and take it from him?"
(Chapter 1.) ······