Daqin arrests alchemists, what does it matter to me as a qi refiner?

"I never thought that following you would lead to such great danger. I feel like you've screwed me over!" Yang Ling's lips twitched. What kind of time is this to be saying such things? The old man turned his gaze to Qin Xiaoxiao, and when he saw her true face, he was instantly stunned and couldn't recover for a long time. It was her.

Yang Ling observed the old man's expression, knowing full well what was happening around him. Previously, Qin Xiaoxiao had seemed familiar, but her appearance didn't quite match; now, it finally made sense. He clenched his fists, his heart filled with shock. How could this be? However, the old man quickly recovered. Given her status, how could she be associating with Yang Ling?

A closer look reveals that although the two share some similarities in temperament, the difference between them is still too great. "There might be more to this than meets the eye," Yang Ling blurted out, staring at the old man.

"Senior, do you know something? Did you think of something just now?" He had always been curious about Qin Xiaoxiao's identity. If the old man really knew, he might be able to provide him with some clues. He had been troubled by this matter for a long time, but he didn't expect the old man to actually know. The old man met Yang Ling's gaze, and his expression became serious.

"Really? Then do you know who she is, and is there any connection between you two?" Yang Ling was completely bewildered by the questions. Why was the old man asking so many questions? What could possibly be the connection between the two? He frowned.

"She is the Qin family's young lady, but I only recently found out that she isn't the real Qin family young lady at all. There are other young ladies in the Qin family. She has an amazing physique, and it seems that someone has been coveting what's inside her. Out of desperation, she came to me!"

Yang Ling didn't hide anything from the old man and told him the whole story. The old man had never heard of such a person before, and after a while, he continued.

"I dare not exaggerate. In fact, her appearance really surprised me because she looks exactly like an old acquaintance of mine. There is no difference in any way. She is the female head of the family."

Yang Ling suddenly realized that he had actually guessed earlier that there must be a big shot behind this.

The female patriarch is said to be even more powerful than the Qin family patriarch. She must be orchestrating a grand scheme behind the scenes, and Yang Ling dares not offend her lightly.

He fell into deep thought. If that was the case, then he understood that Qin Xiaoxiao was definitely no ordinary person.

Yang Ling pondered to himself, "As expected, this female patriarch is unfathomable; she actually dares to do something so audacious." He looked at the old man.

"Senior, do you know any solutions? Or have you not figured out what to do?" Upon hearing Yang Ling's words, the old man turned his head to the side, pretending to be unaware.

"I've had some things to attend to lately. After I send you all back, I plan to travel around and take a good rest." Yang Ling snorted coldly upon hearing the old man's words, then turned to look at Ying Zheng, wondering if Ying Zheng would abandon him too. Ying Zheng met Yang Ling's gaze and coughed awkwardly. To be honest, it wasn't that he didn't want to express his opinion, but that he simply couldn't guarantee it.

“I think you should just accept it. In a way, it’s not necessarily a bad thing, right? And there might even be a chance for things to turn around!” He said, word by word, his eyes filled with unprecedented determination.

Yang Ling couldn't help but roll his eyes. What was the difference between saying that and not saying anything at all? They weren't weak, yet they were all turning their backs on each other and not daring to utter a single word in the face of a powerful being.

Seeing this, the old man offered a word of advice.

"I'm just reminding you that from the moment you met her, it was clear that nothing was simple."

"You must be extra careful. No matter what happens now, don't overthink it. Just face it slowly." Yang Ling waved his hand, too lazy to pay attention to the old man. What was the difference between this and making sarcastic remarks? Besides, he had already given the old man that cultivation manual. What more did the old man want from him? He still had a heavy weight on his mind. The old man had already schemed against him. If he could remain calm, that would be too illogical.

Then, Qin Xiaoxiao woke up from her sleep. She coughed and, as soon as she opened her eyes, felt unbearable pain all over her body.

Yang Ling quickly took a few steps back. Qin Xiaoxiao's temperament had always been eccentric. He had known from the beginning that her gentle demeanor was all an act, and now it seemed that he was right. Qin Xiaoxiao glanced at Yang Ling, a white glint flashing in her eyes.

"Did you do anything to me just now? Or did you do something you shouldn't have?" Yang Ling shrugged.

"I didn't do anything. I'm incredibly grateful to you for saving me just now. But please don't be so impulsive or panicked again!"

Upon hearing Yang Ling's words, Qin Xiaoxiao snorted coldly, thinking that Yang Ling was being presumptuous. She didn't owe Yang Ling anything; she was just repaying a favor. Why was he meddling in her affairs? Qin Xiaoxiao slowly stood up.

Yang Ling knew that now was not the time to discuss these things with Qin Xiaoxiao, and there was no point in doing so. He turned to look at the old man.

"By the way, old man, what is the relationship between this secret door and the demonic beast? What is the difference between them? Or is there some great secret hidden here? And that demonic beast, there is such a powerful one, its strength is almost comparable to the patriarch of a major family!" In fact, even he himself did not know. He shook his head. Such a remote place was so strange.

“I don’t really know the details, but I’m guessing there’s something they want. Otherwise, why would such powerful monsters come to such a remote place?” he said, emphasizing each word.

"In the end, the demonic beast sealed there must be extraordinary, its strength must be quite formidable, far beyond what ordinary people can match!" Yang Ling fell into deep thought, still unable to let go of the Chen family. He decided to stay there for the rest of the time.

"You should go back first, I plan to stay here!" the old man said to Yang Ling.

"I think I'll stay. I don't think you need to worry too much!" The old man was knowledgeable and could tell that Yang Ling was no ordinary person, and that Yang Ling probably had many hidden strengths. He might even benefit from staying by Yang Ling's side. Qin Xiaoxiao also shook her head.

"If I go back now, I'll be hunted down by the Qin family. I don't want to leave. I'll stay here!"

After this battle, she realized that her strength was far too weak compared to those truly powerful individuals, and she had to seize the time to improve it.

Yang Ling led them back to the Chen family in a hurry. By then, quite a few people had gathered around and started cultivating one after another. They were actually just curious to see what had happened here and what the big red light from before was all about.

Seeing Yang Ling come out, they quickly went up to ask him questions.

"You came out from inside, right? What happened in there? Why was there such a commotion? You must have arrived before us. What happened?" Yang Ling shook his head, saying he had just arrived and didn't know what had happened. The others sighed helplessly and began to speculate wildly, perhaps there were some valuable treasures inside.

Watching wave after wave of people rushing over, Yang Ling sighed helplessly. The people here were all weak; going now would be tantamount to suicide. They probably thought there was treasure inside. Yang Ling pondered, feeling that the light emanating from the statues was somewhat strange.

It seems things won't be peaceful here. After returning to the Chen family, Yang Ling looked at his family members and fell into deep thought. They exchanged glances. "It seems my guess was right. This place is indeed extraordinary. There's actually the bloodline of demonic beasts below, and it's extremely pure. If those demonic beasts set up a large formation to lure them out, the consequences would be unimaginable!"

"Not only that, the commotion caused by the demonic beast this time is absolutely unprecedented!" The Chen family patriarch was completely bewildered and hadn't figured out the situation, but they could sense the danger. Yang Ling looked at the old man, too lazy to waste words with him, and asked directly.

"Just tell me directly, is this a good thing or a bad thing? What's the deal with such a powerful force?"

He couldn't tolerate this happening on his own turf. He clenched his fists, but that wasn't what worried him.

Just then, the burst of light almost blinded Yang Ling, and he was stunned for a long time.

A flash of light appeared in the distance; the aura emanating from this surge was incredibly powerful, even Yang Ling could sense it. Yang Ling fell into deep thought; this was likely not a good sign…

"This is about to cause chaos," he said thoughtfully.

Just then, they rushed over to see what was going on. They arrived at an extremely fast speed, but someone noticed them.

Those people were just passing by and were very curious about the changes in the area. However, something seemed to be blocking their way, preventing them from getting close to Yang Ling and his group. Yang Ling and his companions' actions surprised them somewhat, but they remained relatively calm.

Those people stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with disbelief. They had originally intended to attack Yang Ling, but after witnessing the power he had unleashed, they dared not make any rash moves.

"You actually came out from inside, which means you must be very strong. I'd like to ask, what exactly happened inside? Please tell me!" Yang Ling was too lazy to pay attention to him and had no intention of saying anything to him.

Although Yang Ling's strength might not be considered formidable by them, he remained remarkably calm. They seemed lost in thought, and one of them spoke up directly.

The old man saw Yang Ling easily pass through the barrier, seemingly unaffected, and the barrier appeared as if it had suddenly materialized, causing the surrounding spiritual energy to become denser—this was utterly impossible, yet it had happened. He suspected a demonic beast was behind it all. How could a demonic beast possess such power? Yang Ling couldn't believe it unless someone even more powerful was controlling things behind the scenes. He said to Yang Ling...

“I suspect there’s a more powerful force behind this, and this force is not to be underestimated. We must be extra careful, or we might fall into their trap. You know what that means!” He said, enunciating each word clearly, his eyes filled with unprecedented determination. Yang Ling, of course, understood, but he didn’t show it; his face was filled with disbelief.

"Senior, you seem to know a lot of things. How do you know them? And I've never heard you mention them before. What's the connection between these two things?" he asked instinctively.

Hearing Yang Ling's words, the old man felt that he was asking too many questions. Did he really need to explain the connection between the two? Yang Ling didn't even understand?

"Look at the questions you're asking! What's most important for us right now? It's finding some treasure! Do you know what that means? This thing is definitely extraordinary!"

"Not only that, this thing is incredibly powerful; it's extraordinary in every way!" After careful consideration, they calmly withdrew their gaze.

Judging from the current situation, everything is out of their control. Everyone looked at each other, utterly bewildered; fear was the main concern, let alone anything else.

Qin Xiaoxiao suddenly blurted out, "Yang Ling is usually so strong, yet he's completely clueless at this crucial moment. This is something I never expected."

“It’s such a simple thing, isn’t it easy to understand? And don’t you know that?” she said to Yang Ling.

Yang Ling rubbed his temples. It wasn't that he didn't know, it was that he simply couldn't control it.

"Senior, do you have any good ideas? Or any solutions? Please tell me!" he asked the old man cautiously.

The old man placed his hand on Yang Ling's shoulder and patted him gently a few times, never expecting that Yang Ling could also be so clueless.

"It's very simple. The world is about to change, so we should go and acquire some resources!"

Yang Ling listened to the old man's words and fell into deep thought. At this moment, Ying Zheng seemed to suddenly remember something, leaned closer to Yang Ling, and asked in a low voice, "Do you already have an idea?"

"It's actually quite simple. There's a barrier here that we can't break with our current strength. However, given how much this place has changed, we might be able to find some resources here!"

The crowd exchanged glances, none of them expecting such a stroke of good fortune. Yang Ling met their gazes and calmly stated, "We need to make this place stronger, otherwise, many forces will definitely be eyeing it and trying to seize its resources!"

At this point, Yang Ling's gaze fell in the direction of the Sword Sect.

Since he left, the Sword Sect has grown stronger and stronger. In addition, he had given the Sword Sect Master many good things, which also improved the Sword Sect Master's strength early on.

For ordinary people, this might not seem like much, but in such a remote place, the Sword Sect Master is already considered a top-tier expert.

Since they want to acquire resources, they need the Sword Sect's help first. Yang Ling knew that the Sword Sect would agree to his request no matter what.

Thinking of this, Yang Ling calmly withdrew his gaze. Along the way, he had truly felt the changes in spiritual energy; the aura it emitted was truly unbelievable.

The Sword Sect Master frowned slightly. When he opened his eyes, he first looked around and felt that, without his knowledge, the place had undergone a complete transformation. (End of Chapter)