Qiu Zu: From an apprentice in a medicine shop to an immortal ancestor.

The figure emerged from the shadows and darkness of the forest.

He wore a moon-white robe, exquisitely tailored, with a jade belt around his waist, from which hung a warm jade pendant. His long black hair was casually tied up with a white jade hairpin. His robes fluttered, blending with the mist in the forest.

His face was handsome, his eyes calm. He held a landscape-painted folding fan in his hand, stopping to observe and size up Qiu Zhen with an interested expression.

Qiu Zhen was also sizing up the other party. A powerful sense of oppression washed over him, giving him the illusion of facing Wei Tan, the Demon Suppression Commander of Changle Prefecture.

Such strength…

Qiu Zhen understood something in his heart, his expression remaining calm:

"Are you the Master of the Wooden Puppet Sect?"

"What courage."

The refined man saw that Qiu Zhen's expression did not change, and pondered to himself, but his face showed no emotion. He said lightly:

"This humble Taoist's dharma name is Mu Rong Daoren. Were my two disciples killed by your hand?"

When he mentioned the deaths of his two disciples, Mu Rong Daoren's expression was extremely calm, without joy, sorrow, or hatred.

It was as if those who died were not his own disciples, but Person A and Person B on the street.

His eyes were as still as an ancient well, a calmness that was frightening.

Qiu Zhen wanted to say that he didn't kill them.

However, he held the Wooden Puppet Sect's signature ultimate skill, the "Wooden Puppet Mechanical Beast," in his hand, so any explanation would be useless.

Of course, Qiu Zhen was not intimidated, and his expression was equally calm:

"Yes, and also no."

Mu Rong Daoren frowned slightly, a hint of coldness in his calm eyes:

"If it is, then it is. If it is not, then it is not. How can it be both yes and no?"

"Their death was caused by their coveting my treasure, but I was not the one who acted."

Qiu Zhen pointed to himself and said:

"I am but a Houtian martial artist. I have demon generals protecting me, enough to protect myself. But if I wanted to keep your two disciples here, that would be beyond my capabilities. They are Yin Shen experts. How could I have the ability to keep them here?"

Mu Rong Daoren was silent.

This was not a lie.

His two disciples, Mu Sheng and Mu Gu, had decent Taoist cultivation, achieving minor success in the [Night Wanderer] realm. They also had several wooden puppet mechanical beasts and willow spirits to protect them. If they were determined to run, even ordinary Xiantian True罡 realm martial artists would find it difficult to keep them here.

Yet now, they died in a mysterious manner.

"Who was the one who acted?"

"The Myriad Gods Alliance."

Qiu Zhen blurted out without thinking:

"I am a chosen one of the Myriad Gods Alliance, possessing a destiny. Your two disciples coveted my treasure and even wanted to harm me. The seniors of the Myriad Gods Alliance took action to save me."

The Myriad Gods Alliance?

Mu Rong Daoren frowned slightly. This name was very unfamiliar.

"I have only heard of the [Myriad Immortals Alliance]. I have never heard of any [Myriad Gods Alliance]. Where did this Myriad Gods Alliance come from?"

"He hasn't even heard of it, just like Apothecary An's reaction."

Qiu Zhen was secretly surprised, but on the surface, he looked surprised:

"The [Myriad Gods Alliance] aims to recruit and support those with destiny. Hasn't senior heard of it?"

Mu Rong Daoren was silent. He had traveled the immortal cultivation world and wandered the world for many years, but he had never heard of a [Myriad Gods Alliance].

Perhaps some small, out-of-the-way place had such a small force, but it was not significant and did not seem to be the same as the mysterious [Myriad Gods Alliance] before him.

Of course, he did not doubt that such an organization existed.

The world is vast, with hidden dragons and crouching tigers. It is normal to have such a mysterious force.

Mu Rong Daoren vaguely understood something and asked again:

"A year ago, Yuan Hua also died at your hands?"

"He also died at the hands of the seniors of the Myriad Gods Alliance."

Qiu Zhen raised the banner, his expression unchanged.

Speaking of which, since the [Myriad Gods Alliance] gave him spiritual medicine, they occasionally contacted him and sent some benefits.

However, the other party was obviously stingy and did not send any treasures that moved him.

Qiu Zhen resisted and guarded against this kind of "good thing" that fell from the sky and forced you to eat it, even if you didn't want to.

At this moment, he felt no pressure at all to use the banner of the [Myriad Gods Alliance] as a cover and let them take the blame.

Anyway, they kept saying that they would support and protect him. If they couldn't even take this bit of blame, what were they doing? It would be a disgrace to the name of "Myriad Gods."

Mu Rong Daoren frowned slightly after hearing Qiu Zhen's words.

It was a pity that his disciples and apprentices had died, and if there was a chance, he would definitely avenge them.

However, Mu Rong Daoren's mind was not focused on revenge at the moment. His eyes were fixed on the "Little Wooden Beast" in Qiu Zhen's hand.

"They were greedy and attacked you. They were not skilled enough and died far from home. This seat has nothing to say, but the treasures on their bodies belong to me. I hope Little Divine Physician Qiu will return them to me."

As expected, he came for the "Immortal Martial Arts Secret Manual."

Qiu Zhen understood in his heart.

When Mu Rong Zhenren cast a spell to bring him to this illusion, instead of using vicious spells to harm him, he vaguely guessed this.

The other party's main purpose was probably not revenge, but the "Immortal Martial Arts Secret Manual" and the plan behind the Grandmaster-level Demon Suppression Talisman.

Seeing Qiu Zhen's silence, Mu Rong Daoren spoke again:

"You possess a great destiny and an extremely strong life. I don't want to entangle with you too much. As long as you return the Immortal Martial Arts Secret Manual to me, our grievances will be written off. In the future, I will definitely not come to trouble you."

As expected, he is doing great things.

His heart is ruthless enough.

His fellow disciples and apprentices died, but he didn't ask about it and only thought about his own affairs.

Qiu Zhen felt emotional about the other party's ruthlessness and decisiveness, but in his heart, he sneered at it.

You can't believe a word of what these cold-blooded and selfish people say.

Although he had learned the immortal martial arts, the secret manual was useless to him, but he would definitely not return it to Mu Rong Daoren.

Peace is preserved through struggle, and peace is lost through compromise.

Qiu Zhen never thought about "returning the treasure." Returning the treasure was an act of showing weakness. Once he compromised, the other party would secretly speculate that he was not confident and could be manipulated.

There would be endless troubles later.

"Senior Mu Rong, I have indeed learned the immortal martial arts, but the martial arts secret manual is not in my hands. It is in the hands of the [Myriad Gods Alliance]. Such a treasure containing the charm of immortals is enough to be used as the foundation of a great power. How could they give it to me for nothing?"

"This…"

Mu Rong Daoren frowned.

These words were reasonable and flawless.

If he were in the position of the [Myriad Gods Alliance], he would probably deal with it similarly. The inheritance of immortal martial arts could be passed on, but the original secret manual containing the charm of immortals would definitely be taken back for safekeeping.

This is troublesome.

For a time, Mu Rong Daoren's heart was filled with irritability.

Things had greatly exceeded his expectations.

This [Myriad Gods Alliance], which he didn't know where it came from, had disrupted his plans again and again.

Most importantly, the difficulty of "asking" for the "Immortal Martial Arts Secret Manual" back after it fell into the hands of a mysterious great power was different.

Of course, Mu Rong Daoren was not a fledgling newcomer. He didn't believe everything Qiu Zhen said.

After some thought, Mu Rong Zhenren's expression turned cold, looking at Qiu Zhen with a hint of killing intent:

"Are you playing with me? What dog shit Myriad Gods Alliance? I'm afraid you're just making it up to deceive me."

"Believe it or not, it's up to you."

Qiu Zhen did not show any timidity, his expression arrogant, not feeling any fear because the other party was a top Yin Shen expert.

He was not a newcomer to immortal cultivation. After confirming that the other party was not acting in his true body, or even that the Yin Shen had not descended on Qiu Family Village, he no longer felt fear in his heart.

After all, both sides were essentially in the "Refining Qi" realm. Although the gap in cultivation was very large, it was not a world of difference, and he was not completely crushed.

Most importantly, Qiu Zhen also understood that figures like the Master of the Wooden Puppet Sect would not believe his words, even if what he said was flawless, the other party would not believe it completely.

There were only two paths in front of him.

One was to compromise and return the Immortal Martial Arts Secret Manual.

The other was to fight.

At the moment, if it was just an illusion or a remote divine sense fight, he was not afraid of what the other party could do to him.

Qiu Zhen was too lazy to talk nonsense with the other party, looking confident:

"If you want to cause me trouble, feel free to come and see who will suffer!"

"What a hard-mouthed brat."

Mu Rong was so angry that he laughed. Just now, he was polite because he wanted to retrieve the treasure smoothly. Now that he saw Qiu Zhen's attitude was so tough, he was too lazy to hide it, and his killing intent soared to the sky:

"Courting death!"

After saying that, a terrifying sense of divine oppression came from all directions in the Azure Wood World.

The "Mu Rong Daoren" instantly transformed into a towering giant tree that pierced into the clouds. After a "rustling" tremor, the entire "Azure Wood Illusion" seemed to come alive. Countless treants and vines rushed towards Qiu Zhen.

This small world was an illusionary space constructed by divine sense. Although it could not harm the physical body, it posed a great threat to the spirit and soul.

If one was not careful and trapped in this place, and the soul was captured and imprisoned, one would become a walking corpse.

"Well done."

Seeing the other party attack, Qiu Zhen was not afraid at all. He had already prepared for a fight.

He even hoped for such a divine sense fight.

Immediately, without saying a word, he shouted loudly:

"Senior, save me!"

After Qiu Zhen exclaimed, a dazzling golden light radiated from his body.

Immediately afterward, a Nascent Soul Dharma Body sitting in the lotus position condensed into a phantom in the golden light.

The golden light phantom could not see its face, and its aura was obscure, making it impossible to see its details.

However, at the moment when the golden light phantom appeared, the "heaven and earth" seemed to freeze.

Countless "lifelike" treants and vines froze in place, losing their spirituality. The rolling divine sense pressure trembled slightly the moment it touched the golden light, as if it had encountered a nemesis.

The "treants" and "vines" transformed by divine sense retreated like a tide, returning to the darkness.

"Boom!"

Immediately afterward, the Azure Wood World began to frantically "collapse" and disintegrate.

In the blink of an eye, the ancient forest illusion disappeared, replaced by the quiet and silent Qiu Zhen Valley.

Hundreds of miles away, in the depths of the wild and primitive mountains where demon beasts roamed.

In the cave, the lights were always on. A Taoist wearing an azure Taoist robe sat cross-legged on the altar.

"Pfft ~"

A mouthful of blood sprayed on the altar incense table, extinguishing the curling spiritual incense.

"Ah ah ah ah ah ~"

The azure-robed Taoist hugged his head, curled up on the futon and rolled around, his face full of pain.

In that painful expression, there was even a hint of horror.

"Nascent Soul Dharma Body, there is actually an old monster behind Qiu boy…"