This was certainly not the real reason—it was a blatantly insincere excuse from start to finish.
Yet Li Qingxiao dared not say another word. Grandmaster Qi had effortlessly tossed him into the heavily guarded Bajing Villa without alerting a single soul. She herself strolled about as if she owned the place, standing right in front of the Li siblings without them even noticing her presence. Her cultivation was so profound it defied comprehension.
In other words, if Grandmaster Qi decided to kill him simply because she didn't like his face, then so be it. There wouldn't even be a ripple of consequence.
What could he say? What should he say? The wise knew when to yield.
"Follow me," Grandmaster Qi declared, striding ahead with the confidence of someone who owned the estate, showing not a shred of guilt for trespassing.
Then again, considering Li Qinglan and Li Qingping had been scheming against her behind her back, they had brought this upon themselves. With ill intentions, they had summoned the very person they sought to deceive.
Perhaps the Grand Patriarch of the Daoist Sect could make Grandmaster Qi hesitate, but that didn't justify two juniors daring to offend her. The Grand Patriarch might be the leader of the Daoist Sect, but he wasn't its emperor—this wasn't a matter of "the ruler demands, the subject must die."
Li Qingxiao obediently trailed behind Grandmaster Qi, keeping his mouth shut.
As they passed through corridors and halls, they encountered numerous servants and guards, yet none paid them any attention. Undoubtedly, this was Grandmaster Qi's doing.
Her true age had to be considerable. As the saying went, the older one got, the more childlike one became.
When Li Qingxiao had asked earlier, she had brushed him off. Now that he had stopped questioning, she suddenly felt inclined to answer truthfully:
"The reason I chose you is because I need your blood."
Li Qingxiao had read a few storybooks in his spare time. His heart lurched. "Am I… some kind of legendary bloodline? Immortal blood? Ancestral Witch blood? Great Demon blood?"
"Hah, afraid you'll be disappointed. You've got no special bloodline whatsoever. If you did, the Daoist Sect would've found out long ago." Grandmaster Qi paused, waiting for Li Qingxiao to catch up so they could walk side by side. "I need to open a door, and for that, I require the blood of a Li."
Li Qingxiao let out a dry laugh. "The one thing Penglai Island isn't short of is people surnamed Li. If you swung a stick blindly, eight out of ten you'd hit would be a Li. Why me? And I'm a branch of a branch, a distant offshoot of the Li family—my so-called 'Li blood' must be so diluted it's practically water. If you need Li blood, wouldn't someone like Li Qinglan or Li Qingping, direct descendants of the main lineage, be far more suitable?"
Grandmaster Qi stroked her chin. "Maybe. But they bear the Grand Patriarch's mark, and I'd rather not provoke the Lis just yet. Besides, you're different from the other branches—there's something a little special about you."
Li Qingxiao stiffened again. "Grandmaster, please don't tell me I'm actually some illegitimate child of the main Li family—"
"Kid, you've been reading too many cheap novels." Grandmaster Qi leaped up and smacked the back of his head. "What I mean is, your blood carries traces of Primordial Chaos. To have both Li blood and Primordial Chaos—that's a rare combination."
"Primordial Chaos?" This time, Li Qingxiao was genuinely lost. "What's that?"
Grandmaster Qi waved a hand dismissively. "No need to know for now. After all, the 'Outer Heaven' brings nothing but harm to someone like you. You'll find out when the time comes."
Just as she was about to settle into her role as the cryptic sage, Grandmaster Qi suddenly froze.
"Wait… did I just say 'Outer Heaven' out loud?"
Li Qingxiao nodded.
Grandmaster Qi fell silent. An awkward tension settled between them.
A creeping sense of foreboding took root in Li Qingxiao's heart.
Finally, Grandmaster Qi broke the silence with a cough.
"Well, since you already know… might as well explain further. The 'Outer Heaven' is one of many outsiders from beyond our realm—beings comparable to immortals. Most people will never cross paths with them. But once you learn of their existence and their names—especially someone like you, carrying traces of Primordial Chaos—there's a high chance you'll form a subconscious connection, drawing their gaze. Eventually, you'll become a vessel for their descent into our world, following the threads of fate. The Daoist Sect calls this phenomenon 'Corruption.' In short, you now meet both conditions—carrying Primordial Chaos and knowing an outsider's name. You've been Corrupted."
Li Qingxiao's face went rigid. Words failed him.
Grandmaster Qi irresponsibly threw up her hands. "I told you not to ask too much. But no, you had to pry. Curiosity killed the cat, huh?"
Li Qingxiao forced a strained smile. "Grandmaster… you were the one who brought it up."
"Was I?" She feigned shock, then waved it off. "Not important! The point is—this is your fault. Not. Mine."
Li Qingxiao felt like crying. "Grandmaster, you're a revered elder of the Daoist Sect. How can you be so unreasonable?"
Grandmaster Qi was indeed an outlier among Daoist Grandmasters—and she knew it.
"Pfft. You call me 'revered'? Do you even believe that? I don't."
At that moment, Li Qingxiao finally understood why Li Qingping had described Grandmaster Qi as eccentric and unpredictable.
And he'd add another descriptor: utterly malicious.
With a sigh, Li Qingxiao said, "Then I suppose I'll have to turn myself in to the Daoist Sect. Maybe they'll let me live a little longer, considering I might still have some research value."
With that, he turned to leave.
Grandmaster Qi pointed a finger, freezing him in place.
"Did I say you could go? You still owe me fifty Carefree Coins. Fine—though this is entirely your fault, I'll reluctantly help you out of the goodness of my heart. I'll teach you a method to partially block this connection. How's that sound? Blink if you agree."
Li Qingxiao blinked.
Grandmaster Qi released him and shoved a scroll into his arms—as if she'd prepared it in advance.
"This is the Supreme Dao Ancestor's 'Supreme Resonance Art.' Note—not the 'Supreme Resonance Treatise.' Practice it diligently, and for a time, you'll be under the Supreme Dao Ancestor's protection, shielded from the Outer Heaven's gaze."
Li Qingxiao hesitated, then cautiously asked, "And how long is 'a time'?"
Grandmaster Qi held up three fingers. "About three years."
"And after three years?"
She grinned, thoroughly enjoying his distress. "Then you're dead. Well—no, worse than dead."
Before Li Qingxiao could protest, Grandmaster Qi used her mind-reading ability to cut him off.
"Let me warn you—once you take my payment, there's no backing out."
Li Qingxiao knew better than to argue further. He'd take what he could get.
No matter how terrifying the threat of the Outer Heaven was, it was still three years away. If he angered Grandmaster Qi now, he might not even live to see tomorrow.