Chapter 147 Are You That "Mr. Bai"?

The crow, which had been pacing back and forth in place, and Xietu, who was sitting on a nearby stone step meditating, sensed a familiar aura appear and immediately looked toward the newcomer.

The newcomer was none other than Bai Qi, though his entrance was somewhat bizarre, as he directly shuttled out of the void as if he had been tossed out by someone. Bai Qi didn't even have time to process the experience; the speed was so extreme that in just a few breaths, he found himself outside the altar.

His body had been guided by the key, transporting him as if through a teleportation array. When Bai Qi appeared before the person and the bird, the two of them quickly walked forward.

The crow spoke first, asking, "Brother Bai, how did it go? Did you find the item?"

Hearing this, Bai Qi realized the crow was purely superficial, entirely driven by profit and completely devoid of any emotional warmth.

In stark contrast, Xietu sensed Bai Qi's appearance, immediately ended her meditation, stepped forward, and asked with great concern in her gentle tone, "Are you alright? Were you injured?"

Bathed in this comforting wave of warm concern, a natural sense of warmth welled up in Bai Qi's heart, deepening his affection for Xietu even further.

Ignoring the stinking crow's impatient inquiries, Bai Qi turned toward Xietu, stepped forward, and pulled her tightly into his embrace. Without any superfluous words, he simply held her soft body close. It felt like an act of entirely selfish possessiveness—having chosen her, she was his. Even if she refused to admit it, from this moment onward and into the future, Xietu belonged to him, Bai.

Xietu's nerves instantly tightened as if drawn taut. Even after having experienced such events, she had been a maiden her entire life, yet she was now being held tightly by a "strange man" she had known for only a short while. The little deer hidden deep within her heart felt as though it had just wandered out into the clearing, completely innocent and bewildered, leaping about everywhere.

With the "thump-thump" sound of her heartbeat and her delicate face blushing as red as a ripe pomegranate, Xietu couldn't help but turn her face away, afraid someone might catch sight of her shy expression.

She had hoped this blissful state would last a long, long time, but she hadn't expected the crow to be such a high-wattage lightbulb that simply refused to burn out.

The crow impatiently began to clamor, "Caw! Caw! Caw! Are you two done yet? Do you still want to get out of here or not? Hurry up, this Saint's patience has worn thin!"

The harmonious atmosphere between the two was shattered by this blind, damned crow. Xietu hurriedly pushed Bai Qi away and turned around to mask her shyness. Meanwhile, Bai Qi glared at the crow with indignation and cursed outright, "You damned crow, blast your grandpa, you're going to rush us to death, you jerk. You really have zero tact."

Despite Bai Qi's reprimand, to the crow, whatever they had just been doing was no more significant than little children playing house. Thick-skinned as ever, the bird shouted right back.

The crow didn't care what Bai Qi was saying, but its tone suddenly shifted, sounding like two thieves whispering in some dark corner after fencing stolen goods.

Seeing the crow's wretched, thievish demeanor, Bai Qi raised his foot and kicked at it, intending to send the bird flying. To his surprise, the creature was remarkably agile. With a slight twist of its somewhat featherless, alluring tail, the crow effortlessly dodged the incoming kick.

Realizing the crow's reflexes were so sharp, and clearly sensing through his current cultivation and spiritual awareness that the evasion technique the crow had just used was undoubtedly a specialized movement art, Bai Qi decided he needed to pry some secrets out of the bird's beak.

Bai Qi squatted down and said to the crow, "Now, the key to the bronze palace is in my hands, but whether we get out or not is up to me. My little darling and I came in together, but as for you, you originally belong to this place. So, how about you stay behind? Maybe one day when I feel like it, I'll come back in and take you with me. How does that sound?"

As soon as Bai Qi said this, the most "offended" person was Xietu, who had just turned around. Hearing Bai Qi absurdly refer to her as his "little darling," she felt goosebumps ripple across her skin. Since when did she, the Sect Master, become his woman? Though she thought this to herself, a trace of inexplicable, subtle joy blossomed deep within her heart.

Looking back at the crow, upon hearing Bai Qi's double-entendres, the bird screamed internally, "Damn it, I didn't expect this brat to see through the movement art this Saint just used! When did this kid's eyes become so sharp? Could it be that he experienced something extraordinary inside the altar world?"

The crow raised its head, looking at Bai Qi's playful smile, and knew it had to back down. Hardening its heart and gritting its beak as if holding back a breath for a long time, the crow finally spat out, "Dammit, fine brat, just you wait." With that, it extended its right bare wing and spoke again, "Stinking kid, reach out your hand. I'll give you this movement art."

While speaking, it glared coldly at Bai Qi with the expression of an aggrieved wife, resting the tip of its bare wing against the palm of Bai Qi's hand.

This method transferred the knowledge directly through a physical-mental link, transmitting what it knew into the other person's mind while also preventing theft by outsiders.

A moment later, a series of concise and clear words appeared in Bai Qi's mind. The text seemed to have been refined and translated by the crow into a much more perfect, simple, and concise form, drastically reducing the time Bai Qi needed to absorb the information. He accepted the technique with astonishing speed, only to find that the movement art possessed a rather bizarre name: *Cosmic Twist*. Bai Qi couldn't help but wonder if the stinking crow had just made up or renamed the technique on the spot.

Bai Qi let out a chuckle and thanked the crow. However, the crow dispensed with all formalities, quickly waving its bare wing to dismiss the pleasantries and signaling Bai Qi to hurry up and stop dawdling.

Seeing the crow's expression of reluctant agony, Bai Qi didn't waste any more breath.

With a thought, the black key materialized in his palm. The moment it appeared, Xietu and the crow involuntarily stepped closer, staring at the peculiarly shaped key, which fell rather short of what they had imagined...

The crow peered closely at the key in his hand, then looked up into Bai Qi's eyes. Narrowing its eyes slightly, it said with some displeasure, "Stinking kid, are you toying with this Saint? You're trying to fool me with something like this?"

Judging by the crow's tone, Bai Qi knew the bird suspected him of playing a trick. Without further ado, guided by the prompts within his core death qi, Bai Qi began chanting the incantation.

Instantly, a transparent, water-like door manifested at the entrance of the altar. Channeling his spiritual power, Bai Qi gently pressed the key against the liquid surface of the door. The water-like barrier split open like a fracture in the void, gradually widening into a large opening. At the sight of this, the crow was overjoyed, realizing Bai Qi hadn't deceived it after all. Thrilled, it flapped its bare wings and squawked wildly, experiencing the ecstatic liberation of a pet kept in a cage for years—a feeling no one else could truly comprehend.

Taking advantage of the moment, Bai Qi directly grabbed the hand of the still-dazed Xietu and flew out. Simultaneously, he chanted the incantation to close the gateway, causing the key to vanish back into his body.

"You guys, search over there! You lot, check the other side!" The speaker was a cultivator clad in a grayish-cyan cotton robe, bearing the character "Liang" embroidered on the chest. These men were subordinates of Liang Sui, the Lord of Liangzhou City, though it was unclear what they were searching for.

Meanwhile, after passing through the altar gateway, Bai Qi and Xietu reappeared in the outside world, this time landing inside a forest, while the crow had long since "fled for its life" to parts unknown.

Upon suddenly spotting a group of people not far ahead, Bai Qi and Xietu were also immediately discovered by the group, who rushed over toward them.

The leading commander demanded, "Who are you people? Why are you lingering here?"

Seeing that these men were clearly up to no good, Xietu stepped forward to deal with them, but Bai Qi stopped her.

Stepping forward, Bai Qi asked, "I am Bai Qi. Might I ask what fellow daoists are searching for around here?"

"Bai Qi? Bai... Bai Sui?" Upon hearing that the youth casually claimed to be Bai Qi, the men were thoroughly shocked. One of them attempted to send out a signal for help, but Xietu flicked her wrist, unleashing a surge of vital energy straight into his body. His internal organs shattered instantly, and he collapsed to the ground, dead.

Seeing his subordinate killed just like that, the commander was terrified. Realizing they were no match for the pair, he tried invoking their backing: "Wh... what are you doing? We are subordinates of Lord Liang! If you do this, you will face endless hunts and killings by the Lord!"

As they stammered and retreated backward in terror, fragments of familiar scenes gradually surfaced in Bai Qi's mind, coalescing into memories. He then sneered coldly, "Heh, so they're Liang Sui's men. Well, that makes it all the more reason for you to die."

With that, a layer of grey vapor rapidly enveloped Bai Qi's body as he shot forward like a cannonball. In an instant, before the men could even cry out, they froze mid-motion. A moment later, a series of dull thuds echoed as they collapsed to the ground, dead one after another.

Witnessing these methods firsthand, Xietu was inwardly astonished. She hadn't expected that since parting ways at the altar, Bai Qi's cultivation had advanced to match her own—both were now at the Earth Realm. However, the technique he had just displayed was so formidable that even she wasn't certain she could block it. Her perception of Bai Qi underwent a subtle shift.

Unaware of the emotional ripples passing through Xietu, Bai Qi stepped forward and used his spiritual awareness to extract memories directly from the fading consciousness of the fallen men. This method was somewhat cruel; once applied, the victim's consciousness would invariably suffer permanent damage, reducing them to an imbecile. Of course, the alternative was voluntary cooperation, where the divine senses of both parties would merge harmoniously without causing such damage.

After conducting the search, Bai Qi explained the situation to Xietu. The two of them realized that two full months had passed while they were trapped inside the bronze palace. During this time, the balance of power within the Quicksand Mountains had undergone earth-shattering changes, centered primarily around their respective sects.

Noticing Xietu lost in thought, Bai Qi stepped closer and said, "Xietu, you don't need to worry. Conflict between the two major factions was inevitable; it simply happened sooner than expected. If worst comes to worst, don't go back—come with me. With my status, no one in our sect will dare say anything to you. Furthermore, my current strength gives me the qualifications to protect you! Please, trust me."

Hearing this overbearing yet deeply masculine declaration, Xietu felt a moment of hesitation. However, she immediately shook her head and said, "Let me calm my mind. My foster mother is being held hostage by the Ghost King. Unless we find a master alchemist of exceptional skill, everything else remains my fatal weakness."

Understanding her concerns, Bai Qi nodded and reminded her, "You forgot, I am also an alchemist. With my abilities, this can certainly be resolved. Besides, our sect has a Pill Elder whose alchemy skills have reached the fifth grade."

These words lifted many of Xietu's lingering worries. She immediately turned to Bai Qi and said, "Alright, then I will return to the Ghost Sect. Once I have everything settled, I will send you a message."

"Good. I'll wait for you." Bai Qi looked at Xietu with a firm, unwavering gaze.

...

After parting ways, the two of them headed toward their respective sects, while the fierce struggle between the two major factions gradually began to unfold...