Yu Daochen thought of what the gray snake had said: "I got news that the spirit spring is likely in a cave here."
Qiangzi's eyes lit up: "Master Yu, where did you get that news?"
Yu Daochen recounted his encounter with the gray snake that day.
Qiangzi nodded. Yu Daochen then remembered Qiangzi had been chasing something earlier: "Qiangzi, what were you chasing just now?"
Qiangzi's expression turned serious: "Master Yu, didn't you encounter that thing?"
Yu Daochen shook his head, finally recalling Qiangzi's text message telling him to be careful of him: "Right, Qiangzi, what did you mean when you told me to be careful of you?"
Qiangzi explained the events of the past few days and what he had encountered.
It turned out that while he was unconscious, Qiangzi received news of a spirit spring in the Greater Khingan Range. He then found two experts familiar with the area and came to the Greater Khingan Range. However, on the very first night they entered the valley, Qiangzi and the other person were killed by him.
Yu Daochen frowned: "Killed by me?"
Qiangzi nodded, his expression complicated: "That's right, to be precise, killed by someone who looked exactly like me."
Yu Daochen was bewildered: "Killed by someone who looked exactly like me?"
Qiangzi nodded and continued: "Although I don't know how it happened, two people who looked exactly like them appeared. And who I was chasing just now was someone who looked exactly like me."
Yu Daochen's expression changed, and his hand instinctively went to the Kanglong Jian behind him. No wonder Qiangzi had texted him to be careful of him.
Seeing Yu Daochen's movement, Qiangzi quickly waved his hands: "I'm the real deal."
Yu Daochen tested him: "When is my birthday?"
Qiangzi looked embarrassed: "Uh, can we change the question?"
Yu Daochen coughed dryly: "How much did you owe me last time in Nanyang Village?"
Qiangzi shook his head: "I don't owe you any money."
Yu Daochen continued to test him: "Let me see your copper coin sword."
Qiangzi quickly drew the copper coin sword from his waist. In the beam of the flashlight, Yu Daochen clearly saw the characters on the copper coins: Zhuang Qian Forty.
That was indeed the copper coin sword given to Qiangzi by Daoist Lingze.
Yu Daochen, still not entirely at ease, asked another question: "Show me your Five Thunder Palm."
Qiangzi condensed one hand, and countless arcs of electricity gathered in his palm.
Seeing the arcs of electricity gathering in Qiangzi's palm, Yu Daochen finally felt relieved. The Five Thunder Palm was one of the divine skills of the Celestial Master's Mansion, and no one else could possibly know it.
"Master Yu, are you reassured now?" Qiangzi asked, retracting his technique.
Yu Daochen nodded in relief: "Let's find a place to rest first."
Qiangzi nodded, and the two found an open space nearby to rest for the night.
Yu Daochen leaned against a large tree, while Qiangzi next to him lit a cigarette.
After a while, both felt sleepy. Yu Daochen closed his eyes, placing one hand on the Zhenhun Stone short sword on his thigh. Although the person in front of him indeed knew the Five Thunder Palm and had the copper coin sword with "Zhuang Qian Forty" on it, the gray snake and that person had repeatedly warned him not to trust anyone.
In the middle of the night, Qiangzi, who was fast asleep, suddenly opened his eyes. He instinctively reached for the copper coin sword at his waist, but seeing Yu Daochen's hand resting on the Zhenhun Stone short sword on his thigh, he dismissed the thought.
Morning~
Yu Daochen opened his eyes and looked at Qiangzi, who was sleeping soundly beside him. He had been wary of this guy all night, but it seemed he had been overly cautious.
"Qiangzi," Yu Daochen nudged the sleeping Qiangzi.
Qiangzi groggily opened his eyes and yawned.
Yu Daochen looked around the environment: "How can there not be a single bird in such a large forest?"
"Let alone a bird, there isn't even a single fish," Qiangzi explained: "The environment in Yin Chen Valley is special. Besides trees, there are no living creatures."
Yu Daochen stood up and stretched: "Alright, let's go. I have a feeling it will be dangerous to stay here any longer."
Qiangzi nodded, and the two casually headed in one direction to search for the spirit spring.
Somewhere in the Greater Khingan Range, a colossal figure flew down from the sky and entered a location.
As the white smoke dissipated, the man in ancient costume looked around: "How many years has it been since I've been here?"
The man in ancient costume looked at a patch of grass nearby: "Come out."
A gray snake, over eight meters long, emerged from the grass.
The gray snake lowered its head: "I was just passing by. What does the great immortal want with me?"
The man in ancient costume thought for a moment and asked: "Have you seen a man, around eighteen years old, handsome, slightly shorter than me, with a pale complexion, appearing frail, with his hair tied up, and carrying something on his lower back?"
The gray snake thought for a moment before realizing he was asking about the person from yesterday: "I have seen him. That master seems to have gone to Yin Chen Valley to search for the spirit spring."
Upon hearing this, the man in ancient costume quickly asked: "Is she injured anywhere, or does she look injured?"
Seeing the man in ancient costume's excited expression, the gray snake recalled carefully: "She didn't seem injured anywhere, but her left eye was bloodshot."
As soon as the gray snake said this, the man in ancient costume's expression turned serious. This was a sign of overuse of the Nine Reincarnation Eyes.
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Author's Note: